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Hi In my last newsletter, I wrote about why a good forecast is the foundation of Workforce Management. But even the best forecast only tells you what demand is likely to look like. The next challenge is turning that forecast into a schedule that works in real life. And that's where things often get more complicated. One of the most common traps I see is the pursuit of the perfect schedule. Workforce Management tools can create incredibly flexible schedules and match staffing to demand with impressive precision. But here's the catch: |
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"A schedule can look perfect in the system and still be frustrating for the people expected to work it." |
01 – More flexibility doesn't always mean a better scheduleMany organisations assume that more flexibility automatically leads to better schedules. In my experience, the opposite is often true. When we give scheduling tools too much freedom, we risk creating schedules that make sense mathematically, but not from an employee perspective. Employees aren't looking for perfect optimisation. They want predictability, transparency and work patterns they can actually live with. After all, work schedules affect people's everyday lives. For many employees, their schedule is one of the most important aspects of their job. |
02 – Scheduling is a balancing actGood scheduling isn't about choosing between business needs and employee needs. It's about finding a balance between the two. Demands go up and down. Staffing requirements change. And there will always be moments when you simply can't give everyone what they want. That's part of the job. The difference is often in how those decisions are made, and how well they are communicated. Employees won't always get the schedule they hoped for. But they're much more likely to accept it when they understand the reasoning behind it. |
03 – Before changing the schedule, change the conversationOne thing I've learned over the years is that scheduling doesn't happen inside a Workforce Management tool. It happens across the business.
All of these influence the schedule. The most successful Workforce Management teams build relationships across departments and gather information early. The more you know before the schedule is created, the fewer surprises you need to deal with afterwards. |
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"Scheduling doesn't happen inside a Workforce Management tool. It happens across the business." |
Look at the last three months. What activity is almost always added after the schedule has been created?
If the same activity keeps appearing, ask yourself whether it should be part of the schedule from the beginning. It sounds simple, but small changes like this can have a surprisingly big impact. Because the goal isn't to create a perfect schedule. It's to create a schedule that works for the business and for the people behind it. |
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I hope this is useful. Feel free to get in touch if you'd like to discuss your situation. |
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Best regards |
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Thank you for reading this far |
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Do you know someone else working with the same challenges? |
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