Employers who seek efficient resource utilisation turn to an employee scheduling app. They often do this because they struggle with keeping their team accountable and on-track. Managers don’t know what their team members are doing or how long they are taking to complete a job, and this can result in lost money and effort, and poor reputation.
Let’s take this example, if employee A has been assigned to design the landing page of a new app, with an employee scheduling software, the manager will know exactly what stage the employee is at and how much time they are taking.
In this blog, we’ll list the advantages of using an employee scheduling app. We will also present our own tool, eResource Scheduler, and how it might be the best fit to increase productivity within your business.
Much like its name suggests, an employee scheduling platform will help you increase efficient resource utilisation. When used correctly, it will decrease the time you spend scheduling, so you’ll end up having a more productive year.
An employee scheduling software can help you reduce making some of the most common scheduling errors.
Investing in an employee scheduling software creates an optimal performance system for company management and resources. Let’s look at what happens when you don’t have a strategic scheduling platform in place.
Without proper scheduling techniques, several issues can easily arise. For instance, in a hospital environment, some nurses might end up receiving more working hours than the others, and then when they try to change shifts, certain shifts can become under-staffed.
Likewise, if the same resource is spread thin across multiple projects, there is a greater chance of them not putting their best foot forward. They will be prone to errors because of the increased workload. And, consistently overburdening resources decreases job satisfaction and productivity — both of which lead to higher attrition.
Excel timesheets and biometric readings only capture data on who is in the office. They don’t show what work is actually being completed. They are hard to deploy for a remote and hybrid workforce, and become an administrative headache. In order to increase productivity, you need data on how much time is being spent on each job. This crucial insight is missing when there’s no scheduling app.
Faulty planning inevitably leads to missed deadlines and costs. Failure to assign the right resource or overburdening a resource leads to missed project milestones. A project is like a card of dominos, if even one card is impacted and not redeemed immediately, the entire chain can fall apart.
With a skill set mismatch, there is also an increased chance of error. For instance, if you send the wrong technician for a job, they might make a mistake or not be able to resolve the issue. Your company will now have to spend not only on training the first technician but also sending another technician to fix the problem, without any increase in billing. This will negatively impact your profit and operating margins.
In a business, productivity is critical to outperforming competition and achieving longevity and scale. Therefore, you must schedule employees efficiently. Let’s look at how an employee scheduling tool will increase your productivity.
Increased Visibility of All Resources
A scheduling app serves as a central directory of all resources. From one location you can access the profiles, preferences, availability, and billing rates of all your resources. There are no department or location-based silos, so you can actually schedule the right talent for the job requirement even if they are in a different location. This allows you to match the best talent to the task at hand.
The best part is that all of this can be achieved via a few button clicks, saving you the time and effort of calling all employees and coordinating calendars. You, as a business owner or project manager, have more capacity to focus on strategic tasks that drive billings within the organisation instead of spending hours scheduling.
Real-Time Metrics to Drive Decisions
Without data, productivity measures are ambiguous. The workforce scheduling app provides a plethora of real-time data metrics that will help you increase productivity and nullify any confusion as to what it looks like for your business. Key productivity metrics like resource utilisation and capacity load will ensure that all resources are being given work that will generate “optimum performance.” The capacity metre will allow managers to create a balanced and fair schedule.
The time planned vs. actual time taken data will highlight if a resource is taking longer on a job and whether they need any assistance. This again boosts productivity, because now the manager has the capability to ensure everyone is “at-task” and also understand if and when any additional training or hiring needs to take place.
Scheduling flexibility and consistency are two key factors that impact employee job satisfaction and engagement. With a scheduling software, employees can achieve a balance between their work and personal lives. By getting a month or 3 month-schedule in advance, employees have greater flexibility to plan their personal events around major assignments or projects. The scheduling consistency might even help them build a healthy routine, which again will have positive impacts on work productivity.
On the flip side, the platform allows managers to easily make adjustments and fill gaps if a resource goes on leave or is unwell. Productivity will be maintained as the work won’t stop. The real-time metrics will also keep managers on top of everyone’s schedule, billings, and progress.
Some scheduling apps, like eRS, provide you the ability to place certain, critical resources on “placeholder” for future, pipeline projects. This will make sure those resources are available when the work comes through and there are no last minute surprises.
Have more doubts about resource scheduling softwares? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions by project managers and company management, answered.
What Features Should I Look for in a Scheduling Software?
Each employee scheduling software comes with varying features. Before you start examining what’s available in the market, you need to know why and how you are going to use the scheduling app. What are your business needs and what issues are you currently facing?
Once you have identified the “must-haves” of the software, other factors to consider include price, customer service, scalability of the app, customisation capabilities, and ease of use (user experience).
Do I Need Advanced Knowledge of Apps to Use Employee Scheduling Software?
No, you don’t. The beauty of employee scheduling apps, like eRS, is that they are
easy-to-use even by non-tech savvy people. Most of the apps provide a free trial or demo so you can get first hand experience with how the software will work. Employee scheduling app providers will also install and customise the software as per your needs.
Can I Use the Employee Scheduling App to Manage Overtime and Changing Shifts?
Yes, that’s what the software is made for. With a robust and cloud-based resource allocation software, you can schedule, track, and optimise resources across multiple locations and shifts via a centralised dashboard. Resources will get an automatic notification about their schedule and/or changes.
How is an Employee Scheduling App Different from an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) System?
Most ERP systems don’t provide the same level of resource management and planning that a dedicated employee scheduling app does. The data metrics on resource utilisation, capacity, and costs are missing from most ERP systems. Another distinction is that employee scheduling apps have time tracking tools that will allow you to know how many hours (including overtime) a resource has worked and calculate the pay accordingly.
An employee scheduling app enables you to prioritise important tasks and identify areas for improvement, therefore allowing you to be more productive. The platform enables you to schedule, work, and track resources and/or projects faster and better.
eResource Scheduler, is a top employee scheduling tool that not only takes the major scheduling load off your back but also allows you to run a more organised and efficient company. Start our 14-day trial today.
Also read:
11 ways to improve interdepartmental collaboration and communication
Avoid resource conflicts - streamline resource management and allocation
Resource management reporting - the essence of a successful organization
How to manage the needs of small & large customers while growing your business
