7 Must-Have Features of Scheduling Software

Harness the Power of Scheduling Software

Increasing workplace efficiency is something every company desires. Freeing up a manager’s time can save the company thousands of dollars each year. One place we often see managers losing time is in preparing manual schedules. Scheduling is a time-consuming and complex task but is critical for a workplace to function. But is often a manager’s most-dreaded task. Harnessing the power of employee scheduling software can take the stress off your managers, save your company time, and remove the risk of human error from scheduling.

When you’re choosing your new employee scheduling software, make sure it has these 7 key features, so you don’t end up regretting your purchase.

1. Mobile optimized

Many of your employees are going to want to access their schedules remotely and from their mobile devices. Make sure whatever software you choose features a responsive design and will automatically adjust to the screen’s size and continue to function as needed.

2. Multiple manager logins

Scheduling may be the sole responsibility of one manager at your place of work. However, there will undoubtedly be times when that person is unavailable. Software with multiple manager logins allows someone else to take over scheduling when needed. When this happens, don’t compromise safety by sharing passwords. Instead, choose software that permits multiple logins. This is especially important if you have a 24/7 business.

3. Payroll integration

Integrating scheduling with payroll will help improve your business’ efficiency and limit mistakes. At the very least, make sure your employee scheduling software allows you to import your schedule into payroll’s system. Software features that allow payroll integration will save countless hours in the long run.

4. Private until live

Excellent scheduling software should allow your manager to work on and complete the schedule before people see it. Only after the scheduler decides to share it should the schedule go live to employees. It should also be clear when the schedule is being deployed live, as opposed to just being saved for further private updates.

5. Tracks hours automatically

Your employee scheduling software should have a feature that allows it to automatically track how many hours your employees are working and the number of hours they’re scheduled in the upcoming pay period. It should also warn you if you exceed a set maximum of hours for certain employees (and allow you to override that). This will prevent over or underworking your employees and help payroll keep track of who is owed what.

6. Notifies employees of schedule updates and changes

When you make a change to a schedule, the right scheduling software can save you time. Good scheduling software can help you avoid individually emailing each employee to make sure they see the change. Instead, rely on Deputy’s powerful scheduling software to automatically notify employees of schedule changes and notify employees of shift changes, with the request to receive a confirmation of receipt email.

7. Logs changes

If an issue arises with a schedule or a mistake is made, you’ll want to be able to look back at the scheduling software and see who made the contested change. That’s why you should make sure your scheduling software tracks and logs all changes and attributes them to the user who made the change.

Please Share Your Thoughts

Which of these features do you think your business would benefit from the most? Have you found a solution that works for your business that has increased your productivity? Please share with us in the comments below!