HRZone
Former ETL HR
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2016
- Messages
- 5,645
I figured we needed a thread for schedule writers. Good tips and tricks for writing a good schedule.
General tips
1) know your states meal and break schedules. For example if you're in a 5 hour state it's more efficient go schedule someone 4 hours and 45 minutes then exactly 5 hours and them have to take a meal in the middle of their shift or risk violating compliance.
2) remember the companies rules for minors. Never before 7 or after 10. I have had them hit compliance by clocking in early or staying late. I don't schedule them until 705 so even if they clock in early (5 minute grace period) they don't clock in too early and I don't schedule them after 945 for that same reason, you never know if they'll make it to the timeclock.
3) when I can, I actually try to give team members two days off in a row. While some team members will unfortunately have to work every single weekend, I believe if you give them two days off in a row even if it's a Tuesday and Wednesday it becomes their own weekend.
3b) team members who are on their second or third day off are way more likely to come in for a shift when called in. When a team member has worked 3 days in a row and have one day off before working the next two they will probably decline your offer to come in on their one chance to breathe.
4) stagger your start times. So annoying we had 5 cashier's at 7am on black friday. Guess who all went to lunch at the same time?
5) give reliable tms day shifts. It's a little easier and you have more time to replace an evening callout. Sucks when it's 8am and your opening fitting room called out AGAIN. Who can I call? Oh wait all the other girls in softlines are in school.
6) whatever schedule mytime wrote. Delete it, mytime writes the worst schedules. No mytime we don't need someone in Starbucks an hour before our store opens. Half an hour is plenty of time, thank you much.
General tips
1) know your states meal and break schedules. For example if you're in a 5 hour state it's more efficient go schedule someone 4 hours and 45 minutes then exactly 5 hours and them have to take a meal in the middle of their shift or risk violating compliance.
2) remember the companies rules for minors. Never before 7 or after 10. I have had them hit compliance by clocking in early or staying late. I don't schedule them until 705 so even if they clock in early (5 minute grace period) they don't clock in too early and I don't schedule them after 945 for that same reason, you never know if they'll make it to the timeclock.
3) when I can, I actually try to give team members two days off in a row. While some team members will unfortunately have to work every single weekend, I believe if you give them two days off in a row even if it's a Tuesday and Wednesday it becomes their own weekend.
3b) team members who are on their second or third day off are way more likely to come in for a shift when called in. When a team member has worked 3 days in a row and have one day off before working the next two they will probably decline your offer to come in on their one chance to breathe.
4) stagger your start times. So annoying we had 5 cashier's at 7am on black friday. Guess who all went to lunch at the same time?
5) give reliable tms day shifts. It's a little easier and you have more time to replace an evening callout. Sucks when it's 8am and your opening fitting room called out AGAIN. Who can I call? Oh wait all the other girls in softlines are in school.
6) whatever schedule mytime wrote. Delete it, mytime writes the worst schedules. No mytime we don't need someone in Starbucks an hour before our store opens. Half an hour is plenty of time, thank you much.
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