99.9% of businesses in the United States are small businesses. That number showcases the entrepreneurial spirit that the American population possesses and how much the strong economy has bolstered individual creativity.
Running a business takes a lot more than being spirited and creative though. More than anything else, running a business takes planning. One of the most arduous planning tasks that you’re going to be faced with as a business owner is figuring out how to make a work schedule.
To ensure that your business runs as effectively as possible and to respect your employee’s time, our team has compiled a list of tips that will help you craft more streamlined schedules that don’t make people’s lives difficult.
1. Understand Your Business
No business has the same need for labor at all times. Demand is what dictates labor and therefore, it’s imperative that you understand your company’s fluctuating demand so you can adequately schedule employees.
For example, if you’re a restaurant owner, you undoubtedly need more employees on deck on a Saturday night than you do on a Tuesday at 10:30 am. The same is true if your company is affected by holidays.
It can be hard to forecast demand without having lived with your business for a while. Therefore, we recommend learning and being open to making scheduling adjustments as you grow.
2. Take Employee Preferences into Account
Your how to make a work schedule strategy can’t be all about what you need. You also need to take into account what your employees need.
Why? Because an employee that’s forced to come into work during times that interfere with important aspects of their personal life makes for an employee that has an attitude and one that’s probably going to start looking for other opportunities.
To keep your labor force happy and productive, ask each employee about their scheduling conflicts when you’re first hiring them. Take those preferences and examine how they fit into the rest of your team’s desires.
When you find a person whose availability compliments your team’s well, bring them on and slot them in during the times that they said they were available unless an emergency arises.
3. Pick a Schedule Posting Date
Nobody likes to be surprised when it comes to their work schedule. To reduce surprises and the need to make changes, select a consistent date when you post schedules and stick to it.
For reference, some employers release schedules on a Wednesday that cover the following two weeks. Others release schedules on a Friday that covers the following week.
4. Communicate What’s Happening
Communication is key as a business owner. This is especially true when it comes to what it is that you’re asking from your team.
If you aren’t already, make sure that you and your team are touching base at least once per week via a morning meeting. In that meeting, open the floor to people voicing scheduling concerns and take the opportunity to let them know why you’ve scheduled the way that you have.
This dialogue might help you realize that you’re over scheduling people during slow points in the day and understaffing during others. Remember, the more that you communicate, the less opportunity that your employees will have to build resentment towards you.
5. Work with a Solid Software
Posting paper schedules in a break room is antiquated. Sure, it might save you some money over investing in a streamlined solution but the amount of time that it costs you in the way of managing confusion and changes is not worth the savings.
Bring your business into the 21st century by investing in an employee schedule maker.
These tools allow you to build your schedule online, let employees trade shifts, request changes and view their schedules from their smartphones. All of those features are becoming increasingly expected by today’s young workers.
6. Set Clear Rules Around Schedule Changes
Things happen in your employee’s lives which will lead them to requesting shift switches. Accommodating those switches should be something that you’re open to.
To make sure that schedule change privileges aren’t abused, set clear guidelines around how changes will be honored.
For example, changes for non-emergency reasons should be communicated to you seven days before a shift. Changes for emergency reasons may require that your employees show documentation proving their life event.
If you’re noticing that an employee is routinely finding ways to get out of work, discuss the matter with them calmly to put them on notice. If things persist, don’t be afraid to let them go so long as you have legal grounds to do so.
7. Don’t Fall into the Pattern of On-Demand or Last-Minute Scheduling
Sometimes you’re forced to spring a shift on an employee. While that’s a reality of doing business it should never become the norm for your organization.
You expect consistency from your employees so make sure that you afford them the same courtesy.
Now That You Know How to Make a Work Schedule, Apply What You’ve Learned
Reading about how to make a work schedule is easy. Taking what you’ve learned and applying it to your antiquated scheduling practices is a lot harder.
While it may make you uncomfortable to change processes that you’re used to, believe us when we say that when you streamline your scheduling practices, your business is going to become more successful and you’re going to find that you have more time for other things.
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