Looking for a good, reusable schedule template? Use this flexible 12 hour shift schedule template for Excel to build a rotating staff schedule for your law enforcement, healthcare, or other service-oriented business.
To help you get started, we include step-by-step instructions directly in the template. The only thing you need is Microsoft Excel or a similar program, like LibreOffice Calc or Google Sheets.
What is the 12 hour shift schedule template for Excel?
The 12 hour shift schedule template is a scheduling template created and edited using Microsoft Excel, a popular spreadsheet program for Windows.
If you’re more comfortable with Google Sheets, you may prefer a Google Sheets employee schedule template.
We provide both completely free to visitors.
What’s included in the template:
- fill-in-the-blank shift schedule worksheet
- instructions inside the template
- automatic calculator feature
How to use the Excel template to schedule 12 hour shifts
We made it easy for you by providing a monthly fixed-shift structure with defined shifts inside the spreadsheet.
All you need to do is update the names of your staff and change the example shift lengths from 8 to 12. Adjust the times accordingly.
At the bottom of the spreadsheet, the schedule will automatically track hours for you based on the new durations. You’ll see this reflected in the “Total Hours Per Week” row. Pretty cool, right?
You can also use the Excel schedule template for 10 hour shifts.
Why schedule 12 hour shifts using Excel?
Excel-based shift schedule templates are much faster and more organized than trying to build a 12-hour shift schedule by hand.
This is why managers have used Excel templates like this one for decades. Many schedule templates run in Microsoft Excel or a similar spreadsheet program.
In general, an Excel-based schedule requires you to input the data and schedule the time yourself. Then, when you’re done, you print and/or post the finished schedule at your workplace.
TIP: You can also email it or post it online in a place only your employees can access (like a company intranet).
Limitations of spreadsheet templates
While they do speed things up a bit, spreadsheet templates still take time to set up, use, and reuse – even ones created using Excel.
We did most of the legwork for you, but if you need to update your shift schedule, you must go back into Excel to change the way you’ve assigned shifts. This is just part and parcel of using spreadsheets to track time. Excel can’t make the changes or assign shifts for you.
Unfortunately, this means that you’ll probably still be spending a lot of time building schedules, though probably not as much as if you wrote them down by hand.
Another limitation to Excel shift schedule templates is that they don’t factor in break and meal period tracking, which can get pretty complex in some areas.
They also don’t track time off requests, automatically update with shift swaps, or send you alerts when you’re at risk of overstaffing or understaffing.
Other shift schedule template options
When you’re ready to level up your scheduling process and stop spending so much time making schedules, try TimeForge.
Our AutoScheduler and RoboSchedules tools can automatically create or suggest shift schedules for you in seconds. Because they live in the cloud, TimeForge schedules can be accessed from anywhere using a mobile phone or one of our labor management mobile apps.
And unlike Excel-based templates, our scheduling software will automatically notify employees when a new schedule is posted. This means your team will always know exactly when and where they’re scheduled to work.
Intrigued? Learn more about TimeForge employee scheduling.
TimeForge is currently used by businesses in many industries, including:
- law enforcement
- medical and healthcare
- emergency services
- restaurants
- grocery and retail
- hotels, motels, resorts and other hospitality
In the meantime, we hope you enjoy our free 12 hour shift schedule template for Excel!
