Open Shifts!$?
Are you a retail manager struggling to fill an open shift? Are you looking for solutions on how to get it filled? Maybe you’re an employee looking for a way to make some extra money? Or, perhaps you need a shift covered?
It’s no secret that open shifts are a pain to fill. In fact, they’ve often been dubbed the “black hole” of scheduling because so many people seem to avoid them like the plague. But why is it so hard to find someone willing to work an open shift? Is it really such a big deal? The answer is: Yes, yes it is. Open shifts can be a real pain to fill for many reasons.
TimeWellScheduled.com makes it easy for both managers and employees to get those open shifts filled. This blog will provide you with tips and solutions to the “open-shift” dilemma! By working together, managers, employees, and TimeWellScheduled.com can ensure that open shifts are filled and your work schedule is optimized!
What’s an open shift?
An “Open shift” occurs when a manager is planning the work schedule and finds no qualified employees available to cover a specific shift! Or perhaps a new shift has become available and no team member is interested in working it.
Why do open shifts happen?
Open shifts happen for various reasons, employee availability, late hours, night shifts, holiday season, or sudden fluctuations in business. Nonetheless, they need to be filled! TimeWellScheduled.com makes organizing the availability of your team and streamlining your staff scheduling process easy!
The Managers Role
Planning in advance is a no-brainer, and it’s the best way to avoid errors and unnecessary stress. However, even the best plans can’t predict every possible scenario. Here are some industry best practices combined with TimeWellScheduled.com innovation that will help optimize your work schedule:
Best Practices to help minimize open shifts
1) Know your business needs:
When it comes to your work schedule, you need to know your business needs. What are the busiest times of the year for your business? When do you have the most sales? What are your peak hours?
2) Have your team submit their availability (times and days):
TimeWellScheduled.com makes it easy for employees to submit their availability and for managers to access (and create an open shift if necessary):
3) Have a list of eligible employees ready and willing to work:
With time Wellscheduled.com, managers and team members will always know who is available. If specific employees are looking to make extra money, the mobile app makes it easy to communicate this to managers:
4) Review local laws and regulations
Review the laws and regulations related to your area and ensure that you comply. For instance, some jurisdictions have statutory holidays, fairness laws, or rules regulating the number of hours an employee can work within a 24 hour period or regular work. TimeWellScheduled.com makes sure you are always in legal compliance with your jurisdiction.
5) Post your schedule in advance
It’s essential to post your schedule in advance so that employees can plan their lives around their professional duties. Further, posting the schedule early will allow time to fill open shifts or manage scheduling conflicts.
6) Communicate scheduling and rationale to your team
Communicating the reasoning behind the schedule to team members is essential for maintaining employee morale by allowing for feedback. This is important for three reasons:
- Your team must understand that managers are doing their best to balance fairness with the needs of the business.
- Receiving schedule feedback is one way of maintaining positive employer-employee relations.
- Third, communicating with employees is an efficient and effective way to fill open or available shifts.
Tips for getting your open shift filled include:
- Try to fill the open shift with current employees before looking for outside applicants.
- If you cannot fill the open shift with current employees, post a message on social media and/or your employee chat group letting your employees know that you have an open shift. Word will get around fast, in some cases, your team will know employees-availability before you!
- Email your employees, letting them know about the open shift, or use the message function on the TimeWellscheduled.com app
- Make a sign-up sheet for the open shift and post it in a common area.
The Employees Role
If you’re an employee and you see an open shift on your schedule, it means that the shift is not currently assigned to anyone. Perhaps, you may be interested in picking up the open shift or maybe you know a team member who is.
- Know the company’s scheduling policy, guidelines, and expectations.
- Submit your availability by email, text, TimeWellscheduled.com app, or in writing to your manager.
- Once the schedule is posted, look for any discrepancies or conflicts that affect you. If there are any, approach your manager asap.
- Use the company software & app to keep track of your schedule and check it often.
- Employees should keep an eye out for open shifts and request to pick them up when available.
- Suppose you have a scheduled shift that conflicts with an event outside of work. Inform your manager asap and assist in finding a qualified team member to cover for you.
Tips for getting your open shift filled:
- Post a message on social media and/or your employee chat group letting your employees know that you have an open shift.
- Use the com app are quick ways to reach team members and let them know about available shifts.
- Make a sign-up sheet for the open shift and post it in a common area.
Open shifts can be a challenge for retail managers, but with the help of TimeWellScheduled.com, they can become a thing of the past! With our easy-to-use retail scheduling system, both managers and employees work together to fill in those open shifts in no time! Visit our website today at TimeWellScheduled.com to learn more about how we can help you manage your workforce for the best results!
