When it comes to staff scheduling software, there are several things you should know. For example, the process of creating and maintaining schedules can be simple and straightforward or it can be extremely difficult—it all depends on how much effort you put into it at the beginning. This blog post will provide you with some tips that will help you get started using scheduling software.
Here are eight for you:
1. Know how you want to schedule:
The first step in using scheduling software is to decide how you want your schedule to look. Do you want a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule? Will there be more than one shift for each day? How many days will there be in a week? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered before you can create your schedule. It will help you to decide if you want to use a calendar or a spreadsheet, as well as what kind of software you need.
2. Start with a plan:
You may have heard the saying that it’s easier to build on a solid foundation than to repair a crumbling one. The same applies to scheduling software; if you don’t have a plan in mind, then everything else will be harder to organize and manage later on. To start your planning process, ask yourself these questions: What kind of schedule do I want? Do I want my employees working remotely or in-office? How many hours per week should each person work? How much overtime should they be allowed (if any)?
These are just some examples of things you can think about while creating your ideal employee schedule–the point is that there’s no right answer when creating this kind of structure; however, having some sort of goal in mind will help guide every decision along the way so that everyone knows what needs doing next!
3. Map out your workflow:
The next step in scheduling is understanding your workflow. It means knowing what you are trying to achieve and how long it takes for each goal, as well as the resources available for achieving your goals.
For example, if one of your goals is to increase customer satisfaction by 20%, then you will need to know how much time it takes from start to finish before making this decision or taking action based on that information. You may also want to consider how many resources (personnel) are required by each step in this process so that there aren’t any bottlenecks along the way which could slow down progress or even prevent completion altogether
4. Don’t forget about mobile accessibility:
If you want your staff scheduling software to be truly useful, it should be accessible from anywhere. Make sure that you and your managers can access the system both on desktop computers and mobile devices. The same goes for your employees: they should be able to look at their schedules and other relevant information while away from the office or out in the field.
5. Be sure to include staff feedback:
When you’re considering new software, it’s important to ask your employees what they want and need. You may think that they don’t understand the value of scheduling software, but rest assured: they do! Most people will be excited about the prospect of having an easier time with scheduling.
Make sure that you ask for feedback from all levels of staff members–from entry-level employees up through managers and supervisors (and even executives). This will give you a better idea of how much time each person spends on scheduling tasks, where their biggest pain points are with current processes and tools used for this task (if any), and which features would be most helpful in improving their efficiency at work overall.
Conclusion
In the end, there are many things to keep in mind to get started using staff scheduling software. For example: start with a plan, know how you want to schedule, map out your workflow, don’t forget about mobile accessibility and be sure that all team members have a say in what gets included/excluded from this process.
