How to Create an Employee Work Schedule: Template Included

Why is Scheduling Important? 

Creating a detailed employee work schedule is essential for ensuring that your team members know when they’re supposed to be working, when they’re not, and what exactly they’re expected to achieve during their work hours. Without a formal schedule as a reference point, managing work hours and ensuring operational efficiency would be nearly impossible.

Scheduling is important for several reasons. It provides structure, preserves a work-life balance, especially within the remote working environment, and helps in managing workload, compensation, and compliance. Moreover, a well-structured work schedule aids in reducing labour costs by minimising unnecessary overtime.

It is generally accepted that having a structured and well-planned schedule can enhance productivity and efficiency in the workplace. Implementing an effective employee work schedule not only reduces stress but also ensures that deadlines are met, particularly for businesses that track man hours. By creating a work schedule, businesses can also improve employee satisfaction, as clear expectations and organised work hours contribute to a positive work environment.

7 Tips to Create an Effective Employee Work Schedule

Now that you understand the importance of creating and implementing a work schedule for your employees, you might be wondering about the finer details and how you should go about creating yours. These seven tips should get you started on making a schedule for employees:

1. Identifying Resources Before getting stuck into the task of building out your employee work schedule, make sure you have a good understanding of the financial and staffing resources at your disposal. Gather information about the budgetted time and wages of both full-time and part-time employees. It’s crucial to manage labour costs effectively to ensure operational efficiency.
   
2. List What Each Shift Needs When creating a needs list for each employee shift, consider the following:
   • How will you manage requests for time-off and sick days?
   • What sort of shift schedule best suits your business needs, including considerations for both full-time and part-time employees?
   • How flexible can you be with your scheduling in terms of work hours per day and work week?
   • Are your teams made up of employees who have different roles and varying hours per week? If so, consider the roles that need to be filled during a shift.
     
3. Collect Shift Preferences Being considerate of your team members and their private lives is important. It shows that you care and respect them as humans and not just staff. That said, there is an extent to which this should be done, and accommodating their preferences shouldn’t lead to business compromises. We recommend consulting with your staff to understand individual preferences. 
   
4. Review Past Employee Schedules Referring back to previous employee schedules is a great way to identify what works and what doesn’t. A baseline schedule is typically a good guide for drawing up a new schedule that addresses deficiencies and incorporates improvements. Once you’ve created your new schedule, compare it with the baseline to verify that it is working in practice. Be prepared to make adjustments where necessary.

5. Create a Plan for Replacements Before deploying your new work schedule, it is a good idea to ensure that employees understand the existing policies and whether or not they are changing in any way.  For example, when someone is sick, do they need to call in sick and find someone to cover their shift if they’re unavailable? Do employees need to get management approval before switching shifts? The new policy needs to be in writing and clearly communicated. 
   
6. Use a Scheduling Software System Are you still creating up your work schedules manually? It might be time to automate this process with a scheduling tool or scheduling software like EasyRoster. EasyRoster can significantly streamline the scheduling process, making it easier to create and maintain complex work schedules, manage shifts efficiently, and accommodate different types of work schedules for both full-time and part-time employees.
   
7. Ask for Employee Feedback & Input Collecting feedback on an ongoing basis is crucial for improving employee satisfaction and ensuring the schedule meets everyone’s needs.

By following these tips, you can create an effective and efficient work schedule that meets your business’s operational needs and supports your team members’ well-being.

How Does EasyRoster Simplify & Assist in this Entire Process?

EasyRoster is a comprehensive workforce management software trusted by many companies across various industries to streamline their employee work schedule process. EasyRoster’s advanced rostering capabilities ensure the right personnel with the correct skills are scheduled efficiently, reducing overtime and non-productive time.

Key features include:

• Shift Assignment and Calendar Building: EasyRoster makes it simple to create work schedules by automating shift assignments and building calendars that accommodate various types of work schedules, including rotating shifts and split shifts.
• Automated Problem Identification and Correction: The software identifies and resolves scheduling conflicts automatically, ensuring smooth operations and minimising disruptions.
• Productive and Non-Productive Time Grading: EasyRoster grades the productive and non-productive time of teams across multiple client locations, providing insights to improve efficiency and manage labour costs effectively.
• Integration with Attendance Systems: Seamlessly integrate EasyRoster with third-party time and attendance systems to facilitate accurate and automated tracking of work hours, reducing administrative burden and ensuring compliance.
• Integration with Payroll:  EasyRoster integrates with several common payroll systems to ensure that employees are paid accurately.
• Customizable Business Rules: Tailor EasyRoster to your specific operational needs with flexible business rules customization, ensuring the software works exactly how you need it to.

By using EasyRoster, you can simplify the entire scheduling process, improve employee satisfaction by reducing work overtime, and enhance overall operational efficiency.

Is EasyRoster sounding like the scheduling tool for you? Get in touch today to book a demo and learn more about how we can assist you in simplifying your workforce management processes.