5 common staff scheduling mistakes

Staff scheduling is an important task in any organization where several people work. Too little capacity makes it hard (or impossible) to meet demand, while overcapacity leads to unnecessary costs. In this article, we list 5 common staff scheduling mistakes. We also tell you how to avoid them. Good luck!

1. The wrong person in the wrong place 

A well-known staff scheduling mistake is putting the wrong person in the wrong place. Thinking someone is capable, while they would do better elsewhere. You can avoid this mistake by paying attention to it during the selection process. First, get clear on what you're looking for in an employee. Second, make sure you find out during the selection process whether the person has the skills and abilities you defined. 

2. Not anticipating seasonal trends enough 

Some periods of the year are extra busy, others extra quiet. That's true in almost every sector, but especially in hospitality and in businesses that sell B2C. Peaks during the holidays, full terraces in summer, you name it. You can anticipate well by using forecasting software. Based on past data, and also on weather forecasts compared with previous years, it predicts how many staff you need and when. 

3. Not taking personal preferences into account 

Although schedulers may be in charge of the schedule, it's definitely recommended to take personal preferences into account. Let your employees indicate them through a scheduling system. Because employees who have to work when they don't really want to? That definitely lowers morale! They may work less hard and be stressed and/or grumpy, which affects the results. Avoiding this mistake is easy: simply think along with them. 

4. Scheduling too tightly without a backup 

Regularly making your staff work overtime because you scheduled too tightly is not a good idea. This is also bad for morale and can even lead to burnout over time, which you obviously want to prevent as an employer. You also need to take short-term and long-term absence into account. What do you do when someone calls in sick at the last minute, and how do you cover a pregnancy or long-term absence? Always think about a backup plan and build in some extra room in case something takes longer than expected. 

5. Doing everything manually, without software 

Using software can help you create a good staff schedule. Doing it manually brings many more risks. It becomes a big tangle, and it also takes you much more time than using software. Workforce Management software is a good choice. At Dyflexis, you can request a free demo. We tell you more about it below. 

Creating a good staff schedule? Workforce Management System! 

At Dyflexis, we built the Workforce Management System. This staff scheduling software helps you make the right scheduling choices. Based on historical data, it makes a recommendation. You translate this into capacity, and then into an efficient schedule. You also look at backup for when someone is sick, and many factors that can affect good staff scheduling are taken into account. With Workforce Management, you can avoid the most common staff scheduling mistakes! 

Ready to get started with Workforce Management? Request a free demo of the Dyflexis Workforce Management System.