How to Craft Employee Work Schedules like a Boss

by Robert Clough

Managing your employees means managing their childcare commitments, their trips to the dentist, and their vacations with their mother-in-law.

None of which should be your problem, but if you’re responsible for employee work schedules at your company, they are. Life gets in the way, and you need to be able to create a work schedule that works for everyone.

It’s important to build a schedule that works for everyone–including you. But how do you balance commitments fairly? 

Let’s run through a few ideas to help you with employee work scheduling in your company.

Schedule to Your Team Strengths

Your team consists of all the talents. Marketers, social media experts, graphic designers, copywriters. Everyone plays a part.

That’s why it’s important to create a schedule that works to your team strengths and skills. You can’t work effectively if your work schedule is unbalanced.

It’s also worth looking at individual strengths and your company priorities. Do you need somebody who is always on hand to sell on the phone?

Make sure that you cover these kinds of priorities when you’re choosing who works when.

Keep Communication Open

Your schedule has to remain fluid if it has any chance of succeeding. Your employees won’t always be able to work when you want them to.

That’s why it’s important to make communication between your staff as easy as possible. If you release a schedule and nobody knows about it, how can your employees work it?

Look for work scheduling software that has communication built-in to help you deal with the problem. It helps you organize requests for changes, as well as deal with any issues that crop up in one place.

Plan in Advance

Want your employees to be happy? Plan your schedule in advance, rather than leaving it to the last minute.

A study found that giving employees at least two weeks notice made around 75% of them happier. Happier employees are more productive employees.

It also gives you time to prepare if there are issues, or if you need a shift covering. That means less stress for you and less stress for your team.

If you’re feeling stressed at work, don’t forget to take advantage of these 10 business hacks to keep yourself motivated at work.

Keep a List of Willing Employees for Emergencies

Not every plan comes together, and that’s why it’s important to prepare for the worst if your scheduling doesn’t work.

The biggest problem you might have to deal with is covering a gap in your schedule that can’t be filled. It might be staff shortages or illness, but always keep a list of staff available who you can call on in an emergency.

They might be agency staff, retired staff, or eager employees who need the overtime. If you have a problem, having availability like this can help keep your entire schedule (and your business as a whole) working smoothly.

Don’t Overcomplicate Your Employee Work Schedules

Managing a team is all about the give and take. You need employees who are reliable, willing to communicate and don’t let you down when you need them to work.

Release your employee work schedules in advance and make it easy for you and your staff to communicate about changes. Make sure you always have willing employees ready to fill any gaps in your schedule, to cover every eventuality.

Liked these tips? Then don’t forget to look at some of our other small business articles for ideas on how you can streamline your business productivity and improve performance.

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