Tired of pencil-and-paper schedules? Excel spreadsheets not cutting it? Technology has an easier way to create employee schedules: electronic employee scheduling that works from anywhere because it lives online!
The old way: printed schedules and bulletin boards
Some restaurants and hotels manage employee scheduling with printed schedules posted on a bulletin board. When the schedule is posted, employees race to the board to check their schedule. Then, they squabble with one another and management to swap shifts. When employees forget when they work, management is responsible for routing phone calls from employees with inquiries about the schedule, time off requests, employees who are late showing up, and other scheduling situations, all while customers are neglected and ignored.
The new way: electronic employee scheduling online
Innovations in technology have created an easier and faster way to manage employee schedules: web applications running over the Internet. Working online, management can create schedules and employees can check for updates from any location, at any time. There is a variety of web-based software offering electronic scheduling services.
When shopping for a labor management or restaurant scheduling software, it is important to look for features that make scheduling easier. For instance, the ability to automatically email employees with the latest schedule. This is an important feature in any scheduling software package.
Service is also an important characteristic, and some companies will ease the transition by transferring your existing schedules into electronic format. A few scheduling applications have features that set them above the competition. TimeForge, for example, has an AutoScheduler that optimizes the schedule. Schedules created by the AutoScheduler are the most cost-efficient for your business. These schedules also consider employee and manager preferences.
Is scheduling software worth it?
The short answer? Yes. Scheduling software usually requires a monthly or yearly subscription, and pricing is based on either the number of employees at the establishment or a flat-rate monthly fee.
If you manage employees, a labor management or restaurant scheduling software is a worthwhile investment. Aside from the instant time saving features that online scheduling applications offer, they can also reduce your employee turnover rate. Poor employee satisfaction is an important determination for employees to look for other jobs, which increases your employee turnover rate and causes you to re-invest money into training a new employee. Online scheduling software can improve employee satisfaction at your business by creating schedules that are based on employee and manager preferences. Scheduling based on employee and manager preferences ensures that employees are always kept “in the loop”, and management does not need to worry about schedule-related disputes.
Print scheduling is a thing of the past; to be competitive in today’s hospitality, retail, or restaurant industries, electronic scheduling is a necessity.
A great labor management or restaurant scheduling software can save you time and money. It also comes with world-class customer support. Sign up for a free trial of TimeForge now!
