4 Ways To Be A Better Boss

18 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Utilizing Employee Scheduling Software Allows You to be a Better Boss!

Did you know woes in the workplace are costing employers $360 billion per year? In a 2012 study, positive business expert Michelle McQuaid reported that more than half of the employees polled thought they would be more successful in their careers if they got along better with their bosses. Thirty-one percent of those polled said they feel uninspired and unappreciated by their bosses, and almost 20 percent said their bosses have little-to-no integrity. This lack of morale is taking a toll on both employees and their bosses, with productivity and the bottom line taking a big hit.

Employee scheduling software can keep bosses from becoming another statistic. Here’s how:

1. Encourage effective communication.

Employee scheduling software allows managers to input their employees’ requests and restrictions – such as their weekly availabilities, vacation days, etc. In order to enter that information into the system, though, employees have to communicate those needs to their bosses.

This practice not only encourages employees to keep in constant communication, which will help to avoid misunderstandings, but also encourages them to take responsibility and initiative in order to get their preferences, rather than acting passive aggressively.

In settings that don’t use scheduling software, employees may be too shy or afraid to confront their boss about the hours that he or she has given them. But when software is used for the schedule, employees can simply update their information in the system and avoid those uncomfortable situations.

2. Eliminate feelings of favoritism or nepotism.

Bosses who lack integrity and have unfair practices, like playing favorites, don’t have much respect from their employees. And workers are less likely to perform tasks if they don’t respect the person they are performing them for. Bosses who engage in questionable practices are also sending a message to their employees that it is okay for them to do the same.

Employees will have a hard time placing blame on bosses who use employee scheduling software, since every employee now has an equal opportunity to input their preferences into the system, despite how much interaction time they have with their boss. Ultimately this will result in employees that won’t be able to hold grudges or have disdain for their boss anymore, for a schedule they deem unfair or unfavorable.

3. Keep organized, and in turn, keep your employees organized.

Workplaces are filled with employees who lack direction because disorganized leaders don’t deliver and manage plans and strategies to guide their teams.

Disorganized leaders breed disorganized workers. Without management plans, well-planned schedules and strategies, workplaces can become a wreck. Posting a timely, orderly schedule each week created by employee scheduling software encourages employees to also be timely and orderly.

Not to mention, time that bosses once spent creating the schedule can be concentrated on making other areas of their business as organized as the schedules.

4. Boost their morale.

After leaving all the heavy lifting of the scheduling process to the software, bosses will have more time to be with their employees. Spending more time together allows bosses to get to know their employees on a personal level and vice versa. From a personal standpoint, showing your employees you care about them makes them more likely to feel appreciated – and in turn, motivated. From a business standpoint, the more you know about your employees, the more familiar you will be with their strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s face it – you can’t make everyone happy. But with employee scheduling software, you can come a lot closer.

6 Reasons Staff Scheduling Software Optimizes Your Business

11 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Staff scheduling can be more trouble than it’s worth – for both employers and employees. So much time and money can be wrapped up in avoiding scheduling conflicts and reminding employees of their shifts, that other vital areas of your business might end up neglected.

Here are six ways employee scheduling software, such as WhatTimeDoIWork.com, makes for a more efficient workplace, not to mention more responsible employees.

  • Employers have easy access from anywhere, at any time. Employers who manage from home or have a long commute to work won’t have to waste a trip to check or create a schedule. They can do it on their home computer or laptop.
  • Employees don’t have to call and ask for their hours. Schedules are accessible 24 hours a day — from any computer or smart phone — as soon as it has been made available.
  • Scheduling conflicts will be a thing of the past. Studies have shown that employees are more likely to welcome their work schedule if it meets their preferences and requests. So, employers can use scheduling software to maintain and track their employees’ availabilities. When an employer creates a new schedule, the software will warn them if they have created a conflict.
  • Staff members receive notifications and updates in seconds. Communicating with a large number of employees can be challenging, and employers may not have the time to call each staff member to inform them of every change. Employers can send important messages and reminders to their entire staff to keep them up-to-date on new regulations and the software will automatically notify the employees of any changes in the schedule.
  • It reminds employees of their upcoming shifts Gone are the days of employees calling into work to find out their shifts. The staff scheduling software includes an optional feature that can send reminders to forgetful employees. Keeping employees in the know reduces the risk of tardiness and no-shows, and employers no longer have to worry about covering shifts or being short-staffed.
  • Labor costs and overtime hours are cut. As each schedule is created, the WhatTimeDoIWork.com software calculates the labor dollars that have been spent and warns the user of overtime dollars that could be avoided. The money saved can then be invested in other areas of the business.

The thought of implementing new software can be daunting.  But, remember, one important aspect to staff scheduling software is time savings. That’s why WhatTimeDoIWork.com offers an online training wizard — so users can learn and review the features of the software at their own pace. The software can import employee information from a computer, which in turn saves an employer time on inputting the information manually.

3 Ways Online Scheduling Software Can Make Things More Convenient

04 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Managers of hospitality establishments often wear many hats. They control what happens on the restaurant floor as well as what happens in the back room. Along with those responsibilities, they are also tasked with scheduling employees for their shifts. Unfortunately, this tedious task is often one of the most unflattering and unexciting parts of the job. Thankfully, online scheduling software has turned a once monotonous task into a simple and enjoyable one. Does your company currently utilize online scheduling? Take a look at these 3 ways online scheduling software can make things more convenient, and benefit your business.

  • Real-Time Scheduling – Everyone leads a busy life. Between cooking dinner and taking the kids to their next soccer game, a free moment is hard to find. It is extremely important for employees to know their work schedule as soon as possible so they can plan for the upcoming week. Real-time online scheduling allows a manager to map out and plan the schedule for the following week and it is instantly available in real-time to all employees. This feature allows an employee to read their schedule on their mobile device or any place they have an internet connection rather than making an extra trip to the workplace on their day off. By planning their schedule online, employees will also be informed immediately if a change has been made or if they are no longer needed for their shift.
  • Organize Employee Requests – Managers are often handed a plethora of crinkled papers that ask for shifts, days and weeks off. Unfortunately, if those papers are lost or a manager doesn’t remember that they received the request, upcoming schedules can make employees unhappy and cause no shows. Online scheduling software makes things convenient for not only the manager, but employees as well. As soon as an employee is aware that they will need time off, they can simply enter it into the system themselves, or managers can enter it immediately for them, and they will be reminded on the schedule to not give the employee a shift for that time that they requested off. This capability will equal happy employees and will never put a business in a bind looking for someone to cover a shift at the last minute.
  • Schedule for Sales Trends and Based on Performance – Do you know what your most profitable time of the day is? What about your most profitable employee? Which employees are customers most likely to prefer? With online scheduling software, managers can better determine the most efficient coverage so they can schedule smarter in the future. For many businesses, there are often peak times and slow times during each day. There are also employees who can handle the workload during these times better than others. Having this information allows you to plan for your business’ trends and define which of your employees are most effective based on their performance. With What Time Do I Work.com, you’ll always end up creating a more efficient schedule for your business.

Although the scheduling part of a manager’s job isn’t always fun, it can be a lot easier than most make it by utilizing online scheduling software. Not only does it bring convenience to the job, but it also offers many other features that can benefit and even grow your business. When you spend less time scheduling your employees, you spend more time mingling with your customers, which keeps them coming back for more. More customers equal more revenue, which is really the best part.

Don’t Let Work Scheduling Become a Friction Between You and Your Staff

28 May, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Managers of hospitality establishments often face many challenges on a daily basis. Scheduling staff members for specific shifts and days can be one of the biggest challenges of all. Finding a happy medium between scheduling the correct people for certain shifts and jobs while also choosing the shift and days they are most happy with is an obstacle within itself. In many situations, work scheduling can cause animosity between managers and their staff when someone feels like they aren’t getting what they want.

Often times, staff members want to work a specific shift because of other commitments and would prefer to work certain days of the week. If too many employees request a specific day off, managers are stuck with the difficult job of deciding who has to work in order to have an appropriate number of employees working. Because of this, friction can arise because someone who originally wanted the day off will have to end up working. With scheduling software, managers can simply input information about which days an employee is requesting off and keep track of it on a first come, first serve basis. When the quota of eligible employees off on a certain day is exceeded, the system will inform the manager so no one else can request that day off.

Managers also have the ability to simply enter each employee’s availability into the system to simply and easily create upcoming schedules based on that information. Not only will the manager’s job become instantly easier, but any friction between managers and staff will be erased with the automatic scheduling of the system. If your company is looking for information on employee scheduling, visit www.whattimedoiwork.com.

Make Your Life Easier By Using Online Scheduling Software

20 May, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As the manager of a restaurant or retail store, you’re constantly busy. You are on your feet all day and always trying to guarantee that everyone, including employees and customers, are taken care of. Using some type of an online scheduling software can help.

It is not until that very rare free moment of the day that you can actually sit down to work on the employees schedules for the following week. At that time, you pull crinkled pieces of paper from your pocket with a variety of days that your staff needs off or shifts that they need to switch to. Keeping it all straight can be exhausting and can keep you away from what’s most important: your customers.

Managers can make their life easier by using online scheduling software. With web scheduling software from a company like WhatTimeDoIWork.com, a manager will have more time to do the things they need and want to be doing, and less time at a desk in the back of the business. Employees will be able to easily enter information about days they need to have off and shifts they would prefer without having to jot it down for their manager to remember. Employees can communicate with their manager and fellow employees in real time from any computer that has an internet connection.

Scheduling software truly makes life easier for everyone. Managers will have more time working on a better environment for their customers and employees will be able to simply enter their availability into a system instead of bothering someone to do it. You customers will benefit most of all because they will leave your business happy.