Benefits of a Work Schedule App

2018 is here and your resolutions may include getting to the gym more often or maybe even making sure your business runs a bit smoother. While we can’t exactly motivate you to wake up at 5:30 am and head to the gym, we can help you improve the way your business works with the help of a work schedule app.

These apps help you set up your schedule each week in a way that fulfills your business needs, while also taking into account time-off requests. They save time, money, and headaches. That’s why we’ve put together our list of the top benefits of work schedule apps.

Read on to learn how you can reduce no-shows, boost employee retention, and improve your work environment overall.

Streamlining Scheduling

Scheduling your employees doesn’t have to be a grueling process. While you will have to take into account your labor forecast for each day, time-off requests, and many more factors, making the best schedule doesn’t have to take hours. And it doesn’t have to require you to clutter your office with tons of paperwork. Moving to the cloud saves time, space, and your energy. Don’t spend hours going through text messages, emails, and labor forecasts to determine how many employees you’ll need to work during which shifts and who is available to work them. Instead, use a work schedule app to put all of this information into one place. Do away with your Excel spreadsheet and drag and drop employees into shifts until all your bases are covered.

Reducing No-Shows

No business owner wants to get a call that a key employee simply didn’t show up. At that point it is probably at least 10 minutes into their shift and finding someone to cover them as soon as possible creates unnecessary stress. Growing your business, providing great products and services that meet your customers’ needs, and training your workforce is already more than a full time job. Instead of scrambling when a no-show inevitably occurs, put each employee’s schedule into their hands with a work schedule app. That way they’ll know exactly when they’re working and even get alerts for shifts to give them an extra reminder to get to work on time.

Giving Employees More Agency

Allowing employees the ability to check their schedule on a smartphone is great, but what about shift swaps and availability entry? Your employees need a modern scheduling method to input this data easily. Pouring through emails to see when employees asked for days off or inputting shift swaps into a spreadsheet are prone to human error. If you’ve ever put an employee into overtime with a hastily accepted shift swap or come up short staffed because you forgot that you approved certain time-off requests, then it’s time for a work schedule app. It will allow your team to put in their availability and make shift swaps for you to approve, without several phone calls and emails. Putting more power into your employees’ hands will help them set the stage for the easiest schedule you’ve ever created.

Boosting Retention

Replacing employees is costly and best avoided. In order to keep your top employees on the payroll, you’ll need to create a positive work environment. Fairness is one of the top qualities employees look for and you can remain equitable in the eyes of employees by giving them a say in and notice of their work schedule. Whether you have a rotating schedule that evens out early and late shifts or if your employees have set shifts each week, a work schedule app will keep your team in the loop.

In addition to creating a more fair work environment, using a scheduling app can help with communication across your team. Changes to your schedule come up from time to time, even if it once seemed air tight. Maybe one employee gets sick or has an emergency. Having the ability to change your schedule quickly and (most importantly) notify all the impacted employees without having to sit in the back office playing phone tag for an hour is key. In such a dynamic market, your scheduling process needs to be able to keep up to reduce employee turnover. All of this is possible with a work schedule app.

Closing Thoughts

As the year gets underway and you charge towards meeting your goals this month, quarter, and beyond, think about those time consuming tasks you have each week that you could automate instead. These are just a few of the benefits of a work schedule app and each business will have their own set after implementation.

Homebase is the top work schedule app for businesses that want to save time, boost retention, and reduce no-shows. Get started for free.