According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 59% of American workers are “hourly”, and if you are reading this article then that means you have some of those workers are probably working for you. It’s very important for a business owner to understand that managing your hourly workers is different from managing your salaried workers.
What makes managing hourly workers more difficult?
There are a number of reasons why managing hourly workers can seem harder. These reasons generally tend to revolve around the habits and goals of hourly workers. Such as:
- Hourly workers usually have different goals and objectives, different from salaried workers.
- They tend to change jobs more often.
- Their work generally allows them to be more informal and have a more laid-back attitude.
A common mistake made by business owners is mistaking hourly workers as “expendable”. Due to their skill sets and nature of the work, business owners can often overlook or avoid spending the required time to properly manage their workers. This does nothing but harm the business.
Yes, managing hourly workers can be an arduous job, involving lots of planning with constant changes. But it doesn’t have to be.
Shift Scheduling Software
One of the biggest challenges when it comes to managing hourly workers is scheduling shifts. Managers will agree that creating a single schedule that caters to all is next to impossible. Real-life factors such as availability for work, leaves, and emergencies all make scheduling even harder. This is where a shift scheduling software comes in.
A shift scheduling software is a computer tool that helps business owners like you manage their hourly workers. Its core function is to automate the process of creating schedules, however, shift scheduling software can do a lot of things that will make your life a lot easier.
- Scheduling with no limits. Schedule your hourly workers with more features, lower costs, and fewer restrictions. No longer be restrained to location, manage your workers from your mobile. Have unlimited schedules for every situation so that your business never suffers from unforeseen circumstances.
- Adapt quickly. In a business environment, nothing is constant. One moment, everything is as it should be and the next, someone can’t make it to his/her shift. In times like these, a scheduling software can come in handy. You can use post open shifts on the network that can be accepted by workers looking for extra work. Additionally, you can make the process even more painless by automating it.
- Improve communication. Hourly workers have different aspirations than salaried workers and as such can be harder to communicate with directly. But with a scheduling software you can make the whole process a lot more straightforward. Simply, send messages to groups or directly to your workers. Notify them of what needs to be done as well alert them of upcoming shifts and breaks.
- Increased accuracy. Keeping track of your employees using timecards is time-consuming and not very reliable due to human error. The scheduling software allows for much more reliable and accurate way of tracking employee performance while also giving you the freedom to make manual changes. Furthermore, you can look for any discrepancies using reports that are generated at every stage.
- Ensure compliance. Create rulesets according to your industry’s standards and requirements to protect your business against noncompliance. Get reminded of holidays, penalty rates, overtime and break allocation. Additionally, keep track of employee certifications to make sure employees with expired credentials take up any shifts.
- Save time and money. The biggest benefit that comes from having a shift scheduling software is the increased productivity. Fewer mistakes (missed shifts, confused workers, unexpected labor expenses, etc.) all add up to increases costs. Taking help of a software can help you overcome such issues to save valuable time.
In addition to that, every hour that is not spent by you creating and modifying the schedule to accommodate for changes, can be spent on more important core activities of the business.
The scheduling software also helps the employees by providing them with ample information about shifts, notices, alerts, etc. so that they never miss out. This boosts employee morale which further increases productivity.
So there you have it. All of these reasons make investing into a shift scheduling software a no brainer for business owners. Take advantage of the increased automation and control today.
