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Holly Ocasio Rizzo

Guide to Employee Scheduling Software and Policies

You have lots of leeway to make rules that work best for your business

By Holly Ocasio Rizzo, Writer and editor, Holly Ocasio Rizzo

Employee scheduling is one of the most important aspects of your daily operation. Not only do you need to ensure the work gets done, but you don't want to ruffle employees' feathers. The good news is that most aspects of policy-making are up to you rather than the law. The bad news is that you have lots of decisions to make: Will you allow telecommuting, part-timers, split shifts, job sharing? How will you handle holidays, vacations, leaves and sick days? How can you accomplish scheduling and track attendance quickly and easily? You'll need to zero in on the three main strategies of staff scheduling:
  1. Cover shifts effectively while minimizing overtime.
  2. Keep employees happy – and productive – by accommodating requests such as time off.
  3. Stay within the law, insurance rules or union provisions regarding work limits.
Here are the best solutions today for employee scheduling that works for your business:

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done


Put your employee scheduling policies in writing

A clearly stated employee time schedule policy in the employee handbook keeps everybody on the same page.
I recommend: Business & Legal Reports Inc. offers sample policies on work hours, leaves, absences and other staff scheduling issues.

Know when to bend on employee scheduling

In general, you can set your own staff scheduling policies. However, the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act establish some work schedule policies you must follow. In addition, states' labor laws vary.
I recommend: The federal Department of Labor gives compliance assistance on many work schedules topics; refer to their links to state labor departments.

Use employee scheduling software

Sure, you can match employees to jobs, ensure shifts are covered and calculate employee costs to manage payroll expenses — but employee scheduling software can do it faster.
I recommend: Try Web-enabled employee scheduling programs at When To Work.com. Get employee scheduling software at Celayix Software and Atlas Business Solutions Inc.  Find more employee scheduling software vendors at Business.com.

Move the time clock to the phone or employee scheduling software

Having employees clock in and out by phone or online with employee scheduling sofware allows you to keep accurate records that you can see anytime online.
I recommend: Try the Chronotek phone-in system free for a month, or get quotes from Buyer Zone on employee scheduling software software and Web-enabled employee scheduling programs. Find time and attendance software and solutions at Business.com, as well as solutions for flexible work schedules.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

  • Your business is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act if you have at least 50 employees living within a 75-mile radius.
  • A leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act need not be consecutive; it can be part-time or intermittent if you and the employee agree to it.
  • The Fair Labor Standards Act offers no provisions regarding an employee time schedule except for child labor.
  • Although federal law does not require extra pay for night or weekend work or any pay for vacations, keep in mind the old adage that employee satisfaction and productivity go hand in hand.

The official source of Employee Scheduling Software and Policies is
the Employee Scheduling Software page at Business.com

More Featured Listings
Employee Scheduling Software- Free Price Quotes
Compare Prices and Save. Visit Now for Free Price Quotes!
Free Price Quotes | Start Request Now
TimeTrack.BuyerZone.com
VSS Pro Employee Scheduling Software - Fast & Easy to Use
Create schedules in minutes. Ensure shift coverage & reduce overtime. Print, email or post schedules. 90-day, money-back guarantee. Starts at $495.
www.abs-usa.com
TimeClock Plus - Attendance & Scheduling Solutions
Developer of attendance and scheduling solutions for small to mid-sized businesses. Multi-user system automatically tracks schedules, time and pay.
www.timeclockplus.com
TimeForce Workforce Attendance
Manage your employee time, attendance & scheduling easily with TimeForce. Flexible time tracking options for any business. Dozens of useful reports.
Quick Tour | Overview | Request a Quote | View Demo
www.MyTimeForce.com
Related Resources

Recommended Solution Providers

Kronos Incorporated
Offering a suite of applications for managing employee activity data, workforce scheduling, and tools to measure and improve labor productivity.

Droster employee Scheduling Software
Kappix produces DRoster employee scheduling software for businesses and organizations of all sizes.

Timecard Plus Business and Scheduling Solutions
Developer of attendance and scheduling solutions for small to mid-sized businesses.

Aligo, Inc. Employee Scheduling
Schedule technicians, wirelessly dispatch jobs, collect field time wirelessly, and track employee location in real time with software from Aligo.

Celayix: Employee Scheduling and Attendance Solutions
Celayix products are designed to help organizations effectively and more efficiently manage their labor workforce.

TimeForce Workforce Attendance
Manage employee time, attendance & scheduling easily with TimeForce. Flexible time tracking options for any business.

Schedule Source
Provides scheduling software to optimize a company's staffing around customer needs in the most cost effective way.

When to Work.com
Software automatically creates schedules using employee preferred work times and also includes automatic e-mail notifications, company bulletin board and employee tracking.

My Timeforce
A software-based time and attendance system that allows employers to collect and organize employee time data.

Atlas Business Solutions
Software program for scheduling staff.

Chronotek
Software for using the telephone for time and attendance.

Best Sites to Learn More

AllBusiness.com: Work Schedules
Site contains links to articles about all aspects of employee scheduling and work time, including discussion of laws, regulations and rules..

Inc.com: Flextime and Telecommuting
Articles about employer's options for scheduling employees and helping them to manage their time.

U.S. Department of Labor: Work Hours
Site provides links to federal laws regarding work hours and wages, and information on topics such as breaks and work periods, family and medical leave, full-time employment, holidays, job sharing, night & shift work, overtime, part-time employment, record keeping, sick leave, travel time, vacation leave, and weekend work.



FEATURED LISTINGS
Employee Scheduling Software- Free Price Quotes
Compare Prices and Save. Visit Now for Free Price Quotes!
TimeTrack.BuyerZone.com
VSS Pro Employee Scheduling Software - Fast & Easy to Use
Create schedules in minutes. Ensure shift coverage & reduce overtime. Print, email or post schedules. 90-day, money-back guarantee. Starts at $495.
www.abs-usa.com
TimeClock Plus - Attendance & Scheduling Solutions
Developer of attendance and scheduling solutions for small to mid-sized businesses. Multi-user system automatically tracks schedules, time and pay.
www.timeclockplus.com
TimeForce Workforce Attendance
Manage your employee time, attendance & scheduling easily with TimeForce. Flexible time tracking options for any business. Dozens of useful reports.
www.MyTimeForce.com
ShiftHound Online Scheduling & Open Shift Management - OSM
Easy to use scheduling for the FaceBook generation! Schedule your staff online and in real-time. Do more with less. Free 60 Day No Risk Trial.
www.shifthound.com
Compare Price Quotes for Time & Attendance
Submit a request to compare competitive time & attendance solution quotes from multiple vendors. Free, no obligation.
www.AllOptions.com

What WorksTM for Employee Management

Daniel Kehrer

Time and Attendance Tracking Technology

 By Daniel Kehrer, Editor, Business.com & Work.com
Time and attendance systems make employee time keeping a snap
New time and attendance solutions for every size of business, including web- and PC-based systems, remote systems and high-tech time clocks are replacing paper time sheets and mechanical clocks at a rapid clip. These systems also integrate easily with popular payroll software, making them huge time and money savers for almost any business. You'll want to decide what type of time and attendance system you want. It could be software ... Read more

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