Feature Spotlight: Availability Override

Feature Spotlight: Availability Override

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 first Feature Spotlight will be Availability Override in the StaffReady Scheduling module.

The Scenario:

Ideally, you create a shift, say 08:00 to 16:30, with a 30-minute lunch break. Your staff typically works 5-8 hour shifts and your operation is covered. More and more though, it seems like this structure just doesn’t work:

• Some employees are not interested in the 8-hour workday. If your pool of candidates is running low, an otherwise excellent applicant that can only work a 7-hour shift could be quite appealing.

• Others have returned from maternity (or paternity) leave, and need to spend time at home with children.

• Still others are caring for aged parents, or have other duties that prevent them from working one of their shifts.

• Perhaps you share an employee with another department on certain days, and want to assure that overtime is minimized.

• Some staff are unable to work a full 8-hour shift due to varying medical issues.

According to one estimate^1,2, 10.7% of the entire US workforce is on the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) at any given point in time. Many of these individuals are assigned light duty assignments when they return to work, which reduces his or her work hours for a period of time. If you’ve ever had to make this accommodation in your organization, you know it can be quite challenging! You want to do what’s right by the employee, follow employee labor laws, and keep costs down – all the while assuring that the day-to-day work operation flows without disruption.   

You could manually reassign these employees each week, but that takes time... time you may not always have. Could you work without them? Perhaps, but you’d rather not. Wouldn’t it be great if your scheduling system could put these people into modified shifts when they are available, and assign everyone else to the regular shift when they work it?

Assign Availability Override Shifts in StaffReady Scheduling!

• Availability Override will automatically change the shift times for any shifts the employee is assigned on the days it is configured.

• This feature is particularly useful when you want the scheduling system to assign a specific staff member during the hours that he or she is available, and continue to assign the shift's regular hours to other employees.

• Setup of this feature is easy and takes very little time to accomplish!

If you’re already a StaffReady customer, you can review our training document on this feature here. If you are not a customer 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.

Look for our next StaffReady Feature Spotlight, which will focus on Scheduling-Competency Integration!

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1. http://www.hrmorning.com/wait-there-are-how-many-people-on-fmla-leave/, accessed 02/21/2019

2. http://springgroup.com/fmla-statistics-facts/, accessed 02/21/2019