Employee Work Schedules

Why Change Work Schedules?

The three most common reasons are: (1) staffing size changes, (2) new hours of operation, and (3) employees dissatisfaction.

Staffing Changes. Changes in the staff size will require a new or updated schedule. If you have more employees than the minimum needed for your coverage requirements, you can use your "extra" employees to: (a) boost the coverage, (b) reduce/eliminate overtime from the schedule itself, or (c) build relief coverage into the schedule to help cover absences. If you have fewer employees than the minimum required, you have to decide whether to maintain the current coverage by increasing overtime in the schedule or reduce the coverage on certain shifts or days of the week.

New Hours of Operation. Many companies expand from working 5 to 7 days a week, or from one to two shifts a day. When expanding to 7 days a week, you'll want a schedule that rotates the days of work so that everyone shares equally in the weekends off. When adding shifts, you'll first have to decide whether you want your employees to be permanently assigned to a single shift or to rotate from shift-to-shift. In either case, you'll benefit from a schedule with rotating days of work.

Employee Issues. Companies can experience high turnover, morale problems, increased absenteeism, or difficulty hiring if employees are unhappy with the existing work schedule. As a general rule, they want more flexibility or more days/weekends off. Flexibility can be facilitated by allowing shift swapping. More days off can be achieved by adopting a schedule with longer shifts. Unfortunately, this often results in coverage that doesn't match the workload or a drasticly reduces coverage levels, so professional help may be needed to avoid compromising business needs.

Where Do You Find a New Schedule?

There are dozens of scheduling software companies and industry forums that offer free schedule templates. There are a handful of shiftwork consultants come on-site to help larger companies change schedules. Smaller organizations that recognize the limitations of generic templates or can't afford the high cost of a consultant come to us for help.

Schedule Templates. Although software companies promise to create schedules for you, they don't. They're great for managing an existing schedule, but they won't create a schedule based on your needs or preferences. Yes, they offer free templates. But these are generic patterns that won't necessarily match your unique situation: (a) hours of operation, (b) coverage requirements, (c) staff size, (d) overtime in the schedule, and (e) pay week. Many people adopt these popular patterns and think everything is great, unaware that they could have achieved superior utilization of their staff and/or saved money with a custom-designed schedule.

Consultants. There are 3 or 4 companies in the U.S. that help larger companies facilitate a schedule change. Larger companies usually have simple requirements. They are often 24/7 and have constant coverage requirements. So the schedule is the easiest part of the process. The consultants key role is the justify the schedule change, get everyone involved in selecting the final schedule solution, and then updating the pay policies to match the new schedule. Clearly, this is a valuable service. But it's expensive and not the best choice for smaller groups with variable coverage requirements, insufficient staff, complicated situations, and limited budgets.

Shift Schedule Design. We offer multiple solutions: (a) staffing calculators that show how many people you need for different scheduling approaches, (b) packages of 24/7 schedule examples, and (c) custom-designed schedules for any group that has more than one shift. We focus on smaller companies that want something more than a generic template. We can show you different scheduling approaches as well as multiple patterns for each approach.

What's a Good Schedule?

Everyone has a different opinion as to what constitutes a good shift schedule. Many people have a single concern, such as (1) desired shift length (often 10-hour shifts), (2) more weekends off, (3) a specific on-off work pattern (e.g., 6-on-3-off or Pittman), (4) no built-in overtime, or (5) coverage that meets or exceeds the minimum requirements. The problem with such a narrow focus is that it often compromises other aspects of the business. These tend to be ignored or never acknowledged.
We recommend using the following criteria to ensure a comprehensive approach to the schedule selection process: (1) effectiveness, (2) efficiency, (3 sleep, and (4) employee satisfaction.

Effectiveness. An effective schedule is one that matches the coverage with the workload. You want more people at work during busy periods and/or fewer people during slower periods. If the workload is constant at all times, you want to avoid shifts that overlap excessively, such as 10-hour shifts. Small overlaps are usually achieved by adding a 30 to 60-minute unpaid meal break to each shift.

Efficiency. An efficient schedule is one that keeps totals costs at a minimum. People often say they want a schedule with no overtime in it, without realizing that this may not save money. Schedules without OT require more employees. When you compare the costs of wages and benefits of each additional employee, you'll find that schedules with OT often save a bundle.

Sleep. When a schedule adversely impacts employee sleep, this can lead to health and safety problems. Common reasons are: (a) excessive hours of work, (b) too many consecutive days of work, (c) rotating shifts, or (d) early start times.

Employee Satisfaction. Everyone has different demographics, scheduling experience, and preferences. That's why it's important to let employees make the final selection by showing them several different options and letting them select the one they prefer.

How Do You Find a Good Schedule?

There are 3 steps: (1) business needs, (2) staffing requirements, and (3) work patterns. These must be conducted in this order to ensure the best outcome.

The first step is to examine the business needs: (1) hours of operation and (2) how the workload and coverage requirements vary during that period. The goal is to match the coverage (number of people actually working) with the workload throughout the day and throughout the week. A lot of smaller businesses have busy periods in which they need more coverage. This means that standard templates with constant coverage won't work for them. They may need longer shifts that overlap one another or an overlay shift that matches the busy period. Sometimes, they can simply add more staff to one shift.

The second step is to determine the staffing requirements. If the current staff is too small, more overtime may need to be added to the schedule. If the current staff is too large, you must decide whether to boost the coverage on one or more shifts, reduce/eliminate overtime from the schedule, or build relief coverage into the schedule to cover absences. When comparing the business needs with the staffing requirements, multiple scheduling approaches may be possible. For example, three 8-hour shifts vs. a combination of two 12-hour shifts and one or two 8-hour shifts.

The third and final step is the create different work patterns for each scheduling approach. If multiple approaches are possible, some clients want to see a few options from each approach. If only a single approach is possible or if the client only wants one approach, we try to create several different patterns so that employees can compare them, discuss the pros and cons of each option, and decide which one the majority prefers.

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Testimonials

"We had been trying to work out schedule changes for our staff for months, and we were experiencing many difficulties finding something that works. Headache after headache, we were at our wits end. I was searching on the web for solutions and found this Schedule Design website. Within 24 hours, we had a solution. Quick response, friendly service and easy payment, it was the BEST money I've ever spent! Thank you."

Laurie Skyvington, Operations Manager

"I was skeptical at first when I saw your website and was unsure if you were legit. However, I am glad that I finally took the gamble and decided to call and speak with you on the phone. What made me feel better is that you completed an analysis of my problem before you saw any money! Finally, I want to thank you for teaching me how you solved my scheduling problem. Thanks again for saving a portion of my sanity!"

Thomas Owen, Urgent Care Center Manager

"Bruce, over at Shift Schedule Design, was amazing help to me. His responses were fast and helpful and very direct. I would recommend him to anyone who has scheduling issues. He will get your staff scheduled quickly and without hassle. These guys know what they're doing. A+"

Ricardo DeAzevedo, Customer Care Manager

Our Air ambulance Program required clear and concise templates to implement a 24/7 response. Shift schedule design certainly has provided us with a fantastic product. His articles really answer so many questions that we have had problems with. I would highly recommend this company, not only for the above work, but the prompt reply and follow up phone conference ability at short notice. $300.00 fee has saved us thousands of dollars.

Dave McMullen R.N., CFRN, CENc, P.C.P.

"I find it remarkable how you were able to produce these schedules so quickly. This has been causing me much trouble and I feel that this is $300 well spent!"

Robert Jacobs, Customer Experience Manager