We talk about employee engagement all the time. Why? Because the study after study shows that businesses who have engaged employees perform better.
They’re more productive, more motivated and, crucially for many, more profitable. When we talk about engagement we talk about creating a great culture, empowering employees and getting them to buy in to the company’s vision. We talk about this because it works but we realise, especially in industries where there is traditionally a high staff turnover and transient workforce, that it’s not always possible to put it into practice 100% of the time.
Summer is the season where bars, restaurants and hotels come alive. They are busy from dawn until dusk, with many staff working long shifts through consecutive days. When this is the case, the hands on time spent growing employee engagement levels will be less due to operational pressures. But that doesn’t mean it has to stop. And smart business are finding ways to keep their engagement levels consistently high with minimum hands-on management.
The key is smarter scheduling
According to a recent report, companies who engage their employees in scheduling see improved results. Of the businesses surveyed in the report, 56% are using schedule bidding, 37% use preference-based scheduling and 17% plan on letting their employees design their own schedule in a rules-based framework.
Business are doing this because schedules dictated to employees no longer work. In fact, they are one of the biggest causes of disengagement. This was clear to see in the case of Starbucks and their employees who stood up to poor scheduling practices and demanded more control over their time and their lives.
While businesses should strive to have happy employees, they also know that this is only half of the battle. Happy employees without happy customers isn’t helpful for any business. So while it’s important to give employees an element of control over their scheduling, it’s more important for the business to make sure the right people are in the right place at the right time.
And the great thing about workforce management is that these two don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, the ultimate aim is to have happy employees and happy customers. When these conditions are met is when businesses are the most successful.
An intelligent scheduling solution like Quinyx will man shifts based upon the skills of the employee while at the same time giving the employee the opportunity to say what shifts they’d prefer to work. Through this optimisation, the right people are always where they need to be and, what’s even more powerful, is they are happy to be there.
When you throw into this mix the ability to control all of this from a mobile app, then it’s easy to see what a powerful game-changer it can be when it comes to workforce optimisation. Swapping shifts, claiming available shifts, updating preferences and even applying for leave are can all be done from within the app.
And if that isn’t enough better scheduling also helps control and reduce costs. So not only is it helping you keep your employees engaged and your customers happy, it’s also saving you money.
So there you have it, schedule better and schedule smarter for a more successful business and a happier workforce!
