How Technology Helps Flexible Scheduling in Evolving Labor Market

Allocating human resources and scheduling people to take different shifts is a Herculean task. Companies are confronted with a problem that is becoming difficult as long as the current talent landscape is considered. Creating an acceptable timetable for the organisation is more critical than ever. More blends could stem from the trends that explain why companies are venturing into this business of focusing on the retention of employees. According to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), replacing an employee would cost the organisation at least 6 months to 9 months of an employee's income.

Although effective scheduling may be considered more of an operational matter than a benefit that workers might appreciate most, flexibility at the workplace is now becoming a core requirement for employees. According to ADP Research Institute's "People at Work 2022: A Global Workforce View" survey, 71% of workers wish to work under more flexibility than currently in their work policies on these aspects. In this case, they can work at whatever time suits them, and the time they'll allot for work. Similarly, that particular study also identified that while both younger and older generations valued the flexibility of hours, the youngest (19-24 years old) and the oldest (55 years and older) placed the highest value on these hour's flexibility.

Out of several benefits, one that will elongate your talent acquisition pipeline is efficiently providing your employees with flexible working hours. Moreover, in terms of addressing the question of how to make themselves appealing to current and potential employees, there are areas that leaders may want to consider when it comes to flexible scheduling.

A Greater Need for Flexibility

One of the aspects of the evolving work culture in 2022 is how the employees are actively contributing to creating the common company culture. This being the case, it becomes increasingly efficient to engage employees in the change process and to incorporate their values within the organisational culture of those firms whose shift patterns are fluid.

Employees now more than ever need to work shifts that meet their schedules. According to the "People at Work 2022", all employees highly desire this flexibility. Approximately 74% of parents and 68% of non-parents say they would like to organise their working hours with more flexibility.

This may indicate, among other things, that people now care less about their home lives than at the beginning of the pandemic for various reasons. Decorating an employee's workspace has advantages for the employees and the organisation. It can help lessen the number of call-outs and voluntary turnover caused by a lack of flexibility in meeting features. Companies should seek to create and implement flexible scheduling for employee engagement and retention.

The Impact of Technology on the Flexibility of Work

There are several advantages that many companies that have adopted this practice cannot ignore. Choosing who to handle the scheduling tasks was very tedious and erroneous because technology was not as developed as it is today. The current scheduling systems should also minimise the confrontation of the employees as it will be straightforward to allocate the right person for the task in the future.

Using the available online and mobile platforms for labor-management-intensive organizations can also help enhance communication between employees and managers. Suppose all relevant parties are ready and willing to engage, expanding by offering or accepting help from colleagues, changing the way some employees work, whether a shift swap or changing some other factors, can be manageable. Such tools can be highly efficient in helping organizations address the recruitment and retention challenges they currently encounter in the labor market.

It will be less time-consuming in terms of administrative work to revise the schedules as soon as it is understood which personnel will be available or not on a specific date. During my tenure as a manager, I can also ask some employees about their long-term preferences whenever they would like to. Such individuals would wish to work during the later shift on some days because of some re-occurring matters that they have to attend to. If hybrid working is allowed, employees can indicate the days of the week as to when they would want to work from the office or online. For the existing staff who want some flexibility, it is an added advantage that those preferences are being recorded and then those timetable requirements are being met. It can also give you an edge in recruiting.

Flexible scheduling also includes the possibility of employees changing their shifts with each other and asking others to fill in for them. There may be surprises or situations that a schedule cannot plan for. When that happens, having a method that allows support, including expertise in coverage training, will be beneficial. It has the benefit of equitably supporting both parties. Managers waste no time looking for people who can stand by on short notice, and employees use mobile collaboration tools with each other.

This approach can be applied to creating systems that facilitate workers in releasing shifts, grabbing available ones, and taking up additional shifts. Make it clear to the workers what resources are available to cancel the shifts because other employees have to step in as soon as possible to fill the vacancy. You will notice that several people have several different appetites and preferences simultaneously. Given the current trend in workforce demand, where many seek highly flexible organisations, this warrants a need to be adaptable to short- and long-term changes in each worker's scheduling pattern.

It goes without saying that when people have the option to cancel their shifts, they are likely to cancel moderately empty shifts. So, employees should be allowed to claim open shifts and provide a means for announcing open shifts internally. Very often, teams have members keen to volunteer for additional shifts to increase their earnings. Additionally, the managers can know which employees tend to take extra shifts and shift sails as appropriate. Scheduling employees will become one fluid motion in that employee behaviors will eventually be factored in, so no more regard for employees' behaviors will be needed.

No one ever said that there are no complexities related to scheduling. However, deploying state-of-the-art technology is an excellent approach to developing flexible and self-sustaining processes. Improved employee satisfaction and loyalty, and a compelling benefits package for attracting new hires, will benefit the whole organisation.