If you follow the news it is hard not to notice the numerous reports that talk about unfair work scheduling and work scheduling abuse. This is quite common in the huge retail industry. Unfortunately, scheduling is not at all something that is easy to do. Employees want to be aware of everything that they have to do and when they need to do it. They need to know their shifts. Some might even want to use a service like ShiftPixy to get a second shift at another company for more income. Unfair scheduling can only lead to huge problems for the business so here are some ways in which this can be avoided.
Know The Store
Managers have access to all information that needs to be known about a store, ranging from historic data about how busy the store is at different times of the year to the tasks that are done best by some specific employees. The manager thus has to determine the best sellers and peak hours. This knowledge is going to help make really good decision about how to schedule an extra worker for some specific shifts. The stronger workers can be scheduled for the hours that are the busiest.
Always Be Considerate
As an employee is asking for a day off, do all that you can as a manager to offer that! Do not make the employee feel bad about the request. Whenever an employee needs to work late, do ask ahead of time. When you have to make a schedule change, ask ahead of time. Do be willing to allow some shift swaps. The schedule should be made at least 30 days in advance for perfect efficiency.
Never treat your employees in a way that cannot be perceived as being respectful. Handle them with care so that morale remains high. At the same time, loyalty will be fostered. The employee that knows you now care about the work done is going to be much more likely to get the extra shift that might sometimes be needed.
The employees that are not treated well are going to simply start looking for another place to work. If they are happy, they will do you a favor when it is needed.
Hire Really Dedicated Workers On An On-Call Schedule
Having on-call in a business is not at all a bad practice. It offers the possibility to hire someone that would get the job done right whenever it is actually needed. On-call scheduling can turn into abuse if the retailer hires someone without letting the employee know that this will be a huge job part. Everything is going to get a lot worse if the employee is scheduled for an on-call shift if nobody is asked.
Retail employees do need stable paychecks so that they can take care of the responsibilities they have at home. On-call scheduling can be a nightmare for them. When you hire the employees that do know about the on-call deal, the store reaps in the benefits. Find people or students that do not depend on the job for their survival.