Optimizing shift scheduling for better productivity

Every business is constantly looking for new ways to improve their operations and get super efficient and those that have to deal with shift scheduling are no exception.

Optimizing schedules for your staff is a crucial part of any organization’s success, no matter your industry or service offering. Get it right and you’ll be a slick operation in no time. Get it wrong and you’ll be running out of time as an operation altogether.

In this guide, we’re taking a look at everything you can do to improve the way you manage your schedules, from maximizing communication with staff to minimizing duplication of shifts.

Understanding shift scheduling challenges in Canadian workplaces

Let’s face it, creating work schedules can be a bit of a drag. Shift clashes happen more often than you’d like, employees might not get back to you about availability on time and that’s before we’ve even got onto planning around vacations.

You’re not alone if you’ve experienced the odd headache or two when it comes to shift scheduling. Around 10% of the workforce in the country is governed by the Canada Labor Code and other federal laws, which means they’re required to uphold certain rights for their employees, from proper break periods to advanced notice of shift changes.

The hours that any given employee can work before overtime takes effect change from province to province, too, so it can be a tough task to keep up with employment legislation if you operate across multiple jurisdictions.

Solutions like a dedicated HR advice software can help businesses like yours overcome these challenges, especially if you’re unsure where you stand across Canada’s vast legal landscape. Speaking to employment relation experts can also help you get that fly out of the proverbial ointment.

How does poor shift scheduling affect operations?

Businesses facing legal headaches around shift scheduling have to deal with the effects on a day-to-day basis, too. The impact can be felt far and wide when poor scheduling starts to affect the productivity of your workforce—staff not knowing about shift changes and failing to show up to work, for instance, can cause a real mess any day of the week.

On the flip side, if the business is out of line with employment legislation and staff are being asked to work too much, it can seriously affect employee morale, performance and, worse still, personal well-being. 

A more agile and user-friendly approach is required to help businesses like yours achieve operational efficiency when it comes to shift scheduling.

The impact of effective shift scheduling on productivity and employee well-being

Bringing HR software into the mix to help you optimize the way you schedule your shifts is a surefire way to improve the productivity and well-being of your workforce.

It improves the visibility of shift patterns across your organization and dramatically reduces the chances of duplicated shifts (which, we can only assume, is music to your ears). When everyone knows who’s on and who’s off and your schedules run seamlessly, absenteeism and turnover become much less significant problems and your business operations get a whole lot smoother.

The fact that you can easily find and edit shifts and send real-time updates gives you complete control of your schedule every day of the week and allows much better communication between you and your staff.

A happy workforce is a productive workforce, so improving your approach to shift management can only stand to benefit your business in the long term. Let’s take a look at how you can go about doing that.

Best practices for optimizing your shift scheduling

How to schedule employees effectively changes from business to business, but there are some optimization techniques you can use that apply to just about any workforce.

The first one comes down to flexibility, but not to the detriment of your compliance with employment legislations in your province. Getting a full view of the availability of your staff members in one place will make avoiding shift clashes easy and you’ll even give employees the flexibility to claim vacant shifts if they happen to be free.

Next, technology is key—the right software solution for efficient shift planning and management can really boost your operational efficiency. You don’t need us to tell you that it beats that old, convoluted spreadsheet you’ve been wrestling with for years. A smart and intuitive solution makes shift planning effortless, even when you’re on the move.

Lastly, it’s crucial that you don’t go gung-ho with the needs of the business and sacrifice the work-life balance of your employees as a result. Maintaining a full view of people’s preferred shift patterns and when they want to take some time out will give you the data you need to create a near-perfect shift schedule every time.

The importance of communication and collaboration in shift scheduling

Of course, managing expectations is a crucial aspect of effective shift scheduling for any business and that’s where transparent communication comes in. A business and its employees must be able to discuss and feedback on shift pattern planning for it to work in everyone’s favor.

Involving your employees in the scheduling process and taking their input into consideration is the only way to keep everyone on the same page. Any shift planning that actively excludes the opinion of staff will only serve to damage their morale and, most likely, their motivation and productivity.

Enabling staff to take part in shift planning is the way forward—give them the ability to see shift swaps and make requests for time off. Allow room for any last-minute changes in case anything happens in their personal lives—an employer that understands and adapts to an employee’s needs is more likely to enjoy their loyalty in the long run.

Adapting schedules to seasonal and industry-specific demands

Speaking of the long run, you need to be able to plan for the future and adapt to seasonal changes and fluctuating demands in your industry. If you’re in retail, for instance, you might have more staff to manage in November and December to cover the festive period, so it’s important to have an agile system in place to scale your shift planning when necessary.

Give your business the best chance of success by optimizing your approach to shift scheduling ahead of time—the last thing you want to do is react poorly to a surge in demand in your industry and end up with dropped shifts every which way you look. Your staff turnover will suffer, and your productivity will crash as a result.

Get shift scheduling software for any working pattern

No matter which industry you’re in or what kind of tune you dance to as a business, you can improve your operational efficiency by optimizing your shift schedule management. Both your staff and your bottom line will thank you for it.

BrightHR’s schedule planning software could pave your path to a happier, more productive workforce and a bigger, more successful business. Book a demo today to see how it could help you.