Not all businesses adopt the standard 9-to-5 work schedule. For some sectors that operate more than 10 hours in a single day or even stay open around the clock (24 hours), dedicating a shift work schedule will be mandatory. Needles to say, creating an effective employee roster can be a challenging and time-consuming task. Choosing which employee to work on which day, redistributing shifts, and conforming to a budget could be stressful if you do not know where and how to start. The sooner you can get rostering and scheduling under control, the sooner you will be able to focus on other aspects of your business, such as performance and training.
Building an effective employee roster is not difficult once you are informed on what factors to consider and difficulties to anticipate. Here are some strategies you can apply in building an effective roster.
Choose the right type of roster
Prior to creating an employee roster, it is important to know which roster will fit your workforce, as there are three types of rosters that each facilitate different purposes. Make sure that you employ the right type of roster that can best suit your business needs.
A duty roster is a scheduling based on the duty. This type is useful to a hotel management who often schedules employees depending on the number of occupied rooms. Some managers use a duty roster to avoid scheduling more employees than necessary on the same shift with the same responsibilities.
Flexible roster provides the option of working a flexible schedule, but is directly related to the needs of the company. For example, this roster arranges work schedules of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday thru Thursday, and on Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.
This type of roster is suitable for businesses that have a high volume of clients throughout the day. For example, in the culinary business, restaurants usually schedule more employees for lunch and dinner than for mornings.
Plan Ahead: business first, names to follow
Before assigning employees to a particular shift, you need to discuss the roster schedule with other supervisors whose department might be affected by the shift. Plan ahead so you know how many jobs to cover on certain days as well as how the demand has been recently. Start by allocating shifts and roles based on hourly rates for managers and supervisors to begin with. It is important to put business needs prior to fulfilling employees’ individual requests, unless the requests are due to emergency reasons.
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Review Employee Leave
Make sure that the information you have is valid before planning your week’s roster. Stay informed about any leave requests employees may have, so you can delegate available employees for those shifts. Managers should also prepare to fill in busy shifts or when a shift is understaffed. This will help avoid labour shortages. Additionally, always pass this information to the HR or Accounting department, who may use it to record any annual leave for that time into their payroll system.
Cross-check Employee Pay Rates
Take notes on your company pay rates, overtime incentives, and unpaid leave policy when creating a roster. Keeping these factors in mind will assist you in understanding labor costs and creating correct timesheets for the payroll provider. This will also save time and hassle on pay day by keeping you legally functional. An effective roster can ensure that employees are paid the correct amount, thus increasing their satisfaction. Moreover, integrating salary and employee rosters informs managers before wage costs exceed the budget of the company. This method ensures precise forecasting and budget control.
Low payroll costs and low turnover rates can be achieved with the use of the right roster approach. Compliance with state labor laws guarantees that leaves, working hours, and overtime compensation should not infringe regulations. Failing to plan is planning to fail. Therefore, planning ahead and considering all possible factors in creating an employee roster system is crucial.
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