Do yourself a favour, let workforce planning tools do the heavy lifting for you.
Let’s be honest for a minute: planning rotas, with the numerous subsequent requests for changes that almost always ensue, is the stuff of actual nightmares. And if you’re still dealing with paper rotas or spreadsheets, manually sifting through the shifts, overtime rules, time off requests, approved holidays and so on, before having to input all the information, it can feel like you’re locked in a never-ending cycle of change – publish – change again. Because, as everyone knows, no sooner has a rota been sent, will there be urgent requests from employees to change one or more shifts. Or someone gets sick, of course.
And do we even want to hazard a guess the number of times you’ll be bombarded with the “What shift am I working?” question. No, we do not. Oh, and then there are the legal rules regarding breaks with which you need to make sure you are complying. It’s fair to say that it can all get more than a little frustrating, not to mention how time consuming it is – time that could almost certainly be better spent on other tasks. On thing’s for sure: navigating it all is not a task for the faint-hearted. This is when workforce planning tools really come into their own.
WFM by Chronologic completely transforms employee management processes, for example the way you can organise your rotas. Through the employee self-service portal and app, workers can request holidays and have them approved or declined online. They can also view their timesheet clockings and hours, reducing the payroll enquiries. All digital. No papers. No hassle.
By giving your workers greater autonomy, not only will you find they are happier and feel more in control, you’ll save a lot of admin time. Employees can also see their rotas and shift times in a few simple clicks, and, thanks to the calendar functionality in the Employee Self-Service portal, can check whether any colleagues are already booked off before requesting holiday days, avoiding disappointment and wasting both their own and their manager’s time.
For employers, the software can provide valuable insights into cost efficiency of departments, instantly using any change in shift with the corresponding change in budget, meaning holiday requests can also be looked at from a financially viable viewpoint.
Being able to do away with time-consuming spreadsheets and plan your workforce weeks – and even months – ahead, in the way that you need, is an invaluable tool when it comes to budget forecasting. And who wouldn’t enjoy the peace of mind that comes from knowing that, if, for whatever reason, you should need to change your rota, not only can this be done in just a few clicks, but the system will update the employees’ view of their scheduled shifts in real time as well.
There are many advantages to WFM by Chronologic – let us take you through them. Send us an email or give us a call, and we’ll explain how WFM can work with your unique business needs.
