
Managers may end up taking a tremendous amount of time to sort out the scheduling problem. Human error can create a ripple effect on overall business operationsĬommon scheduling mistakes, such as forgetting to take employees’ requests into account, double-scheduling or not scheduling at all for a shift, can affect the whole business weekly schedule. Also, eliminating unreasonable shift rotations would help the business reduce turnover rates, increase employee job satisfaction, and reduce operations and Human Resource costs. When their work-life balance is healthy, employees’ productivity would peak. As a result, employees are less disposed to suffering from burnouts. reserve at least 12 hours between shifts) in the smart scheduler system, managers would restrict unreasonable shift rotations preventing unhealthy work practices. In setting a few quick scheduling rules (i.e. Our RecommendationĪn AI-enabled solution can help optimize schedules, making them both balanced and cost-effective. The Hay Group reports a median turnover rate of 67% for part-time retail workers in 2012, while the Center for American Progress found that it costs on average $3,328 (or 16% of a manager’s yearly salary) to recruit and train a replacement for a minimum-wage employee. Consequently, they become less committed and, in a worst-case scenario, they would seek employment elsewhere. Also, having to deal with personal issues, in addition to unhealthy work-schedules and toxic work environments, distract employees.

This significant decline in, or disturbance of, productivity will jeopardize the business’s operations and growth.Īccording to a 2010 study by Alertness Solutions, fatigue-related productivity reduction, including burnouts, costs about $2,000 per worker annually however, when additional variables such as personal life strife and employee demoralization are taken into account, the financial loss are greater. This example of unreasonable shift rotation presents high risks of reducing employees’ productivity, since they became more exposed to sleep deficiency, which in turn would impair their judgment, and slow their reaction time, to name a few. Relying on leaner staff to reduce labour costs, they instead fall into unhealthy scheduling practices, which create situations like “ clopening,” a growing practice of assigning the same employees to close at night and open the store again on the next morning. In an effort to better serve customers, retailers stay open late. Unreasonable shift rotations cost businesses more Here are some of the major scheduling challenges that a smart AI scheduling tool can help resolve.

The good news is that managers can easily keep the balance between their employees’ needs and their business benefits by implementing an Artificial Intelligence (AI) scheduling system. Unfortunately, finding and creating a (near-) perfect schedule for both employees and managers comes with a few major challenges. The optimal team of employees scheduled at the optimal shift is quintessential in the creation of a great experience for everyone involved.

Consequently, employees are left facing unpredictable changes in shifts, which decrease both their and their managers’ work-life balance, while increasing their level of stress. According to Mac-Vicar, Ferrer, Muñoz, & Henao (2017), unlike other industries, retail stores deal with unpredictable circumstances, which often force managers to adjust employee schedules, when these schedules were already “finalized” days or weeks in advance.
