Using Employee Priority Settings to Fine-Tune Your Schedule

At StaffReady, we strive to create functional, easy to use and intuitive software. We are not after just a raw list of features – we want to build excited customers! To that end, we’ll be showcasing some current and new features in the months to come. Our newest Feature Spotlight is “Using Employee Priority Settings to Fine-Tune Your Schedule.”

The Scenario:

If your operation is anything like the ones I’ve managed in the past, you have a fairly broad mix of employees. You likely have:

• Seasoned veterans and “newbies”

• Full-time, part-time, per diem and temporary staff

• Both subject matter experts and those who are cross-trained to do everything

You might also be dealing with HR policies or union rules regarding seniority and notification periods regarding shift changes. With this complex mix of people and policies, a few basic parameters will help:

• Those with the most seniority need to be assigned first.

• There is a second group of employees that can be scheduled once the long-term staff have their shifts.

• Other staff – such as Per diem and Temps and some Newbies – are used to fill in the holes in the schedule.

Many scheduling systems on the market today treat everyone the same. While that sounds fair to some, it’s neither realistic nor practical. What you need is a feature that allows you to make settings down to the individual employee. Using the Employee Priority Settings feature in the StaffReady Scheduling module allows you to fine-tune your schedule with precision.

What You Do:

From the Setup screen on a Schedule, click on the Employees Color Bar. Select the employee on whom you wish to change the Priority settings by clicking on the numbers in the “FTE” column for that employee. In the window that pops up, look for the “Schedule Priority” field. Select the priority for this person. If this person should be assigned to the schedule before anyone else, select a Priority of “1”. You may select a level of 1, 2, or 3 for each employee. Click on the “Save Changes” button when you’re done. Repeat this for all employees on your schedule.

How It Works:

When preparing an upcoming Schedule, the Scheduling module will first schedule all of the staff with a Priority 1 setting. It will then proceed to schedule the staff with a Priority 2 setting, and finally will finish by scheduling those staff with a Priority 3 setting. If circumstances or needs in your department change, you change change the Employee Priority Settings at any time.

If you’re already a StaffReady client, you can review our training document on this feature and related settings here. If you are not a client and would like additional information about StaffReady’s line of products, please contact us at info@staffready.com, or give us a call at 877-229-5230.

We will also have an informational webinar to discuss Employee Priority Settings on Friday, June 21^st at 10:30 am PDT. Please follow this link to attend: https://webinar.ringcentral.com/j/1488882046 . 

Going to AACC in Anaheim (August 6-8)?  Come see us at booth # 3707!