Work Schedules – The Ultimate Guide for Managers | Spica (2024)

What Are WorkSchedules?

Work schedulesare the backbone of any professional's life. They outline how and when the employee is expected to allocate time fortheir tasks and other work obligations related to their job position. Thesetimetables should follow the specificities in the employment contract.

Work schedulescan significantly vary between industries and depend on companies’ policies,the nature of the job an employee performs, and more.

For example, inthe healthcare industry, it’s not uncommon for a work schedule to include“on-call duty” (not a period of assigned work, but usually a 12-hour-longperiod during which a doctor needs to be available for emergencies). On theother hand, in a traditional office setting, employees usually have fixed andfull-time work schedules.

Why Are Work Schedules Important?

Work schedulesachieve so much more than organizing shifts and tracking job performances. Someof the benefits of well-planned work schedules include:

• Establishing routine and work consistency – A consistent work schedule will helpemployees develop a routine. This routine will allow team leads to manage their teams more efficiently. Additionally, accordingto some studies, routines and work consistency can positively impactemployees’ focus, productivity, and overall job satisfaction.
• Better financial management and costcontrol – Effectiveimplementation of work schedules can help managers control labor costs leadingto better financial management inside the company. By scheduling employeesbased on the current or predicted workload, businesses can avoid incurringadditional costs associated with overtime or overstaffing.
• Saving time – By implementing structured work schedules andprocedures, employers or managers can save a lot of time they would otherwisespend on making various scheduling and logistics adjustments. With additionaltime, managers can focus on making high-level or leadership decisions insteadof getting bogged down with the minutiae of administrative work.
• Better client/customer relationships – Work schedules can be used to pairemployees with customers or clients based on their strengths and skills. Thismay, in turn, help managers, team leads, and business leaders significantlyimprove the service they provide. And better service leads to overall bettercustomer relationships.
• Compliance with different legalobligations – Having workschedules that strictly adhere to the labor laws of a specific country, state,region, or city can help companies avoid any unnecessary legal problems ordisputes. This can reduce the risk of a business incurring additional costs inthe form of financial penalties and settlements, as well as a lawyer andvarious other court and legal expenses.

Types of Employee Work Schedules

Let’s talk aboutsome of the most common types of workschedules you can implement in your business. Which one you choose willdepend on the specific needs of your company, the industry, and the nature ofyour business, as well as your employees' general availability and overallworkload.

1. Full-Time Work Schedules

A full-time work schedule, although notalways defined explicitly in labor laws across the world, usually entails a 40hours work week. It’s traditionally known as the 9-to-5 schedule with set workinghours and days.

Depending on thenature of a particular business, full-time employees can be paid hourly orreceive a salary based on their performance. Additionally, many companies offervarious benefits to full-time employees, such as sick days, health insurance,rest or vacation days, time off, and more.

For instance, atypical full-time work schedule isfrom Monday to Friday, with 9 to 5 being the usual work hours.

2. Part-Time Work Schedules

A part-time work schedule is a type of workarrangement where employees work less than 40 hours per week (or less than thenumber of hours associated with full-time). This type of work schedule allowsfor greater flexibility to employees but most commonly comes with no or reducedwork benefits compared to full-time employees.

Additionally,part-time employees sometimes don’t have fixed schedules and might have to dealwith their work schedules being changed each week.

Part-time work schedules can be organized in many different ways. Someexamples include:

• Part-timeemployees working Monday to Friday,but with a reduced number of hours per day (e.g., four instead of the regulareight);
• Part-timeemployees working Monday to Wednesday,with a regular number of work hours per day (i.e., eight hours a day);
• Part-timeemployees working on Saturday and Sunday(over the weekend), with a regular number of work hours a day (i.e., eighthours per day);

3. Flexible Work Schedules

With a flexiblework schedule, employees have some leeway in determining their start andend times within certain core hours. They still have to spend a set number of hours at work, but the exact time they comeand leave work is flexible.

In some flexiblework schedules, employees don’t even have to be at the office to perform theirwork. That is, they can do their tasksremotely or from home if the nature of their work allows for that.

4. Split Shift Work Schedules

Split shift workschedules divide an employee’s regularshift into two parts – an employee will only work a part of the typicalshift duration (e.g., four hours), after which they will clockout. Then, they’ll return to work later (usually during the same work day)to finish the second part of their shift. These types of work schedules areprevalent in industries such as:

• Hospitality;
• Transportation;
• Security;
• Retail;
• Healthcare;

The best example of a split shift work scheduleis a hospitality worker (waitress or waiter, chef, etc.). They usually come inthe morning to catch the breakfast rush. After the rush, they’ll clock out(leave their work) and return later in the day for lunch or dinner service.

5. Rotating Shift Work Schedules

A rotating shiftwork schedule is a type of work arrangement where employees perform their jobduties in cycles by either working during the day or night (i.e., day or nightshifts). The employer decides the rotation of the cycles, meaning whenemployees will work a particular shift.

Rotating shiftwork schedules ensure that businesses run 24/7.The most common industries, businesses, and service providers thatoperate at a 24/7 capacity include:

• Healthcareproviders;
• Manufacturingcompanies;
• Customersupport;
• Publictransportation;
• Emergencyservice providers;
• Aviationand services associated with this field of work;
• Energyproduction (i.e., power plants);

6. Compressed Work Schedules

A compressedwork schedule, as the name would suggest, is a type of work arrangementwhere employees work longer hours in fewer days. For example, in the compressedwork schedule, a full-time employee may work ten hours per day instead of theregular eight, but they will only work four days a week instead of the usualfive.

It’s alsoimportant to note that in many countries, laws and regulations stipulate theexact amount of hours an employee of a specific industry can work in a singleday. So, not every company can put in place compressed work schedules.

7. Fixed Work Schedules

A fixed work schedule presupposes a setnumber of days and hours an employee has to put in each week, and that doesn’tchange for the entire length of employment. Employees and managers will usuallyagree on the exact work hours and days, even before the employment contract issigned and implemented.

It’s also importantto note that full- and part-timeschedules could be fixed depending on the original employment contract, thenature of a specific business, the overall workload, and more.

8. On-Call Work Schedules

On-call types ofwork schedules presuppose that employees need to be available to work in apredetermined time frame if services are needed. In practice, employeestypically complete their regular shifts and then remain on-call.

Most commonly,on-call employees will be called into work if a particular shift isshort-staffed or in the case of an emergency.

On-call shiftsare usually rotated between employees and pervade in:

• Emergencyservices (e.g., firefighters);
• Tradeindustries (e.g., electricians, plumbers, etc.)
• IT-relatedindustries;
• Securityservice providers;
• Police;

9. Seasonal Work Schedules

Seasonal workschedules are usually temporary, either full- or part-time, where employeeswork during certain parts of the year. Seasonal work typically lasts betweentwo to four weeks. These types of work schedules are pretty common inbusinesses, such as:

• Retail(hiring additional staff during seasonal sales);
• Businessesthat rely heavily on specific weather conditions (ski centers or mountainresorts, pools, holiday destinations, etc.)
• Packagedelivery business (usually during the gift-giving season);
• Construction;

Tips and Steps to Create Employee Work Schedules

Creating an effective employee work schedule can be daunting for many managers andemployers.

To alleviate thedifficulty of that task and to help you make the best possible work schedule,we’ve created a guide you should keep in mind when making your very ownemployee work schedule.

1. Determine All Available Resources

Start by figuring out your financial and humanresources. Outline theentire payroll or wage budget by asserting how much you can pay your employees,how many hours, and how long.

This will helpyou avoid one of the most common scheduling issues – employees working and getting paid for overtime hours that were not apart of the original calculations for the budget.

To be successfulin this aspect, take into account all work schedules, including part-time,seasonal, or contract employees, and see how these work arrangements affectyour budget.

2. List the Requirements for Every Shift

The second andone of the most important steps in creating a work schedule is listing the resource and staffrequirements for every shift. Consider whether you need the manager'spresence on all shifts or if some shifts can operate efficiently withoutsupervision.

For instance,some retail businesses need to have at least one manager present to unlock thestore in the morning, make deposits or payments, and lock in the evening.Additionally, in the hospitality industry, specifically in restaurants,employers usually have cooks, servers, and dishwashers available for everyshift, regardless of the number of customers.

Some of thequestions you should try and answer in this part of the process include:

• Areemployees allowed to switch shifts with each other?
• Whatis the correct procedure employees should follow if they swap shifts?
• Howare time-off requests managed?
• Whatare the exact protocols regarding time-off requests?
• Isthe schedule you’re making going to be flexible or strict?
• Whatis the level of flexibility you’ll allow regarding employee scheduling?
• Whattype of schedule is most in line with the nature of your business?

3. Try to Forecast Demand

Figure out what are the busiest hours for yourcompany during the day.Or, simply put, what are the peak times of the day when you need moreemployees? You can do this by examiningyour sales history and discerning the busiest hours.

If your businesshas more customers in the morning, you should schedule more employees for tothat shift to meet the higher demand. Rely on past experiences and projectionsto anticipate the number of customers, clients, or demand when scheduling youremployees.

Experiment with different work schedules and see which work arrangement best suitsyour customer demands. Think about hiring freelancers, contractors, or seasonalemployees if you can’t fulfill the demand with just your regular employees.

4. Gather and Record Employee Shift-Preferences

Communicate withyour employees and ask them about theiravailable hours and preferred shifts. Also, keep full records of the shiftsthey did work. Gather information about your employees’ preferences andabilities. Maybe some employees feel more comfortable with a morning shift overan evening one? Are there justified reasons behind this sentiment?

Some employeesmay refuse to work night shifts (e.g., parents with a newborn). On the otherhand, some employees are more flexible with scheduling and working toughershifts if those shifts are paid better or come with other perks.

After you’vegathered the availability and preferred hours or shifts of all of youremployees, write them all down to see if there are any gaps that you might needto fill in.

Alternatively,you could hold a team meeting and have a discussion with your employees on howto best fill those gaps.

5. Analyze Past Work Schedules, if You Have Them

If you have them,collect past work schedules and analyzethem to better understand what works and what doesn’t. Try and look forpatterns in shift interchanges and how that affected your business.

Juxtapose theinitial work schedule (i.e., the shifts and workers that were originallyassigned to them) with who really worked during those shifts and try to discernthe causes behind those changes.

Analyzing workschedules from the past can help you identify what adjustments you need tomake, which will further help you create the most effective schedule for thepresent.

6. Make a Shift Replacement Plan

As a good safetyprecaution, you should create a policy and protocol that allows employees toeasily contact your business and inform you if they’re unable to come to work.

Also, you should think about solutions to theseinevitable situations. Do you want your employees to find someone from yourstaff to cover their shift, or will that be a managerial responsibility? Anddecide whether your employees need approval from higher-ups before officiallyswapping shifts or if it’s enough to just communicate with their co-workersbefore doing so.

7. Study Your National Labor Laws

Study andresearch national rules and regulations regarding different types of workschedules. By doing this, you can ensurethat you’ll be in compliance with any and all labor laws and don’t end uppaying expensive fines and court costs.

Employ a reallygood schedulingsoftware tool that can help youautomate the entire process of creating and managing work schedules.

Most of thosetools include automatic scheduling features and allow employees to view theirschedules, swap shifts, and request off-time via the downloadable app or, inthe case of a fully-online solution, directly online.

Here’s an exampleof a free workforcescheduling app.

9. Publish or Post the Work Schedule

Last but notleast, after all the previous steps have been covered, it’s time to publishyour company’s work schedule. Make sure you post the schedule on specific days (each week or every month), soyour employees will have enough time to plan and prepare for the work days tocome.

Properly informyour employees about the upcoming work schedule; that is almost as important ascreating one. Allow them enough time to review it and give you their feedbackor comments. And, lastly, after that’s been done, all that’s left to do ispublish the final version of your company’s work schedule for the followingweek or month.

Some Additional Tips for Managers

The followingtips and advice can be used to help you create work schedules that fullysatisfy the requirements of your company and employees.

1. Encourage Employees to Give Feedback About the Work Schedule

A lot of managersand employers make the mistake of creating work schedules solely focused onfulfilling the requirements of their company or business without ever engagingwith employees and asking them for input/feedback.

By askingemployees to share their opinions, you canpromote engagement and positively impact their morale and job satisfaction. Also,your employees are the ones that will know for sure when they are short-staffedand when you should schedule an extra pair of hands (or two).

Employees whoparticipate in any aspect of the business, including the creation of workschedules, experience an increase in productivity, engagement levels, jobsatisfaction, and morale, according to some studies.

2. Create Scheduling Protocols

You should try tocreate protocols that will regulate work processes included in the schedulingprocedures of your company. For instance, you might want to consider giving your loyal employees some “extra breeding room” withtheir schedules. This means that their schedules could be more flexiblecompared to those of new hires.

Whatever youchoose to do in the end, you should make sure that there are written rules andprotocols around scheduling included in the employee handbook (and possiblyeach employment contract). This way, those employees who aren’t sure aboutcertain aspects of scheduling will have somewhere to look for the answer.

3. Have Clear Expectations From the Beginning

Be clear about all scheduling prerequisites when hiring new people. You could alsoinclude the specific scheduling requirements in the job description to ensureyou will only draw interest from candidates who can adhere to your specificwork schedule. These requirements are most commonly written as follows: The job position will sometimes requireworking night shifts and weekends.

4. Ensure the Work Schedule Is Simple to Read

Overstuffing yourcompany’s work schedule with every piece of data you can gather is one of themost common mistakes managers make (e.g., overtime hours, breaks, etc.). Thispractice might be good for management, as they will have more information towork with. But, on the employees’ side, complicated work schedules can make itmore difficult for workers to engage with them.

Your goal whenmaking the final version of your business’ work schedule should be to ensure itis clean and easy to read and understand. Any employee looking at the scheduleshould not have to spend more than a fewseconds figuring out their work hours, shifts, and so on.

5. Distribute Your Work Schedule Early

If you choose todistribute your company’s work schedule early (e.g., a week before the saidschedule starts into effect), you will give more time to your employees to:

• Makenecessary changes to their personal plans, appointments, and of commitments tofit everything with the new work schedule;
• Ensurethere are no conflicts in the schedule (meaning there are no extra peoplescheduled for shifts when they are not needed);
• Planand request shift swaps or time-off days promptly;

If you post thework schedule a day or two before it starts, your employees will simply nothave enough time to make all the necessary changes in their personal lives tofully adjust to the new reality. This can negatively affect their jobsatisfaction and morale and cause various other problems for your company.

To circumvent allof that, including giving yourself an unnecessary headache, you should tryposting the first draft of your company’s work schedule at least a few days (oreven a week) in advance.

We hope thisguide has helped you get an overview of why work schedules are so important andgiven you some practical tips on how to manage them properly.