1. Consider peak hours and high season; dead hours and low season when allocating the number of employees per shift. You want to ensure your customers are getting proper attention. Understaffing creates havoc for customers and employees. Not only can you lose customers but also employees. Overstaffing, on the other hand, is costly.
2. Plan for vacations, time-off, holidays in advance. Why wait till the last minute? Ask your employees to fill out a time-off request form at least one month in advance. Your employees will appreciate working for a business that cares about their leisure time.
3. Take your employees' preferences into account when scheduling. Some actually prefer night shifts or weekend shifts while others might not particularly like them but want them for their higher wages. Distribute highly sought after shifts evenly among employees as much as possible. Again, you need to know employees' preferred days and hours. Make sure you also ask them which days or hours they have problems with in order to avoid "violating" their preferences.
4. Employees' skill set, seniority,and experience play an important role in ensuring that each department/shift/station is allocated an optimized team. A skill set could be any ability required for the job such as knowledge of a foreign language (important for contact centers), certification or ability to operate certain machinery.In a team/crew scheduled for a particular shift, you really must have at least one experienced member who can guide the others or mentor the newer members. You should put together a chart with such valuable info for scheduling purposes. Group your employees according to qualifications so that in case of a team member's absence, you know exactly who can fill in.
5. Always send your employees a copy of their schedules at least one month in advance for their approval. Ask them to check that schedules do not conflict, fill their weekly hours/quotas, and are in keeping with their preferences. Also request a confirmation from your employees. You can do all this via email using a template you can update monthly. If you have an automated scheduling program, you can send a report to all your employees instantly.
6. Schedule days-off for training in advance. If your company offers training courses and seminars, you must factor those into your scheduling. Make sure that you know who is registered for training throughout the year to make allowances for their absence.
7. Create a stand-by relief list of employees. There's no need to scramble looking for replacement; prepare a list of emplo
   Business Cards: The Other Side
   All of us have business cards. Most of us have standard-size cards, printed on one side. How much more mileage could you get from your cards by using both sides?There are lots of uses for the back of a business card. Why not try one (or more) of these? If you print your own business cards on the computer, you can make short runs of different types and see what works best for you.Put a map of your location on the back, with directions on how to get there.Print one or more client testimonials, with t
   nderstaffing creates havoc for customers and employees. Not only can you lose customers but also employees. Overstaffing, on the other hand, is costly.
8. Plan for vacations, time-off, holidays in advance. Why wait till the last minute? Ask your employees to fill out a time-off request form at least one month in advance. Your employees will appreciate working for a business that cares about their leisure time.
9. Take your employees' preferences into account when scheduling. Some actually prefer night shifts or weekend shifts while others might not particularly like them but want them for their higher wages. Distribute highly sought after shifts evenly among employees as much as possible. Again, you need to know employees' preferred days and hours. Make sure you also ask them which days or hours they have problems with in order to avoid "violating" their preferences.
10. Employees' skill set, seniority,and experience play an important role in ensuring that each department/shift/station is allocated an optimized team. A skill set could be any ability required for the job such as knowledge of a foreign language (important for contact centers), certification or ability to operate certain machinery.In a team/crew scheduled for a particular shift, you really must have at least one experienced member who can guide the others or mentor the newer members. You should put together a chart with such valuable info for scheduling purposes. Group your employees according to qualifications so that in case of a team member's absence, you know exactly who can fill in.
11. Always send your employees a copy of their schedules at least one month in advance for their approval. Ask them to check that schedules do not conflict, fill their weekly hours/quotas, and are in keeping with their preferences. Also request a confirmation from your employees. You can do all this via email using a template you can update monthly. If you have an automated scheduling program, you can send a report to all your employees instantly.
12. Schedule days-off for training in advance. If your company offers training courses and seminars, you must factor those into your scheduling. Make sure that you know who is registered for training throughout the year to make allowances for their absence.
13. Create a stand-by relief list of employees. There's no need to scramble looking for replacement; prepare a list of emplo
    Payroll Service, Changing Providers - Chapter Two: What Should you Look for in a New Provider?
    Service Technology Professionalism Cost Location Service. Can your new provider handle your unique needs? You can only ask. But don’t just take their word. Ask for references in your size and type of business. Smaller providers may only be able to get close but that is OK. You’re concerned about how, not what, service is provided. Ask the references for other reference back to the provided that they did not provide you with. That is where you may get
    for their higher wages. Distribute highly sought after shifts evenly among employees as much as possible. Again, you need to know employees' preferred days and hours. Make sure you also ask them which days or hours they have problems with in order to avoid "violating" their preferences.
14. Employees' skill set, seniority,and experience play an important role in ensuring that each department/shift/station is allocated an optimized team. A skill set could be any ability required for the job such as knowledge of a foreign language (important for contact centers), certification or ability to operate certain machinery.In a team/crew scheduled for a particular shift, you really must have at least one experienced member who can guide the others or mentor the newer members. You should put together a chart with such valuable info for scheduling purposes. Group your employees according to qualifications so that in case of a team member's absence, you know exactly who can fill in.
15. Always send your employees a copy of their schedules at least one month in advance for their approval. Ask them to check that schedules do not conflict, fill their weekly hours/quotas, and are in keeping with their preferences. Also request a confirmation from your employees. You can do all this via email using a template you can update monthly. If you have an automated scheduling program, you can send a report to all your employees instantly.
16. Schedule days-off for training in advance. If your company offers training courses and seminars, you must factor those into your scheduling. Make sure that you know who is registered for training throughout the year to make allowances for their absence.
17. Create a stand-by relief list of employees. There's no need to scramble looking for replacement; prepare a list of emplo
    Start Your E-Zine Right - 5 Questions to Ask Yourself before You Begin
    Congratulations! You’ve decided to publish an ezine. But where do you begin? As with anything, at the beginning.Before you write your first word there are some decisions you need to make. Ask yourself these 5 questions:1.What is the topic of your ezine?This may seem like a silly question if you are far enough along in the process that you know you want to publish an ezine, but you would be surprised how many ezines are out there that seem to have no solid topic. They seem to be there for the sole purpose of taking
    achinery.In a team/crew scheduled for a particular shift, you really must have at least one experienced member who can guide the others or mentor the newer members. You should put together a chart with such valuable info for scheduling purposes. Group your employees according to qualifications so that in case of a team member's absence, you know exactly who can fill in.
18. Always send your employees a copy of their schedules at least one month in advance for their approval. Ask them to check that schedules do not conflict, fill their weekly hours/quotas, and are in keeping with their preferences. Also request a confirmation from your employees. You can do all this via email using a template you can update monthly. If you have an automated scheduling program, you can send a report to all your employees instantly.
19. Schedule days-off for training in advance. If your company offers training courses and seminars, you must factor those into your scheduling. Make sure that you know who is registered for training throughout the year to make allowances for their absence.
20. Create a stand-by relief list of employees. There's no need to scramble looking for replacement; prepare a list of emplo
    Branding Your Own Beauty Care Line? Get Your Artwork Straight
    There is a buzz phrase circulating throughout the hair and skin care industry, and it has nothing to do with the latest beauty craze coming out of Hollywood. However, it does have something to do with Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears and P-Diddy. What's the connection? Everyone wants their own hair or skin care line.It's called Private Labeling. What is Private Labeling? It's simply having a manufacturer create products for you that you can brand yourself. From high end salons and spas to small country stores, private labe
    est a confirmation from your employees. You can do all this via email using a template you can update monthly. If you have an automated scheduling program, you can send a report to all your employees instantly.
21. Schedule days-off for training in advance. If your company offers training courses and seminars, you must factor those into your scheduling. Make sure that you know who is registered for training throughout the year to make allowances for their absence.
22. Create a stand-by relief list of employees. There's no need to scramble looking for replacement; prepare a list of employees willing to replace absent employees who call in sick at the last minute. This is a common occurrence so there's no reason not to be equipped with a list.

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For more information about automating your employee scheduling, contact Nancy Berger at navushe (at) kappix.com

For more information about DRoster Employee Scheduling Software visit http://www.kappix.com/