Shift Scheduling Made Easier

Scheduling employees who work on rotational shifts can be like playing the game of Tetris. Just as you think you have all the pieces in place, something unexpected falls into the picture – a sick employee, a new staff member who needs training, a critical situation that requires more staffing. Managing all the details can become a time-intensive and stressful process.

Nevertheless, many organizations require round-the-clock coverage to keep people safe, including nursing homes, medical clinics and public safety agencies. If you’re in that boat, why not modernize the process using a cloud-based scheduling tool, which centralizes and automates shift scheduling to simplify the process and save you time? It even improves employee satisfaction, since it keeps track of all the details that can cause frustration, if overlooked.

You’ll find many shift scheduling products on the market, but here are four qualities that separate the good from the great:

Automated Workflows

The main benefit of a scheduling application is the ability to automate more of the functions that eat up your time and cause frustration. Not only will you gain more hours in your day, but you will prevent some of the inevitable human errors that cause headaches and extra costs down the line. 

A good scheduling software should automate basic workflows, such as generating the new schedule, suggesting scheduling options based on prior data and compliance considerations, providing a completed schedule for employees once approved, and sending notifications when replacement or supplementary personnel are needed – all with only a few clicks and inputs on your part.

Business Rules and Custom Selection Criteria

Scheduling police officers has different considerations than scheduling snow removal crews or nursing home staff, so it’s important to choose a scheduling solution that adjusts to your organization’s needs. Look for a product with configurability that allows you to select the settings you need and opt out of those you don’t. 

One way to configure is by asking the scheduling solution provider to create business rules (if/then statements) that specify when a particular action should occur. For instance, if someone alerts the scheduling system a replacement is needed for a particular shift and date, then the scheduling tool will send a notification seeking a replacement to all those in the same job category who are qualified and eligible to substitute. Then the scheduling tool will repeat the operation at specified intervals until the shift has been filled.

Compliance Capabilities

Many workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements or other contractual and legal obligations that can limit their availability. If that’s the case for your workplace, look for a scheduling solution provider that customizes business rules to automatically sort based on your criteria. For instance, you might ask for business rules that remove from a list of replacement staffers those who have reached their limits for hours worked, preventing any contractual violations or expensive overtime pay.

Remote Connectivity from Any Device

You’re not always sitting at your desk or working on your office computer, and neither are your employees. A scheduling solution should be accessible on any connected device, whether Apple or Android, simply by logging on to a mobile app. You can adjust schedules or track your team members’ requests, wherever you are, and they can check their shifts, request replacements and notify others of their availability to work.

Scheduling Frustrations? We Have the Solution

Cloudli’s OMNIalert scheduling feature gives you all the features that make scheduling easier, combined with network stability and redundancy, to ensure the tool is always accessible when you need it. Reach out to share your biggest scheduling frustrations and find out how our solution can help. Contact our specialists for a demo today.