Max Raabe has already performed here. Nico Stank is still to come. No doubt about it: Stadthalle Aschaffenburg is the events hotspot of this culturally rich Bavarian city. It’s where Lower Franconia’s high society meets at the Suppenschul Ball. It’s where the region’s wine queen was crowned, broadcast live on TV. Every year, the city administration puts on around 500 cultural events, seminars and conferences.
More precisely: the 40-strong Stadthalle team. Event managers, stage managers, event technicians and supporting temp staff. A challenge for staff scheduling. A year ago, the Stadthalle switched from Excel to Dyflexis for its temp staff. The result? “Our team is much happier,” says Stadthalle director Patrick Bodirsky. “And we can offer more events!” We wanted to know more.
Patrick Bodirsky has been in charge of Stadthalle Aschaffenburg since the end of 2022. His official title? Head of Stadthalle Management, Marketing and Event Services. “A typical tongue-twister of German officialese,” laughs the 40-year-old. In practice, the business economist and event manager is responsible for the structural and organizational development of the Stadthalle. That includes the final selection of events, pricing and, of course, staff scheduling.
It’s not just the permanent staff who need scheduling, but also the many temps who look after the cloakroom, show visitors to their seats or validate parking tickets at events. “A huge amount of work in Excel,” Patrick Bodirsky recalls of his early days.
Starting point: a half-time job just for managing temps
“A part-time colleague was assigned solely to calling round the temps. Can you work then? When are you on vacation? And so on.” Within days of starting his new job, the Franconian native knew this had to change.
At the municipal COVID test center, and at the German Red Cross in Aschaffenburg, where he volunteers as head of the search-and-rescue dog unit, Patrick Bodirsky had already gained experience with apps for digital staff scheduling. He knew from experience how much time and stress the right workforce management software could save his team. But finding a provider proved difficult, partly because of Germany’s 70-day rule for short-term employment.
A tough search: most apps can’t handle local government
Almost all staff scheduling apps record working time by the hour. Logical enough. “But as a municipality, with mini-jobs we also have to keep a very close eye on each temp not working more than the legally permitted 70 days a year,” the Stadthalle director explains. Apparently a major hurdle for potential partners. “No company was willing to extend its software to cover it.” Frustrated, Bodirsky searched online and came across Dyflexis. “From the very first contact, we were looked after very competently and kindly,” the municipal department head recalls. “And building in the 70-day rule was no problem at all.”
Flexible workforce management: 100% privacy-compliant
Hurdle number one was cleared. The staff council was quickly on board too. “After all, employers are obliged to record working time in a legally sound way,” says Patrick Bodirsky. “And because Dyflexis, unlike other providers, doesn’t include employee tracking, our administration really had no concerns.” That left only data protection, a hurdle that doesn’t exist with Dyflexis. “All the servers are in Europe, so no data is exchanged with other countries,” the Stadthalle director explains. “That’s why we also got the green light on data protection quickly.”
The biggest skeptic is now a passionate fan
Today, all temps check the open jobs in the app themselves and sign up for events according to their preferences and availability. In turn, they indicate in the app when they are on vacation or otherwise unavailable. “That saves us an enormous amount of time in scheduling,” reports Patrick Bodirsky. “If jobs are still open and we’re actively looking for temps, we can see straight away who is available at all and could be asked.”
And the temps? They are happy with the new flexibility. “At our annual meeting, we recently took stock together after a year of Dyflexis,” says the Stadthalle director. The verdict: “Everyone is happy. Even our longest-serving temp, who has been with us for a good 30 years and was very skeptical at first, made a point of telling me: ‘Goodness, now I can easily sign up for the best events!’ That feedback really made my day.”
A happier team, more events
So staff scheduling with Excel is a thing of the past at Stadthalle Aschaffenburg. High time too, because the colleague who looked after the temps part-time has since gone into well-deserved retirement. “With the freed-up half-time position, we could offer a part-time event planner on our team a full-time position,” says Patrick Bodirsky. “That takes pressure off the team, and we can now offer even more events.” Good thing, because in 2026 Stadthalle Aschaffenburg turns 35, and the anniversary year should of course be celebrated in style.
And 2027? The German Federal President is expected at a choir competition. That means a lot of work for the team, for example on protocol and security. “And of course on staff scheduling,” Bodirsky nods with a laugh: “I’m looking forward to it, because now we have a strong partner for it.”
Patrick Bodirsky, Head of Stadthalle Management
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