In almost every case, the labor schedule is created by management staff in the back-office or at home after hours. This is a major point of discontent for most managers who must work longer hours and weekend hours just to build schedules.
Here are the steps to create a labor schedule:
- First review the manager’s log book and estimate or forecast upcoming sales and the demand for labor.
- Next check the employee request log and availability sheets as well as individual work preferences.
- Make sure not to schedules employees that are minors or employees that are restricted to work during specific times or areas.
- Look-up required employee certifications. For example, an ABC license is required to serve alcohol at a restaurant.
- Identify trustworthy and experienced personnel to open or close the business.
- Try to fairly distribute shifts while meeting employee minimum hour works, but do not exceed a maximum number of hours.
- Make sure that employees are not likely to receive overtime if someone fails to show up on the schedule.
- Identify favorable times to provide break and meal periods for staff members who are required to receive breaks.
- Calculate the likely cost of payroll, being mindful of budgetary constraints , if the cost is too high, start over.
It can be complicated to juggle all of these factors and create a good schedule for the workforce. These tasks can consume more than ten percent of a manager’s time throughout the week.
The final version of the labor schedule, which the manager has likely spent hours creating, may be bulk-emailed out to the employees. This is if the manager used the cumbersome tool such as Microsoft Excel and a schedule template to build the schedule. More commonly, schedules are printed and posted on a wall somewhere in the back of the business.
Building a good schedule is extremely difficult using traditional methods such as Microsoft Excel or pen-and-paper. So why not use something as simple as TimeForge labor management software? TimeForge can quickly and easily build your staff schedules, reduce turnover rates, and reduce labor costs. Sign up today for a free trial!
