The Perfect Future for Automated Management
Are you an entrepreneur, a director or a human resources manager? Tell me, how should one manage employee work schedules in 2021? What if I told you that the days of Excel spreadsheets are over… that powerful algorithms have been developed and can easily and efficiently be used to save time and avoid costly errors? Would you breathe a sigh of relief?
I don’t know about you, but I have the strange impression that the older you get, the less hours there are in a day. It’s exponential really! Let’s paint a picture of the past to pinpoint the moment where Father Time started to play tricks on us, and see how the present and the future can provide solutions to address problems that relate to management methods in the workplace.
The Past
As age brings wisdom, if there are sufficient years behind you for you to have known paper scheduling, hats off to you. One must have great patience to rack one’s brain using handwritten notes and bringing changes to every shift, while taking into consideration holidays, time off or special requests while respecting collective agreement terms.
Since the popularization of the computer, sheets of paper have given way to electronic spreadsheets, but even then, the method of operation is still largely manual, not to mention all the papers still lying around. So much time is lost just entering and exporting data or managing specific requests to meet staff requirements. On top of this, you must make sure to inform all the members of your team of any changes while ensuring that the whole process was conducted in an orderly manner according to legal obligations and agreements.
The Present Nature of the Challenges
How many hours does your human resources team spend going through a list of names in search of possible replacements without success just to see their level of stress escalate? How many hours of overtime or errors related to the failure to respect the collective agreement have caused you a great deal of trouble or your employees evident dissatisfaction?
In 2021, the global pandemic has changed the overall face of our work environment and our use of computers and mobile devices has evolved significantly. Employers who offer flexibility are increasingly popular and employees have an active interest in the modernization of working processes given that they want to reclaim their valuable time. Labour retention has also become a major issue.
Consequently, one must know how to put in place the tools to use to simplify workplace management so time – yours and your employees’ – can be invested where it is required most.
A Perfect Progressive Future
Imagine that all your personnel is in perfect synchronicity, having access on hand (literally through an app on their mobile phone or through their computer) to the latest updated version of their work schedule. An automated scheduling system is the key to free up your time while reducing the risk of error. Your employees will be delighted with the way the system facilitates communications, follow-ups and the search for replacements. No matter the size of your business, the system strictly follows the rules set out in your collective agreement and manages the list of possible replacements in a simplified way.
In addition to facilitating the processes your management and human resources team must complete, your employees will be delighted by the degree of autonomy they gain by using themselves the online portal to submit a request for time off, to announce their availability or to arrange a shift swap. Also, the platform is intuitive to use and employees get instant access to all their documents.
This is a time for progress. It’s time to put an end to errors caused by outdated management models and to welcome an automated scheduling system with all the flexibility and efficiency it ensures. This is a way to resolve many problems to the satisfaction of employees and managers alike!
Some say time is money, but time is in fact more valuable than that. At the dawn of this post-pandemic era, your employees have realized this. How about you?