Employee scheduling software

Employee scheduling software automates the process of creating and maintaining a schedule. Such software will usually track vacation time, sick time, compensation time, and alert when there are conflicts. As scheduling data is accumulated over time, it may be extracted for payroll or to analyze past activity. Although employee scheduling software may or may not make optimization decisions, it does manage and coordinate the tasks.

This software may be a part of an ERP package or other human resource management system. Today’s employee scheduling software often includes mobile applications.^[1][2][3]

Complexity

A theoretical underpinning of an employee scheduling problem can be represented as the Nurse scheduling problem, which is NP-hard. The theoretical complexity of the problem is a significant factor in the development of various software solutions. This is because systems must take into account many different forms of schedules that could be worked, and allocate employees to the correct schedule.

Features

Although employee scheduling software won't necessarily improve business practices by itself, it does automate typically tedious business administration. Some packages calculate factors such as approved employee requests, hours of availability, business hours, business needs, shift trades, etc. and automatically create a work schedule that fits as many constraints as possible and manage the task of automation and data collection. By providing management with large amounts of data, this software can assist management in making decisions. Some typical features are listed below:

• Gantt chart
• Reduce unproductive workforce due to over scheduling^[4]
• Use weather forecasts to predict staffing needs^[4]
• Allow employees to swap shifts.
• Templates to roll out shift plans over medium term
• Conflict management, e.g. blocking double bookings
• Interface to payroll and/or management accounting software ^[5]
• Ability to easily identify unassigned shifts.^[5]
• Ability to create reports for invoicing and payroll.^[5]
• Automatic availability and capacity checking.

See also

• Field Service Management
• Gantt chart
• Schedule
• Schedule (workplace)
• Time tracking software
• Workforce management

References

1. IDC. "Mobile Technology: Transforming Workforce Management". July 2011.
2. Aberdeen Group. "Workforce Scheduling 2011: Automation Drives Accuracy, Efficiency and Business Outcomes". April 2011.
3. Nucleus Research. "Research Note: Mobile Technology Meets the Frontline Workforce". April 2011.
4. Steven Greenhouse (October 27, 2012). "A Part-Time Life, as Hours Shrink and Shift". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2012.
5. Disselkamp, Lisa. Workforce Asset Management Book of Knowledge. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 9781118420508.