Author: AdminHTSS

In today’s fast-paced and dynamic working environment, effective planning and efficient organization are vital to ensure the smooth running of any business. One of the fundamental tools that facilitate effective workforce management is a work shift calendar. This article aims to shed light on what a shift calendar is, its purpose, and the benefits it offers to businesses and their employees.

Defining a shift calendar

A dedicated shift calendar is a visual representation of the working hours allocated to employees in a given timeframe. It serves as a comprehensive guide for both employees and employers, providing a structured plan that outlines when people are expected to work, take breaks and have time off. Shift work calendars are typically created for various work patterns, including full-time, part-time, shift, or rotational schedules.

The purpose of a calendar of work shifts

Improve internal organization

A shift calendar brings structure and organization to the workplace. It ensures that there is adequate coverage at all times and prevents scheduling conflicts or gaps in service.

Efficient allocation of resources

By accurately allocating staff members to different shifts, companies can optimize their workforce and ensure that the right number of employees are present to meet operational requirements.

Improved communication

Shift calendars serve as a transparent communication tool, ensuring that all employees are aware of their work schedule well in advance. This minimizes confusion, facilitates planning for personal commitments, and reduces the need for last-minute adjustments.

Fairness and equity

A dedicated shift work schedule must be well designed and ensure fairness in the distribution of working hours, breaks and time off between employees. It helps prevent problems such as favouritism and ensures fair treatment for all staff.

Compliance and labour laws

Shift work calendars help organisations stay compliant with labour laws and regulations on working hours, rest periods and overtime. By tracking and documenting shifts, companies can demonstrate compliance with legal requirements.

With a well-structured shift work schedule, companies can optimise productivity by having the right number of staff available at peak times and reducing overstaffing at off-peak times.

In addition, clear and predictable work schedules improve employee satisfaction, allowing individuals to plan their personal lives around work commitments. This can lead to higher employee morale, reduced absenteeism and increased retention rates.

To reap all the benefits of a dedicated shiftwork calendar you can turn to shiftin. The solution that helps manage your workforce by preparing your shift schedule for you!

To ensure the best conditions for shiftwork, you can confidently call on a demo from our specialists. shiftin is the right solution to identify staffing gaps or imbalances.

Get in touch with one of our consultants to find out more.

Shift work can be a challenging way of life, often leading to interrupted sleep schedules and a feeling of being out of sync with the rest of the world. For people working shifts, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy work-life balance.
Here are 5 tips for shift work that can help you manage your time and energy effectively.

1. Prioritize sleep

One of the biggest challenges of shift work is maintaining a regular sleep schedule. It can be tempting to try to stay up late on days off, but this can make it more difficult to fit in your work schedule. Try to get 7-8 hours’ sleep a night and try to stick to a consistent sleep schedule as much as possible.

2. Find time for exercise

Exercise can help improve energy levels, mood, and general health. Even if you work late hours, it is important to make time for physical activity. This could be as simple as a quick walk during your break or finding a gym that is open 24 hours a day. By making exercise a priority, you can help reduce stress and improve your overall well-being.

3. Plan your meals

Shift work can make it difficult to stick to a healthy diet. It can be tempting to grab fast food when you’re short on time. However, planning meals in advance can help ensure you have a balanced diet even on the busiest days.

4. Take breaks

It can be easy to get caught up in work and forget to take breaks. However, breaks can help you stay focused and improve your productivity. Use your breaks to unwind, take a walk or simply to relax and recharge. If possible, try to take breaks at the same time each day to help you establish a routine.

5. Consider an automated shift scheduling solution

Managing your schedule as a shift worker can be challenging. An automated shift scheduling software solution, such as shiftin, can help simplify the process and ensure you’re always aligned with your work schedule. shiftin can help you manage your shifts, swap shifts with colleagues and request time off, all in one place. Using an automated scheduling tool, you can reduce the stress and uncertainty that can come with shift work.

Get in touch with one of our consultants to find out more.

In today’s fast-paced world, organizations are continuously exploring ways to optimize productivity and efficiency. One crucial aspect they evaluate is the type of work schedule that best suits their employees. In this blog post, we will delve into the age-old debate of “Shift Work vs. Standard Working Hours” and explore the pros and cons of each.

The Dynamics of Shift Work

Shift work, a popular scheduling approach in various industries, involves employees working outside the typical 9-to-5 routine. Instead, they follow specific schedules that may include evening, overnight, or weekend shifts. Research has shown that around 15% of the global workforce is engaged in shift work.

Benefits and Challenges of Shift Work

Shift work offers several advantages. First and foremost, it provides organizations with round-the-clock coverage, allowing them to meet customer demands effectively. Additionally, shift work can be advantageous for employees who prefer flexibility in their schedules or need to balance work with personal commitments.
However, it’s crucial to acknowledge the challenges associated with shift work. Numerous studies have linked it to adverse health effects, including sleep disorders, increased stress levels, and higher rates of cardiovascular diseases. Moreover, the disruption of natural circadian rhythms can impact employees’ overall well-being and work-life balance.

Standard Working Hours: A Traditional Approach

Standard working hours, the more traditional work schedule, typically consists of a fixed 9-to-5 routine, Monday through Friday. This schedule aligns with most societal norms and allows for regular daily routines. However, it may not suit all industries or job roles that require 24/7 operations or extended service hours.
Studies have shown that adhering to standard working hours can contribute to a better work-life balance, reduced stress levels, and improved overall health (source: DEF Study, 2023). Employees working regular hours often have more predictable and consistent routines, allowing them to plan their personal lives with greater ease.

Finding the Right Balance with Scheduling Tools

To address the challenges of shift work and standard working hours, organizations can leverage advanced scheduling tools like shiftin. For staff and middle management, shiftin serves as an intuitive scheduling tool, allowing employees to view and manage their shifts seamlessly. HR and Payroll professionals can utilize Shiftin as a comprehensive Time & Attendance tool, streamlining workforce management processes. Moreover, shiftin acts as an advisory tool for management and C-level executives, providing valuable insights for efficient workforce planning.

Where is your company on this journey?

Shift work and standard working hours both have their merits and challenges. While shift work offers flexibility and round-the-clock operations, it can adversely affect employees’ health and well-being. Standard working hours, on the other hand, provide routine and work-life balance but may not be suitable for all industries. By leveraging advanced scheduling tools like shiftin, organizations can strike the right balance, ensuring productivity, employee satisfaction, and optimized operations.

Remember, the key is to assess your organization’s specific needs, consider employee preferences, and create a work schedule that aligns with both. By doing so, you can cultivate a positive work environment that promotes well-being and productivity among your workforces.

Contact us to find out more!

In the context of an ever-evolving society, managing shift work schedules can be a challenging task for human resource (HR) professionals and managers. With so many variables to consider, such as employee availability, skill sets, and workload, creating and managing a schedule can be a time-consuming and error-prone process.

Fortunately, there are various solutions that can greatly simplify this process but the challenge is to discover which ones are also ideal based on the requirements and strategy of each individual business.

What does shift scheduling in Excel involve?

Excel is a popular spreadsheet tool used by many organizations to manage shift schedules and human resource planning. The process involves creating a template in Excel that lists the shifts needed and the employees available to work those shifts. The template can then be populated with the necessary information, such as the start and end times of each shift and the name of the employee assigned to that shift.

Advantages and disadvantages of scheduling shifts in Excel

One of the main advantages of scheduling shifts in Excel is that it is easy to use and does not require special training or special software. It is also very easy to customize, allowing organizations to create a schedule that suits their specific requirements. However, shift scheduling in Excel is error-prone and can be very time-consuming, especially for large organizations with a high volume of shifts and employees.

What does automated shift scheduling software entail?

Automated shift scheduling and implicit HR scheduling software, such as shiftin, uses algorithms to create and manage shift schedules based on a variety of factors, including employee availability, skill sets, and workload. Such software can provide an objective overview of capacity gaps and overstaffed business units, based on expected performance indicators, and can suggest resources needed to support growth opportunities in various industries.

Advantages and disadvantages of automated shift scheduling software

One of the main advantages of automated shift scheduling software, and hence human resource scheduling software, is that it can save time and reduce errors. With automated scheduling, HR professionals and managers can spend less time creating and managing schedules and more time focusing on other aspects of their work. In addition, automated HR scheduling can improve employee satisfaction by ensuring accurate and consistent scheduling practices. On the other hand, such automated HR scheduling software can be expensive and may require specialized training to use effectively.

What is the best shift scheduling solution for your business?

The answer to this question depends on the unique needs and resources of each individual business. If your business has a relatively small number of shifts and employees, Excel shift scheduling can be a cost-effective and efficient solution. However, if your business has a large number of shifts and employees, an automated shift scheduling and therefore HR scheduling software may be a more practical and far more efficient solution.

In addition, automated shift scheduling also helps organizations save money. With manual scheduling, managers can over-schedule employees during off-peak periods, leading to a waste of resources. By using automated workforce scheduling software, managers can optimize schedules based on historical data, ensuring the right number of employees are scheduled for each shift. This reduces labor costs and helps organizations stay profitable.

How can we help you?

shiftin, can accompany you on this journey by digitizing your current scheduling process, so we can provide you with:

A team with business and HR expertise to accompany you through the stages of defining the human capital scheduling framework and strategy, as well as change management.

A software tool, shiftin, has been created from the same conscious needs, to help you digitize and automate your employee scheduling process to support your business performance.

Identify levels of optimization within your process and human capital with shiftin by requesting a free demo.

Contact us to find out more!

In today’s fast-paced environment, organizations need to optimize their operations to remain competitive. One segment that can greatly benefit from digitization is work shift scheduling. Optimizing shift work can not only improve employee satisfaction but also increase productivity and reduce costs.

In this article, we will detail two essential steps to automate shift scheduling and maximize employee satisfaction.

Step 1: Digitize the work schedule planning process

Digitization is the first essential step in automating the work schedule planning process. With technology, organizations can simplify and streamline their planning processes, leading to increased efficiency and accuracy. By implementing automated scheduling software, organizations can reduce the time and effort required to create a shift schedule.

shiftin is one such automated shift scheduling software that accompanies organizations to digitize their current scheduling process. It is an innovative solution that reveals the potential for optimizing their capacity distribution and identifies levels of optimization within the process and human capital. 

With shiftin, you can create work schedules in minutes and manage them in real-time.

Digitalization also helps eliminate human error, leading to fewer scheduling conflicts and more accurate shift distribution. This, in turn, can lead to better employee satisfaction and reduced turnover rates. By implementing digitization, organizations can also reduce costs associated with scheduling, such as overtime pay, by optimizing shift allocation.

Step 2: Optimize shift work by involving employees

The second essential step in automating shift scheduling is involving employees in the scheduling process. By giving employees more control over their schedules, organizations can increase employee satisfaction and reduce turnover. Optimizing shift work can be achieved by giving employees access to their schedules via a mobile app or web portal, allowing them to view and manage their schedules from anywhere.

Another way to involve employees in the scheduling process is to allow them to submit their preferred schedules or shift preferences. This can help ensure that employees are assigned shifts that fit their lifestyles and preferences, leading to increased job satisfaction. In addition, informing employees in advance of their schedule can help them plan their personal lives and reduce the stress associated with last-minute changes.

Effective communication is also key to ensuring employee satisfaction. By using a centralized scheduling system, organizations can communicate with employees about upcoming shifts, schedule changes, and other important information. This can help reduce miscommunication and ensure that employees are always informed and up to date.

Optimizing shift work through digitalization and employee engagement can have a significant impact on employee satisfaction, productivity, and costs. By implementing an automated shift scheduling software solution such as shiftin and involving employees in the scheduling process, organizations can create more accurate work schedules, reduce conflict, and increase employee satisfaction.

How can shiftin help you in this process?

First, we digitize the current planning process together – we bring all the key elements for scheduling into shiftin. After that, we optimize, we accompany you in identifying tracks to optimize the scheduled hours so that an increase in profitability in relation to productivity is achieved.

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Shift work is a key requirement in many industries, including healthcare, transport, manufacturing, retail, and hospitality. While it allows companies to operate around the clock and meet customer demands, it also presents challenges such as employee fatigue, staff turnover, and safety risks. Therefore, scheduling shift work effectively is crucial to maintaining employee productivity, safety, and well-being.

Analysis of company needs and resources for shift scheduling

Before developing a shift work schedule, managers must first assess their company’s specific needs and resources. This includes analyzing demand for production and services, identifying peak hours and slow periods, and assessing the available workforce and skills. By understanding these factors, managers can create a schedule that optimizes staffing levels, avoids overtime costs, and ensures quality and safety standards are met.
Scheduling shift work is a complex process that requires careful planning and analysis. Effective scheduling can help ensure a smoothly running organization with a happy and productive workforce.

Establishing clear policies and procedures for work shifts

Establishing procedures for scheduling shift work is essential. These should include clear rules for shift duration, work breaks, overtime, and time off. Having clear policies and procedures in place will help ensure that employees know what is expected of them when they work and can help minimize confusion and disputes about shift work.

The process of planning shift work should be fair and transparent

Shift work planning should receive input from both management and employees. Employees should be able to request preferred shifts and days off and managers should make every effort to accommodate these requests. Using a fair and transparent scheduling process will help build trust and goodwill among employees.

Employees should be given plenty of notice of their appointment, ideally two to four weeks in advance. Providing adequate notice allows employees to plan their personal lives and can help reduce stress and absenteeism.

Use dedicated software for employee scheduling and monitoring

The use of scheduling software can help simplify the scheduling process and reduce errors in shift work. Scheduling software can help you automate the process, track employee availability and preferences, and ensure you schedule the right number of employees for each shift.

Strategic scheduling of work breaks

Scheduling work breaks strategically can help reduce fatigue and improve employee productivity. Breaks should be scheduled at regular intervals during the shift and employees should be encouraged to take them.

A shift scheduling tool such as shiftin helps employees achieve a better work-life balance, improve job satisfaction and reduce work scheduling stress. By providing workers with predictability, flexibility, fairness, time savings and improved communication, shift scheduling tools can make a significant difference in every employee’s life.

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Overview of burnout and human capital management

Burnout is a condition that has a physical, mental and emotional impact and is caused by long-term or excessive stress. It is a serious problem that can have a negative impact on both the employee and the organization.

On the other hand, human capital management is the process of managing a company’s human resources to maximize the value of its employees. Streamlining human capital management can help prevent employee burnout.

According to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, 77% of employers believe that streamlining human capital management can help prevent burnout.

Causes of burnout

There are several causes of burnout.

Employee overload

This is one of the most common causes. When employees are asked to do too much in too little time, they can become overwhelmed and exhausted.

Lack of autonomy

Another cause of burnout occurs when employees are micromanaged and not given the freedom to make decisions, they can become frustrated and demotivated.

Lack of recognition

Also, when employees do not feel appreciated or valued, they can become disillusioned and burnt out and lack of recognition of their merits is another factor contributing to burnout.

It is important for employers to recognize the signs of employee burnout and take steps to prevent them. This can include providing clear expectations, giving employees control over their work, providing reasonable workloads, promoting work-life balance, creating a supportive work environment, recognizing employees’ efforts, and ensuring they adapt to the workplace.

Optimizing human capital management to prevent burnout

Optimizing human capital management can help prevent burnout by reducing the number of administrative tasks employees have to perform.

This can be achieved by automating processes such as payroll, benefits management and performance evaluation.

Process automation

Automating these processes can help reduce the time employees have to spend on tedious administrative tasks, freeing up time to focus on higher-impact tasks.

Using an automated work scheduling solution

An automated scheduling solution can simplify human capital management by providing employees with an easy-to-use platform for managing shift work schedules. This can help reduce the amount of time employees have to spend manually creating and managing their shift schedules, freeing up time to focus on more meaningful work. In addition, automated shift scheduling solutions can help ensure that employees are not overworked, which can help prevent burnout.

Implementing flexible working hours

Such implementation can give employees more control over their work-life balance. In addition, streamlining human capital management can help ensure that employees are fairly rewarded for their work, which can help reduce feelings of burnout.

Setting clear objectives and expectations

Setting clear directions can help employees stay focused and motivated. Human capital management can help provide more accurate and timely feedback to employees on their performance, which can help motivate them and prevent burnout.

How can we help you in this process?

Shiftin, our software solution for automating the shift scheduling process can help prevent burnout by reducing the time employees have to spend on repetitive administrative tasks, such as manually creating and managing shift schedules.

Contact us to find out more!

HRIS stands for Human Resources Information System. It is a type of software designed to help organizations manage their HR data and processes.

Pwc estimates that 58% of companies now use HRIS to find, attract and retain valuable employees.

Collecting, storing and processing data is an essential part of HR. Streamlining processes in this area is possible with HRIS software. An HRIS analyst, who ensures the efficiency of the system and proper analysis of performance indicators, plays an important role in managing this data.

Scheduling employees using HRIS systems

HRIS systems can be used by HR professionals to automate many of the tasks associated with employee management, which can save time and reduce the possibility of errors. They can also help organizations make more informed decisions about hiring, compensation and other HR issues by providing access to real-time data and analytics.

Overall, an HRIS is a valuable tool for any organization looking to streamline its HR processes and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its HR department.

An HRIS can help plan employee shifts by providing a centralized platform where managers can create and manage their employees’ schedules.

Here are some ways an HRIS can help with shift planning:

Automated scheduling

With an HRIS, managers can create schedules for their employees based on their availability, job responsibilities, and other factors. The system can also automatically assign shifts based on employee preferences and availability, reducing the time and effort required to create schedules.

Real-time updating

As employees request time off or swap shifts with their colleagues, HRIS can update the schedule in real-time, ensuring everyone is up to date with the latest changes.

Shift exchange via HRIS

Employees can request shift swaps through HRIS, and managers can approve or deny these requests depending on the needs of the business. This can help ensure shift coverage while giving employees the flexibility to manage their schedules.

Attendance tracking

An HRIS can also track employees’ hours worked, overtime and leave requests, making it easier for managers to ensure employees are working the right hours and getting paid correctly.

How can we help you with the digital transformation of your HR processes?

We have a team with HR expertise ready for your business needs, to be by your side during the framework and strategy stages of human capital planning and change management.

We provide you with a software tool – shiftin – built on the same conscious needs to help you digitize and automate your employee planning process to support your business performance.

Request a free demo.

Overview of the benefits of integrating HR & payroll software

Integrating a payroll system with human resource management software can be a time-consuming process, but it’s essential for organizations to stay organized and in an efficient flow. HR payroll systems are used to process employee salaries and benefits, while HR management software is used to manage the human resources aspects of an organization.
By combining the two systems, organizations can benefit from streamlined HR payroll processes.
According to a study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, organizations that integrated their payroll system with HR management software experienced greater accuracy of HR payroll data, greater efficiency of HR processes, and improved employee experience.

Steps to integrating payroll with HR management software

1. Research different HR management software options & choose the right solution for each type of business

The first step in integrating a payroll system with HR management software is to research the different options available. There are a variety of software solutions that offer different features, so it is important to analyze the capabilities of each software to determine which solution is best suited for each type of business. It’s also important to consider the cost of the software and the level of service and support provided to customers.

2. Setting up the software and connecting it to the payroll system

Once you have chosen the right software in line with your business strategy, the next step is to configure the software and connect it to your payroll system. This process can be complicated, so it is important to follow the instructions provided by the software supplier and make sure that all the necessary steps are completed. It is also important to make sure that the software is compatible with the payroll system and that all necessary data is transferred correctly.

3. Integration testing to ensure correct functionality

The final step in integrating your payroll system with your HRM software is to test the integration to make sure it works correctly. This is an important step to ensure that the data is correct and that the system is secure.

The benefits of integrating your payroll system with HRM software

Integrating a payroll system with HR management software has many benefits. The biggest benefit is a streamlined payroll process. By integrating the two systems, organizations can save time and money by automating many of the tasks associated with HR payroll.

In addition, integrating the two systems can improve the accuracy of payroll data as well as increase the efficiency of HR processes. On the other hand, integrating the two systems can improve the employee experience by providing employees with more accurate and timely information about their salaries and benefits.

How can we help you?

shiftin can help you in this journey by offering a number of valuable benefits. Through automated employee attendance tracking, you can reduce the time spent on manual data entry and have the ability to reallocate this time to activities that have a business strategy perspective.

shiftin simplifies automated shift scheduling, attendance management and workflow synchronization, eliminating the need for a paper spreadsheet or complicated template.

Request a free demo to learn more!

Digitization has brought significant changes to various industries, including the HR sector. With the increasing use of technology, HR processes have become more efficient.

Digitization of HR processes

When it comes to digitization, it has streamlined HR processes by automating repetitive tasks, reducing manual work and providing real-time data. With digital tools such as cloud-based HR software and mobile apps, HR teams can easily manage various functions needed in their processes.

For example, through digitization, scheduling and timekeeping can be automated. Another functionality is monitoring employee attendance, tracking employee performance and generating real-time reports.

Shift work management

Shift work is prevalent in industries such as healthcare, trade and hospitality. Managing shift work schedules can be challenging, especially when employees work multiple shifts and these change frequently. With digitization, shift work is easier to manage and more efficient.

With digitization processes, such as employee scheduling software, HR teams can easily create and manage shift schedules. These tools allow them to define shifts, assign employees to specific changes and track their attendance. They can also use predictive analytics to forecast employee demand and optimize shift schedules to ensure that there are always enough employees on shift.

The benefits of digitization for shift work

Digitization processes related to human resources have numerous benefits for shift work management. Here are some of the main advantages:

A clearer perspective

With the help of digital tools, HR teams can ensure that schedules are compliant and up-to-date. This can prevent scheduling conflicts, reduce absenteeism and improve employee satisfaction.

Increase productivity

When HR departments decide to adopt digitization processes, improvements can be seen quite quickly by reducing the administrative burden, allowing them to focus on more strategic tasks. This, in turn, can improve productivity and lead to better business results.

Increases employee engagement

The decision to digitize can make shift work more transparent and predictable, which can improve employee engagement and satisfaction. Digital tools can give employees real-time access to their schedules, allowing them to plan their time more efficiently.

Reduce costs

Automating HR processes can lead to significant cost savings for organizations. For example, it can reduce the need for manual work and processes based on standard, paper-based formats.

When adopted, the decision to digitize has a profound impact on shift work management. As technology continues to evolve, digitization is likely to become even more important for shift work management.

How can we help you?

A team with business and HR expertise to accompany you through the stages of defining your human capital scheduling framework and strategy, as well as change management.
A software tool – shiftin – built around the same needs you are aware of, to help you digitize and automate your workforce scheduling process to support your business performance.

Contact a specialist now!