5 Tips to Create Employee Schedules that Work for Everyone

As a manager, creating schedules takes time. Add to that in-person and remote combinations of work, vacation requests and sick leave, and it can become even harder to figure out how to make a schedule for employees that works for everyone.

But there are some easy ways you can create employee schedules without any confusion, headache or stress. 

How to make a schedule for employees in 5 steps

1. Get everyone on the same page

If you’re still using excel spreadsheets to create employee schedules, it’s time to update your process. Not only are hardcoded schedules confusing if you need to make changes after sending, but they can also create a lack of clarity around expectations should employees accidentally refer to outdated versions. And therefore, step 1 in how to make a schedule for employees is to get everyone on the same system. 

With Time Tracker, employees can:

• View their schedule from any device
• See who’s available if they need to request a shift change
• Receive instant notifications when changes are made
• Sync their schedules to their personal calendars

Overall, it’s an easier way for you to create employee schedules that are dynamic, accurate and usable — by everyone, everywhere. 

2. Automate what you can

Whether you need to create employee schedules daily, weekly or monthly, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel each time. 

Time Tracker helps you save time by allowing you to::

• Create and save templates for specific weeks, months or holidays (summer vacation, spring break, etc.)
• Copy previous schedules
• Use drag-and-drop editing to assign and modify shifts quickly
• Highlight different job types via color coding
• Access and update the schedule right from your phone

3. Safeguard against overtime

Overtime is always a concern when you’re determining how to schedule employees effectively. The easiest way to ensure that your payroll costs won’t go over? Stay up to date on where each employee stands. Getting a global view of overtime is particularly helpful when you’re trying to create employee schedules weeks or months in advance.

With Time Tracker, you can:

• View each employee’s total shift hours while creating new schedules 
• See each team’s daily, weekly and monthly hours as they come in, even in the calendar view
• Set up rules so that you’re alerted when an employee goes into overtime
• Use historical data to make sure you don’t over-schedule an employee who often ends up working overtime

4. Integrate time-off requests

Figuring out how to make a schedule for employees always hits a snag when it comes to vacations, sick days and PTO. Save time and minimize errors by employing a system that makes it easy and foolproof for employees to request and track time off. 

With Time Tracker, you can:

• Set up time-off codes (sick, vacation, etc.) 
• Block any days or dates
• Approve or deny every request in a few easy clicks

5. Get creative

Unfortunately, a time-tracking system only takes you so far when it comes to employee scheduling. There will always be decisions that need to be made to create employee schedules, especially in times where people are working remotely, only coming in certain days, etc. 

In those instances, try these creative tips for how to make a schedule for employees:

• If people don’t need to be onsite all the time, try staggering in-person shifts for tasks that must be done in-person.
• Keep or schedule 1:1 meetings with your employees so you can stay informed about their needs regarding scheduling, productivity, etc. 
• If an employee’s project is paused or stalled but you want to keep them on the payroll, take advantage of the downtime. Assign online training or encourage them to pursue remote certification opportunities, and use Time Tracker to track those assignments.
• If continuing education isn’t an option, consider shifting staff into departments or positions that have a need for extra support right now.
• If you do set up a remote workforce, be sure everyone aims for consistency in schedules. Ask employees to notify you if they’re unable to work a regularly scheduled day via Time Tracker so you can keep track of where everyone is at any time. 

Try Time Tracker

Ready to learn how to make a schedule for employees the easy way? Start your free, 14-day trial today.