What exactly is shift scheduling? How important is it for workforce management? Employee shift management is an essential HR function and the backbone of workforce management. How efficiently you plan your employees' shifts or working hours influences your business's overall productivity.

In this blog, you will learn:

• What is shift management?
• How does modern employee shift scheduling software make the process easier?
• What features should you look for in an ideal shift management tool?

What is shift management?

In an organisation, there may be hundreds of people working, each one doing unique tasks. The absence of one or two employees won’t affect the operations of the business. But what if half of the employees from a certain department call off? It will affect the entire operation of the business because each department’s work is complementary to that of the next department. This is where shift management comes in.

Through proper shift management, organisations can ensure that the right number of skilled employees are available at the right time to maintain continuity of operations and avoid any disruptions to the business.

Shift management is a highly complex process as it involves anticipating your employee's availability for future shifts. There are plenty of chances for your employees to call off or no-shows. So, a shift manager has to ensure that each shift has members capable of handling duties required for the specific timeframe.

Shift scheduling, also known as rostering or rota planning, used to be done on Microsoft Excel or on books. As long as everyone shows up for work as scheduled, it works fine. But when someone calls off unexpectedly, it becomes a herculean task for the shift manager to substitute employees for the absentee.

Today, there are various digital tools available that enable organizations across various sectors – from healthcare to retail, hospitality to manufacturing – to efficiently allocate and manage their human resources.

At its core, an ideal employee shift scheduling software ensures that a business always has the right number of skilled employees available at the right times to meet operational demands. Modern labour scheduling tools like Mewurk leverage advanced algorithms and intuitive features to empower shift managers to create, modify, and manage employee schedules with ease.

Key Features To Look for In An Ideal Employee Shift Scheduling Software

Today, there are hundreds of shift roster planning tools available in the market. An automated tool that signals a red alert when attempting to assign an employee to a slot for which they have requested leave, and syncs instantly with attendance and other key modules of your workforce management software, is essential to consider when choosing shift scheduling software. Here are some key features of an ideal labour scheduling tool.

Shift Planning: The most fundamental feature to look for in an employee availability management tool is the ability to create and define shifts based on diverse criteria such as availability of the employees, timing, duration, skill requirements and so on.

Employee Scheduling: Just like you plan shifts as per your business requirements, the tool must allow you to assign employees to specific shifts based on their skills, preferences, availability, and regulatory requirements. This option is essential to ensure equitable distribution of work while accommodating individual employee needs and preferences.

Instant updates and alerts: Both employees and shift managers need to stay up to date on schedule changes, shift swaps, and employee availability. When there is direct and instant communication through alerts and notifications within the app, the HR team can manage shift schedules easily and ensure that everyone stays on the same page.

Data analytics and reporting: The HR team can improve how they manage workers by using helpful data. Automated employee shift scheduling software creates detailed reports about labour costs, overtime, employee use, and productivity. This gives managers the confidence to make smart choices for their teams.

Time and attendance monitoring: With a comprehensive staff scheduling suite, you will have intuitive features including clock-in/clock-out functionality, options to monitor employee attendance, timesheet management, track hours, manage absences, leave tracking, and providing real-time insights into workforce attendance.

Legal compliance: Legal compliance is important for any business. A modern employee availability management software helps the HR team understand and follow the many rules and laws that apply to them. This makes it easier for HR to stay on track, avoid problems and maintain the company operating smoothly and legally.

Options for integration: The shift data of your employees is essential for paying them correctly. You might also need to connect this data with other HR and payroll systems. Before choosing a scheduling software, make sure it can easily integrate with these systems to reduce the workload for shift managers.

Experience the Power of Automation with Mewurk Employee Shift Scheduling Software

With Mewurk employee availability management software, managing your staff rosters feels like a breeze. It incorporates all the ideal features mentioned above plus many other outstanding features. Its user-friendly interface offers a comprehensive view of employee schedules and allows the concerned team leaders or shift managers to make informed decisions and drive operational excellence.

Why Choose Mewurk?

Switching to Mewurk’s sophisticated employee shift scheduling software, businesses can experience increased flexibility and more control over shift scheduling. Here are some major benefits it allows your team to enjoy.

Labour cost savings: Improper handling of shifts leads to excessive labour costs. With Mewurk’s shift schedule management software, you know when and where to allocate human resources by their designation or responsibilities.

Custom fit for business size: Whether you're a small business or a large organization, Mewurk offers tailored roastering solutions you need to streamline your operations. With scalable and adaptable features, Mewurk grows with your business, ensuring efficient workforce management at every stage.

24/7 Customer Support: Should you require any technical assistance before during or after implementing the Mewurk employee availability management tool at your workplace, rest assured there is a dedicated customer support team to guide you through.

Mobile Access: To use Mewurk shift scheduling software, you don’t always have to turn on your computer. The mobile app lets you handle every task, which becomes especially important and convenient when you suddenly need to make quick changes to a shift at the last minute and aren’t at your computer.

Effortless shift management via kiosk: Mewurk’s kiosk helps workers clock in and out quickly using face recognition. This feature reduces mistakes and simplifies attendance tracking. With this system, managing shifts becomes much easier as it promotes accountability and efficiency among staff.

Key Takeaways

Unlocking the full potential of your workforce requires implementing effective employee management strategies. The role of employee shift management software at your workplace in automating shifts and empowering your HRs and employees to take control of the shift planning and managing process is enormous. Switch to a tailored shift scheduling tool that helps optimise your team's productivity and potential.