The Role of Scheduling Software in Reducing Absenteeism

For employers with predominantly shift workers, scheduling can take up a large chunk of the administrative time and budget. Just when you have the schedule settled, workers need to take last-minute time off, forcing adjustments and substitutes that fall on the manager. Understanding how and why it happens can reveal how scheduling software can help.

Reasons for Absenteeism

Industries like retail, hospitality, food service, healthcare, and manufacturing rely on shift scheduling to have staff coverage outside standard business hours. Healthcare and some retail establishments rely on workers around the clock, posing a scheduling challenge.

The nature of shift work means that people don’t always work the same schedule week to week. For some, that’s part of the appeal. But fluctuating schedules can make it challenging for workers to accommodate life activities such as kids’ school events, illnesses, caregiver responsibilities, appointments, or administrative tasks. An employee may call out sick because they were denied a day off, or simply didn’t want to come to work.

Many of these issues crop up at the last minute, leading to a snowball effect. The manager has to contact the team to find a replacement who may not be trained to the same competency, adjust other workers’ hours to accommodate the last-minute change, customers or patients may receive less attention in the scramble, mistakes happen, you receive bad reviews online, employees who did show up to work are frustrated, and the company may end up paying for unplanned overtime to cover the gaps.

Benefits of Employee Scheduling Software

There are a lot of reasons to utilize scheduling software. Here are a few.

Removes Human Bias and Creates Optimized Schedules

When humans alone are responsible for scheduling, they may acquire personal biases that prevent them from seeing optimized shift patterns. The work of scheduling can take hours using paper and emails, which can contribute to frustration and burnout, further clouding the vision of the best possible schedules. Software uses data to manage the workforce; the humans can make adjustments where needed to optimize the experience for everyone.

Adapts to Last-Minute Employee Needs

Software allows employees to look for their own substitute when they are sick or have an emergency. Managers step in for approval, but they don’t need to personally handle each call-out if it can be resolved among the staff. 

Manages Labor Costs

Scheduling is a complex activity that software handles with ease. The per hour labor cost of each employee is readily available, allowing you to manage the costs of each shift while still adequately staffing for the needs of the business. It can allow you to prevent unplanned overtime by covering gaps or absences with lower-wage employees. Long-term, higher-paid employees are more likely to step in and stay late or arrive early in a pinch. Scheduling software helps you see other solutions that cost less.

Promotes Visibility and Autonomy

With access to a mobile app, every employee has the schedule at their fingertips. The app pushes updates in real time, so there’s no concern that someone didn’t hear about a change to the paper hanging in the break room. This helps employees plan for time off and allows them to make approved changes amongst themselves. With parameters set by the company, not every swap will be approved, but they will know immediately and can make other arrangements.

Encourages Employee and Employer Accountability

Similarly, real-time access to the schedule eliminates the appearance of favoritism or preferential treatment, promoting feelings of teamwork and equality among the staff. It helps employees feel accountable for their contributions and encourages fair treatment. 

Clearly Establishes Company Policy

Scheduling software gives every employee instant access to company policies about PTO, sick leave, and what to do in an emergency. It can offer explanations and suggestions for how to schedule a shift swap. It pushes reminders for the start and end of a shift so workers remember to clock in and out and suggests when it’s time for mandatory breaks.

Integrates with Payroll Software

Modern technology allows full integration of scheduling, timekeeping, and integration with payroll software, cutting down on the possibility of human error at any stage of the process.

Keeps Your Company in Compliance

The FLSA dictates policies about minimum wage, overtime, working conditions for children under 18, and recordkeeping. Your state may also have additional wage laws, including mandatory breaks. Scheduling software builds in those criteria so both employer and employee can’t violate them, keeping your company in strict compliance. It keeps a record of the schedule created and any changes, so you can access that information should a wage dispute or audit arise.

Take Advantage of Scheduling in WorkforceHub

Removing the stress and worry of scheduling from the plate of an overworked manager serves the company and the employees. Robust tools give employees access to the schedule and changes as they happen, help you save on labor costs, and promote a fair and equitable workplace.

WorkforceHub includes advanced scheduling tools designed for today’s workforce. You can optimize shifts to ensure that the right workers are assigned at the right times, as well as use the drag-and-drop functionality for recurring shifts and roles. Try it for free today!