Labor Scheduling,Part 3

Abstract

Developing a proper workforce schedule is a key factor in a service business's ability to serve its customers well, but economically. Having forecast customer demand and determined the number of employees needed to meet that demand, the manager must next create the actual schedule. Classic schedule-development frameworks tend to match employee supply and customer demand in isolation for each planning period. The best schedule-planning mechanism accounts for employee-related factors as part of developing the schedule, rather than a two-phase approach of setting a schedule and then assigning employees to fill it. By considering employee work constraints in advance, the manager can account for complementary preferences as the schedule is created, with the result of a better match between employees and their shifts. Among the scheduling considerations is when controllable work will be performed. By taking all elements into account as the schedule is developed, a manager can meet both customer-service and economic targets, while at the same time meeting as many employee preferences as possible.