Employees have lives. They miss shifts, fall sick, and can burn out. There is no avoiding the nature of life.
One of the best ways managers can ride the ebbs and flows is to embrace an active staffing schedule approach. And no, this does not mean dividing time and pressing send. It’s about balancing workloads, handling illnesses, improving service, and ensuring everyone is in the right place at the right time… and able to perform to a high standard.
Getting staff scheduling right means better care, happier staff, and less stress for everyone involved.
Why Active Staffing Matters
An active staffing schedule is a living, breathing action plan. It’s adaptable, complex, shifting as internal needs change, and always focused on making sure the right number of people are working at any given moment.
Whether you’re running a hospital, a retail store, or a corporate office, being able to manage your team goes beyond just the benefits of efficiency. It shapes culture and in-job performance.
Engaging Your Team in the Process
A successful staffing schedule isn’t top-down. Engaging your team is key. Ask for input when scheduling shifts, and listen to the requests. Fairness and trust are the basis of why employees go the extra mile and are a huge determinant for job satisfaction. Why not use scheduling as a way to extend olive branches and make sure everyone is aligned before a week even begins?
Understanding Your Staffing Needs
You need to understand both the number of employees available and the specific skills necessary for each role.
Determining Staffing Levels
How many staff members do you need on any given shift? The answer changes depending on the time of day, week, or year.
For example, a restaurant might need more staff on weekends, a hospital could require extra help during flu season, and an agency might need to be able to increase or decrease demands on a moment’s notice.
The first place you will lose will be morale and productivity if you are over or understaffed.
Analyzing Skills and Responsibilities
But levels of staffing are just the beginning. It’s not just about numbers—it’s about matching the right people with shifts and requirements that match their qualifications. Have you mapped out the qualifications you need? Have you plotted out the amount of times or frequency each qualification or role is under or over-staffed? You should be.
This is a critical step in making sure your teams are properly staffed and meet the regulations and union requirements across each industry.
Creating Effective Shift Schedules
Strive to meet both business needs and employee preferences – a win-win for everyone involved.
Designing Shift Patterns
Think about your business’s busiest times. Very few employees can be running at 100% all the time. In fact, none can or should be.
Rotating Shifts can help balance workloads between employees and avoid burnout. Combining this with Fixed Shifts, where employees work the same hours regularly, can offer predictability that many employees appreciate.
Either way, be sure to accommodate different times of day (morning, afternoon, and night shifts) to keep operations running smoothly around the clock and remember – give employees the ability to self-select shifts when possible.
Managing Shift Assignments
Once your shift patterns are set, you’ll need to assign employees to specific shifts.
This is where scheduling software can be a lifesaver, helping you ensure that every shift is covered by the right people. Automated shift-filling technology can fill shifts quickly, ensuring no gaps in coverage, but you must never forget about the human touch.
Some team members may prefer night shifts, while others need to balance a position with other part-time work. Communicate with your staff well in advance. Allow them time to plan their lives outside of work.
By gathering this information and using it when managing your schedule, you’ll foster a supportive work environment and avoid conflicts as well as help prevent last-minute scrambles, while improving team morale.
Balancing Work Hours and Breaks
Everyone needs breaks to stay fresh and focused. Long, uninterrupted work hours can lead to burnout, which lowers productivity and increases mistakes.
You can keep your team energized and productive by structuring your schedule to include regular breaks. It’s also essential to stay compliant with local labour laws, which often require breaks for every number of hours worked.
Leveraging On-Demand Scheduling Software
The right software can take a lot of the stress out of scheduling.
Not all scheduling tools are created equal. When choosing software, look for a system that can provide a rapid-fire method of backfilling shifts or planning for shifts that your team cannot cover.
If you’re filling shifts with your internal staff, you need to know if they’re available or not and whether taking the shift will push them into overtime or put you at risk of breaking union regulations.
If you’re filling shifts with temporary contractors, you need to know they’re skilled and certified to perform the tasks, or your standard of operations will suffer.
Automation and Integration
Once you’ve found the right tool, make use of automation features to streamline tasks like predicting when you’ll have overflow shifts that need to be filled.
Automation ensures that your staff will have plenty of time to pick up shifts, and you’ll still have the time to fill with contractors if your staff is overburdened.
Maintaining Productivity and Compliance
Different disciplines, regions and countries all have regulations your staffing managers need to ensure you’re compliant with.
Addressing Legal and Safety Considerations
Beyond break times, there are legal limits to how long employees can work without a rest period.
Failing to comply can lead to fines, or, worse, put your employees’ health and safety at risk. Regularly review your schedules to ensure they comply with local laws and prioritize the well-being of your team.
Final Thoughts: Building a Fair and Flexible Staffing Schedule
Good communication is the glue that holds a staffing schedule together. Without it, even the best-laid staffing strategy can fall apart.
Regular check-ins, whether in person or through team messaging apps, can help identify those who are frequently picking up additional shifts – and those who aren’t ever available.
By focusing on flexibility, communication, and fairness, you can develop a schedule that keeps your team happy and your business running efficiently.
When things go wrong, it’s important to have reliable software that can help fill shifts with qualified internal and external staff – and consider the rules and regulations of your industry.
With a well-thought-out staffing plan, you’re not just managing shifts—you’re creating a better, more efficient workplace where everyone can thrive.
