The 7 Best Employee Scheduling Software (Shiftplanning) – 2023

Shiftplanning software is a win for everyone involved in your business. Employee scheduling software is replacing manual techniques like spreadsheets, and in some cases, pen and paper schedules for automated scheduling and AI-powered tools that make it even easier to have the right staff at the right time.

• Employees: Shift information is easily accessible from anywhere and they can also trade shifts, ask for time off, clock in and out, and get paid. 
• Managers: Employee scheduling software significantly cuts shiftplanning time that can be used for other activities. These tools can also be used to communicate with staff and share information quickly. 
• HR management: The payment process is completely streamlined with payroll integrations that give accurate information about hours worked. Plus they can stay up to date on compliance and labor regulations. ‍
• Decision-makers: Labor metrics can be analyzed when planning for the future and growing their business.

When choosing an employee scheduling software it's important to find the right tool. Here are some common mistakes that businesses make: 

• Not knowing the size of their business: It's essential to know the size of your business and how expansion might affect the software plan that you choose.
• Not contemplating ease of use/implementation times: Consider how easy the software is to use for staff and how long it will take to train them. 
• Failure to consider remote/satellite employees: Do you have employees that work at more than one location or remotely? Not all employee scheduling software is able to integrate this information into its system. 
• Failing to clarify the necessary support: Get clear on how much HR support you need. Some shift planning software options have great tools for business owners who want to offer more benefits to their employees, but if you have a solid HR team you won’t need the extra help.   
• Failure to run the numbers: Some plans are billed annually which isn't ideal if you have changes in staffing numbers like if you have temporary or seasonal employees. 
• ‍Not prioritizing software integration: Integration is essential. Choosing an employee scheduling software that isn’t compatible with your payroll software will cause more work for HR staff.

Employee scheduling software has several benefits for companies from diverse industries. Here are the main ones to keep in mind as you conduct your search:

• Dynamic schedules in real-time: Employees can have instant access to when and where they work and eliminate confusion causing lateness and absences. Plus, they can take responsibility for their availability, clocking in and out, swapping shifts, and asking for time off. Managers can manually approve these changes or allow the software to handle requests automatically based on staffing data. 
• Boosting communication: Making sure that employees are up-to-date on announcements is key. Many employee scheduling software have dashboards for posting news and notifications to alter employees when they have an upcoming shift and where and when they’ve gotten paid. 
• Reducing no-shows: Sometimes, things come up and employees won't be able to make their shit. Employee scheduling software can help managers find a replacement quickly by altering staff via smartphone when there is a last-minute shift open. This  feature is useful when demand changes need to be communicated quickly because of an increase or decrease in staff needs. 
• Ensuring compliance: Organizing all documentation, expiration dates, and store credentials in one place helps businesses stay on top of their requirements. Shiftplanning software can help make sure credentials are compliant with the relevant rules and regulations and send alerts about upcoming expirations or labor compliance changes.
• Analyze your organization’s resources: Employee scheduling software collects information about attendance information, skill and performance ratings, and even POS data that can be used to make smarter shiftplanning decisions. Using this data is essential for increasing productivity and profits. 
• Cutting labor costs: By tracking the needs of your business over each shift, week, month, or even year, managers can anticipate the demands needed and schedule shifts accordingly so that they have the right staff, at the right time. This helps control overall labor and overtime costs to stay on budget.‍
• Employee satisfaction: Manual shiftplanning is full of human error which can cause frustration for employees and managers alike. With automated employee scheduling, staff can quickly make changes to their shift and see them clearly on their smartphone app. When employees are happy, your customers will notice the difference.

Pricing models of employee scheduling software vary widely, as well as the features that each one has to offer. While you can find very basic shiftplanning tools for free, most are paid per employee. Most software vendors have a tiered pricing plan for small, medium, and large businesses with different features available at each tier. For businesses with over 500 employees, custom pricing is usually available.

Employee scheduling software is designed to help make shiftplanning easier, but many software options have features that go beyond simple schedule making. Here’s a list of common features that you may want to look for in the software that you choose:

• Schedule overview: View weekly, biweekly, and monthly shifts to ensure you have an accurate account for staff. See what is needed based on roles, location, and times of shifts. You and your employees can see who is assigned at specific times and locations. 
• Work management: Maintain productivity and boost efficiency by planning shifts, meetings, and budgets for specific projects. 
• Communication tools: Stay connected to employees with text messages, emails, or mobile applications. Ensure that any news, announcements, updates, and changes are communicated quickly and clearly.
• Auto-assign shift: Expedite time-consuming processes by automatically assigning shifts based on role, location, or shift time. 
• Shift swapping: Employees can see who is working when and trade their shifts or pick up available shifts. 
• Schedule templates: Create new schedules based on your previous schedules to reduce the time spent on creating new formats and confirming availability. 
• Worker profile: This is essential in handling all your employee’s data like contact information, licenses, training, documents, certifications, expiration dates, employment history, and education information, among others. This helps you align job responsibilities with their expertise and ensure compliance.
• Resource forecasting: Use historical data to project staffing needs. 
• Reports and analytics: Get insight on labor costs, schedules, breaks, financial reports, time clocks, and labor compliance. ‍
• Integrations: Integrate payroll systems to help HR get accurate hours and streamline the payment process.

Before choosing an employee scheduling software, book a demo to check out the features and get a feel for the quality of customer service they provide. We suggest that you schedule demos with several different shiftplanning software companies before making a decision.

Here are some questions to ask during your demo to get the full picture: 

• Is there an option for my company’s size?
• How does your software account for staffing changes?
• What industries do you work with? 
• What kind of scheduling problems do you see in my industry and how do you combat them? 
• Can I see a sample schedule? 
• How long does it take to learn to use?
• Does this software auto-assign shifts?
• What does the software look like for employees/ managers/ HR?
• What integrations does your software have? 
• Is the software licensed or web-hosted?
• How long does it take to implement?
• What are average ROI times and rates?
• Do you offer any additional features?
• How do you support customers with questions?
• Do you have any references I can call or email?

Employee scheduling software is intuitive and easy to use. Register at a vendor’s website, purchase a plan according to your needs and then start shiftplanning. ​​We recommend requesting a demo and then signing up for a trial if available before choosing your product.

What is employee scheduling software?

Employee scheduling software is an automatic workforce management solution that simplifies the shiftplanning process. This software uses data to create an optimized schedule based on roles, locations, and availability of employees. 

How can employee scheduling software benefit employers?

Employee scheduling software is beneficial to employers because it reduces labor costs, saves time on administrative tasks, and improves productivity and retention of employees.