Tips for Creating Employee Work Schedules that Work for Everyone

As a business owner, it is vital to remember that your employees look up to you for guidance and leadership. It is your responsibility to make the difficult choices when the time arrives. In some cases, your employees may not agree with your decisions, but they’ll respect them nevertheless. One thing that can really sever the relationship between employee and employer is the working schedule. If you fail to create work schedules that work ideal for everyone, you’re going to have angry employees on your hands. You may also end up leaving a shift empty. Below, you will find tips for ensuring this does not happen.

Speaking With A Lawyer

First and foremost, you should realize that there are laws set in place to protect the worker. The laws tend to differ slightly from one state to the next and may also vary based on the municipality. Working with a lawyer for this very purpose is highly recommended. A lawyer will provide you with insight into your state’s laws, as well as the federal laws that govern the length of time an employee can work throughout the week. You will need to pay overtime if a single employee works more than 40 hours per week. Also, remember that there are unique restrictions for employees that are under the age of 18.

A lawyer will provide you with the insight needed to make a great schedule that abides by all current laws.

Prepare For The Demand

It is no secret that your restaurant or retail store will receive heavier traffic during certain times of the day. After the kids get out of school and parents are released from work, you can expect consumers to come flying through your doors. In order to accommodate the higher demand, it is pertinent to use more employees during these busier hours. Figure out precisely how many workers at needed at any given time. Do not allow a single worker to manage everything during the peak hours. If you do, they’ll wind up getting overwhelmed, and they’ll blame you for understaffing.

Make sure your employees have enough help when it is absolutely necessary to do so. Sometimes even a knowledge base software can be extremely helpful to train your employees. The Zendesk Guide is a great tool to start with.

Recommended reading: Certain Measures Company Employees Should Undertake to Stay Away from Hackers.

Use Beneficial Software

Eventually, you’re going to need to transform your ideal schedule into an original chart. While it is possible to create a chart by hand, you’ll be better off relying on technology. Many amazing programs give business owners the ability to create time schedules very easily. The Time Clock Wizard is without a doubt one of the best. These programs will make shift planning far easier than you could ever imagine. Use the software to simplify your responsibilities and make sure the completed schedule is clearly displayed to all of your employees! Be sure to hold them responsible, if they fail to show up on time or not at all.

Open A Line Of Communication With Your Employees

As a business owner, there is no better way to find out what will and will not work for your employees than by speaking with them individually. This is something that might be covered during the hiring phase, but as things change within the business, you may need to do it again. Speak to each one of your employees individually and find out what type of schedule will best work for them. Of course, you won’t be able to give everyone what he or she wants, but working with employees to build their schedule will make them happier and more productive in the long run. To understand the needs of your employees, you can even consider using a tool like Employee Surveys by SurveyMonkey.

You may also like: Increase Employee Retention with Data-Driven Employee Assessment.

Make Easy Schedule Change Policies

As a boss, you need to remember that there are times when things do pop up unexpectedly in life. If you are dealing with 300 employees or more, then you might see this on a regular basis. This is why it is imperative that you make the schedule changing process as straightforward and smooth as possible. Make sure the schedules can be changed on the fly, but be cautious of those that might abuse the system.

Remember The Holidays

It is imperative that you give your employees time off for vacation and federal holidays. Depending on your corporate policy, you may be able to use an alternate day for the federal holiday of your choosing. Nevertheless, you need to be very careful when planning for these events. Make sure that an employee will be on hand at all times to make up for the other worker’s absence.