It took me a long time to find my calling. And, believe me, I tried a lot of different jobs. It wasn't until Sep. 2000, at age 55, when I started working for a shiftwork consulting firm, that I discovered my true passion. The consulting firm was one of the nation’s leaders in helping large companies to change shift schedules, usually when a facility was expanding to 7-days-a-week. The two partners were brilliant. They also were great mentors. I learned so much that I swear my hat size increased. Unlike previous jobs where I wrote reports or made recommendations and presentations that had to go through umpteen different levels of approval, I was able to make an immediate, positive impact. I was finally making a difference in people's lives and it felt great.

It was soon obvious to me that smaller organizations could not afford the fees we charged. In early 2004, I helped the consultants launch a website called Shift Schedule Design that focused on this segment of the market. Over the next 8 years, on a part-time basis, I was able to design new shift schedules for several hundred companies. They appreciated the assistance, and I was grateful for the opportunity to help them. Life was good!

In 2012, the consulting firm decided to cut costs to the bone. The partners started working from their homes and laid me (their only employee) off. I was unemployed...in a tight job market. Should I look for another job or take a risk on what I had been doing part-time for the consultants? I chose the latter. I knew the opportunity was there. I just needed to grow the business so it could survive on its own.

The first thing I did was to check out the competition. I found three major sources of employee work schedules:

• Consulting firms. Consultants, like the one I used to work for, facilitate the schedule change process. They are best-suited for companies with more than 50 employees, especially those with a union and moderate-to-high wage levels. For everyone else, it's hard to justify the high cost that they charge.
• Software programs. Despite what they imply, scheduling software programs won't create a new schedule for you. You can use their pre-designed schedule templates, but the options are limited, and there's always the risk of making an inappropriate selection or one that doesn't work with your pay week.
• Industry forums. It's hard to believe that people actually copy schedules from another group even though they have different staffing levels, workload distributions, coverage requirements, absence rates, and pay weeks. This has to be the riskiest way to find a schedule I can think of. Someone with a blindfold and darts probably would have a better chance of success.

It was easy to see that most people who needed a new schedule gravitated towards the free stuff. If they spent enough time, they could find examples of schedules with the desired shift length and format (fixed or rotating shifts). The problem was that these schedules were not necessarily good solutions for the organization. And there was no way to know how much better things could have been. How could Shift Schedule Design explain the short-comings of this approach, and show them schedules that benefitted both the organization and the employees? We decided to do three things:

• Communicate the risks. We came up with the term “Schedule Seekers” for people who think that free schedule examples or templates are a good solution. We explained that they will struggle to gain acceptance of their new schedule and, if adopted, will live with inferior results. We have found this to be the most difficult task of all. A huge majority of people believe that spending money to get a superior schedule is not necessary. They just don't see the value.
• Outline the selection process. We used the term “Strategic Schedulers” for people who approached the challenge of finding a new schedule as a process. They gradually narrow down the choices and involve the employees in several steps along the way. Strategic Schedulers will enjoy remarkable success with their ultimate selection.
• Differentiate the business. We had to show how we were different from the other sources of work schedules. We decided to focus on helping smaller organizations (<50 employees) find the optimal schedule for their resources and requirements. And we had to price our services at a fraction of what the consulting firms and software companies were charging.

We will continue to refine and improve this approach, because we are committed to helping managers make better scheduling decisions. We are dedicated to saving them hundreds if not thousands of dollars a week, better matching the coverage with the workload, making more effective use of their resources, and finding ways to give employees more weekends off.

If you're ready to become a Strategic Scheduler, contact us today. We will help you find the best possible schedule for your organization. And if you follow the schedule selection process we've outlined, you will gain widespread support for your new schedule and your group will enjoy outstanding results.

Saving the world...one schedule at a time.