Buyers Guide

Table of Contents

• What is Employee Scheduling Software?
• What are the common features of Employee Scheduling Software?
• What are the benefits of Employee Scheduling Software?
• How much does Employee Scheduling Software cost?
• Considerations when purchasing Employee Scheduling Software

What is Employee Scheduling Software?

Employee scheduling software creates, manages, and maintains work schedules for employees within a business. It offers a centralized platform for employers or managers to allocate shifts, assign tasks, and track employee availability and attendance. This software can be valuable in industries that require complex scheduling, such as retail, hospitality, healthcare, and customer service.

Employee scheduling tools allow managers to create and customize schedules based on various factors, including employee skills, experiences, and workload requirements. The tool can also automatically generate schedules while considering factors such as labor laws, overtime rules, and employee preferences.

What are the common features of Employee Scheduling Software?

• Employee database: Store and manage comprehensive employee information, including their personal details, contact information, job positions, skills, and certifications, in a centralized repository.
• Employee scheduling: Create and manage employee schedules by assigning shifts based on employee availability and preferences. You can specify shift start and end times, duration, and specific tasks associated with each shift.
• Online time clock: Record employees' working hours and attendance electronically by tracking their clock in and out times, breaks, and overtime hours for payroll purposes.
• Leave tracking: Track employee time off, including vacation days, sick leave, personal leave, and other types of absences, to manage staffing requirements and prevent scheduling conflicts.
• Calendar management: Create, edit, and view shifts in a calendar format that visually represents schedules and facilitates effective shift assignment and employee availability management.

What are the benefits of Employee Scheduling Software?

• Prevents scheduling conflicts: Employee scheduling software allows employees to input their availability, see schedule changes in real time, and get notified about any scheduling conflicts. The tool enforces automated rules to comply with business rules and labor regulations, minimizing conflicts related to overtime and breaks. Additionally, the software enhances visibility by allowing managers and employees to view the complete employee schedule and facilitate direct communication to resolve conflicts efficiently. By automating the scheduling process and promoting effective communication, staff scheduling software reduces errors and ensures fair shift scheduling.
• Automates time-off management: Employees submit time-off requests via the employee shift scheduling system in a centralized platform. The tool simplifies the approval process by allowing managers to review and approve requests electronically. It automatically updates the schedule to reflect approved time off and ensures that employees don't get scheduled during their requested time off. This automation eliminates the need for manual paperwork, simplifies communication, and ensures accurate and efficient management of employee time off.
• Enhances employee experience: The employee scheduling tool provides employees with transparency and control over their work schedules as they can view schedules, request time off, and swap shifts. The software sends notifications and updates, reducing confusion and improving communication. It accommodates employee preferences and availability, promoting work-life balance. These features reduce errors and conflicts and improve overall employee satisfaction.
• Improves payroll accuracy: The employee scheduling tool has automatic time tracking capabilities that accurately record employee work hours, breaks, and overtime based on scheduled shifts and actual clock-ins. It eliminates manual data entry and potential errors, ensuring precise calculations for payroll. By integrating with the payroll system, it transfers accurate time and attendance data, minimizing discrepancies and improving payroll accuracy.

How much does Employee Scheduling Software cost?

Most employee scheduling software solutions on the market are priced on a "per month" basis, and their entry-level pricing plans range from $2 to $8* per month. An enterprise product that's priced higher may include additional employee scheduling features such as an activity dashboard, automated scheduling, attendance management, schedule template, and labor forecasting.

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites as of July 10, 2023.

Considerations when purchasing Employee Scheduling Software

• Opt for a tool with an employee portal: The employee portal provides a centralized platform for employees to access and manage their work schedules, availability, and time-off requests. It empowers employees to have more control over their schedules, allows for convenient shift swapping and time-off management, and facilitates effective communication between managers and employees.
• Check compliance management options: Compliance management options ensure adherence to labor laws, regulations, and company policies. This functionality helps enforce compliance rules, including maximum work hours, break time, and overtime calculations. They provide alerts and notifications to prevent staff scheduling violations and generate reports for audits, helping mitigate legal risks and maintaining a compliant work environment.
• Consider multi-location support: Employee shift scheduling tool with multi-location support helps manage scheduling across multiple locations or branches of business. It simplifies the process of creating and managing schedules for each location, ensures proper staffing and coverage, and facilitates communication between managers and employees across different locations.