The Evolution of Scheduling
Managers set the rules to control costs and optimize operations. Employees work tough schedules to gain points and scheduling preferences. Scheduledrafter's completely integrated point system, Autoscheduler, trades, and automatic preferences make scheduling a game that eliminates complaints and optimizes operations. Let's Get Started!
Scheduledrafter automated everything and created a point system. Set up minimum and maximum hours for any employee and cut and paste to others in seconds. Create various Things like Night Nurse and Day Waiter to minimize costs and optimize operations.
Owners can choose from a variety of schedule templates created by Scheduledrafter experts and the Scheduledrafter community to be off and running fast.
Most companies hire managers, full-time, part-time, and per diem employees. Set up one version of each, cut and paste to the others in minutes. Different levels of points, shift preference, and minimum and maximum hour settings allow managers to tweak employee hours to maximize productivity and minimize cost. Experiment with different set ups and see how Autoscheduler handles them. If a new hire is just like a current employee, just copy and paste.
Autoscheduler divvies up shifts according to a point system. Six picks exist with their corresponding point levels: First Pick, Second Pick... Sixth Pick. Each “pick” picks in order. First Pick picks first, then Second, then Third… Normally the first picks (First and Second) hold managers and who get first pick from the available shifts. The middle picks (Third and Fourth), pick in order and afterwards. They normally hold full time and part-time employees. The last picks (Fifth and Sixth) normally contain fill-ins and per-diems. Everyone in a certain “pick”, competes against each other for points and shift preference.
Most managers will only need two to three picks or maybe just one if the schedule is equally distributed among users. Scheduledrafter provides more just in case.
Managers enjoy the freedom to experiment with picks. Maybe to keep a high level per-diem, they need First Pick? No problem, just a click away.
If the points are becoming too wanky (the night workers are earning all the points because they work all the undesirable shifts), it might be time to move them into another pick. If the managers want them to have priority on picking the nights, they would move up a pick. If the managers do not want them to have priority, they would be moved down a pick.
When users are moved between picks their points are erased and they start at zero for their new pick.
Demand determines points. Unpopular shifts award more points. Points equal control. Working unpopular shifts give employees more control of their schedule.
Overall hours set maximum and minimum hours an employee can work during a scheduling period. If Overall Max is set to 40 hours then an employee cannot be scheduled for more than 40 hours. If Overall Min is set to 30 hours, Autoscheduler will schedule them for no less than 30 hours.
Managers create Things (positions… places…) to set the rules of the game. Nurse, Nurse Assistant, Bartender, and Waiter are examples of some common Things. Managers who require more control might use Night Nurse, Day Nurse, Lunch Bartender, Night Bartender or Bartender South Location. By allocating minimum and maximum Thing hours to different employees, managers determine who will cover the Night Nurse and Lunch Bartender shifts the most and who will fill in at those positions.
For many restaurants, bartenders fill in as waiters and waiters fill in as bartenders. For a weekly schedule, bartenders would be allocated 30 Bartender min hours and 40 Bartender max hours. They may also be given 10 Waiter max hours. Thing Max hours set the maximum hours an employee can work at a certain Thing. Max hours do not guarantee ANY hours. They simply limit the total hours of any Thing. In this example the employee would be scheduled for at least 30 hours of Bartender with the possibility of 10 more hours of Waiter or Bartender.
Employees rank all possible shifts with the help of Autoranker. If they have enough points, Autoscheduler starts at the top of their ranklist and fulfills their preferences.. If they do not have enough points, they must decide. Work undesirable shifts to earn more points or be content with the fair schedule in front of them. Their fate is theirs.
Scheduledrafter's completely integrated point system adapts to any schedule's needs automatically. If Nights are a popular shift, then nights will be worth the least amount of points. If weekdays are unpopular, then weekdays will be worth the most points. Simple. Transparent. Infinitely gameable. No complaints. Employees control their destinies.
For simplicity it might be easiest to start all users as Fourth Pick, and just see what happens. If over time certain users need more scheduling preference, they move up a pick. If certain users are generating too much scheduling power, move them down. In general, more important users pick first and less important pick last.
Managers are given First or Second Pick status, so they can pick the shifts they need and still have time for managerial duties. Managers also can change the schedule at will, so they are always in control.
Full-time employees are given Third and Fourth Picks and allocated minimum hours, assuring they have scheduling preference over per-diem workers and are scheduled for their normal hours.
Low priority per-diem employees are allocated Fith and Sixth Pick, no minimum hours, and specific maximum hours. Assuring that per-diem employees are the last to pick shifts, do not require hours on the schedule, and max out at a certain number of hours. Autoscheduler fills the schedule according to the Overall hour settings and Thing hours (Positions… Places) set by managers.
Managers create Things (positions…places…) to set the rules of the game. Nurse, Lunch Bartender, or Bartender South Location are examples of some common Things. By allocating Minimum and Maximum hours to the desired employees, managers determine who will cover the “Night Nurse” and “Lunch Bartender” shifts the most.
Managers open the schedule for pick-ups and trades. Employees pick up open shifts. Employees trade shifts. Managers review the schedule and can make any adjustments they want, on the fly, whenever. Automatically and in the background, the point system accounts for everything, making every trade and schedule fair.