6 Best Employee Scheduling And Shift Planning Software
Did you know that the average person spends up to 28% of their time at work dealing with scheduling conflicts? It can be hard to manage your employees' schedules, but it becomes a little bit easier with the right planning software.
Scheduling is often one of the most challenging jobs that managers have to deal with.
There are so many things that need to be considered when scheduling workers — how much time off they've had in past weeks, who has requested time off or days off in advance, and whether they're reliable enough to show up on their scheduled day.
To help you decide which is the best employee scheduling and shift planning software for your business, here are the top 6 employee scheduling apps you can use at your convenience, ensuring efficient scheduling and employee management:
1. Homebase
Homebase, a leading employee scheduling app, is an excellent employee scheduling solution for small businesses and large enterprises alike, offering employee shift scheduling software that's top-rated. It has features like employee scheduling, shift planning, real-time location tracking, and more.
Plus, it's quite easy to use, supporting team communication and featuring a convenient mobile app compatible with iOS and Android, perfect for managing employees on-the-go.
The platform provides a simple scheduling tool with drag and drop interface and an intuitive user interface, making it an excellent employee scheduling method for those managing employee schedules for the first time.
One of the best features of Homebase is that you can auto schedule and swap shifts in your shift schedules in just a few minutes, a boon for shift management. You'll be able to schedule employees, manage employee shift schedules, and ensure all hourly employees are satisfied, boosting productivity levels across multiple locations.
Homebase, which was founded in 2015, is a comprehensive scheduling solution for small business owners, continually updated to integrate time tracking and employee availability tools since 2020. Its free employee scheduling software plan includes all you need to manage employee work schedules and labor costs, while paid plans are reasonable and packed with features like labor laws compliance and payroll software integration. Homebase leads our list for best overall employee planning software with the addition of safety screenings to its mobile app.
The basic free plan offers time tracking tools, time and attendance monitoring, employee mobile apps for iOS and Android, and the capability to schedule shifts for more than 10 days. You can also manage schedules, track breaks and overtime for labor laws compliance, control labor costs, and receive daily labor reports.
A paid plan allows you to process payroll either monthly or yearly. However, if you opt for an annual subscription, integrating scheduling platforms and task management, you will save 30%.
2. Shiftboard - Planning Software
Shiftboard is another excellent software for your employee scheduling and shift-planning needs. It's a full-featured workforce management solution that allows managers and employees alike to access the system from any device, anywhere in the world.
It comes with an easy reporting tool so you can get information about your business almost instantly. You also have control over creating schedules easier than ever before, which means less stressful days on your part at work too.
Founded in 2008, Shiftboard is an industry leader that helps healthcare teams to deliver exceptional patient care and manage coverage. Its medicinal features propel it to the top of our best for healthcare list.
Shiftboard has tools specifically designed for nursing and healthcare teams. The ScheduleFlex planning software allows for customizable operations, whereas the SchedulePro plans include comprehensive compliance tracking features. Features of healthcare scheduling include:
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Customized information about certifications and competencies for team members
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Day-of-shift coverage instruments
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Staff communication in real time via text, alerts, and notifications
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Simple float pool administration for numerous sites
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Employee self-service access and tools that are robust
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Nurses' schedulable hours can be limited.
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View expected overtime charges easily.
Shiftboard provides unique quotations for all packages and offers either ScheduleFlex or SchedulePro plans. You have the option of using ScheduleFlex software to:
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Business: With this plan, you may schedule employees based on seniority, monitor daily and weekly overtime thresholds, adhere to necessary rest intervals, use intelligent auto-scheduling, and send SMS text messages.
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Enterprise features applicant tracking services, training and credential tracking, and compliance notifications. Pricing is available upon application.
3. SageHR
SageHR is an intuitive shift planning software for all types of businesses, offering comprehensive schedule management and employee scheduling software that ensures streamlined scheduling processes and effective staff scheduling software integration.
It specializes in employee scheduling software cost management and shift scheduling software, but also integrates HR software capabilities and time tracking tools for benefits management, performance reviews, and more.
Due to the software's consideration of employees' time off requests, employees are more satisfied with their schedules, resulting in improved employee engagement.
One of the best things about SageHR is how easily you can integrate it into your current business workflow without much effort on your part, so you don't have to worry about struggling to learn the system either.
4. ShiftForce - Planning Software
ShiftForce is another fantastic option for businesses of all sizes, known for its robust employee scheduling software that ensures efficiency in managing open shifts and shift swaps through its automated scheduling features. It's a comprehensive workforce management solution that offers features like employee scheduling, time-off requests, shift planning, and more.
ShiftNote also helps employees see how many hours they need to work in a particular week or month, allowing them to accurately calculate exactly how much they should be compensated for their work done. This information can also help in the creation of invoices for each employee.
It's an excellent option for managing employees who need to request time for part-time and temporary work, as it facilitates schedule creation and shift swapping with ease in your business scheduling solutions. You can also add multiple locations, so you have more control over the whole process as well.
In addition, you can set up your business' workflows and manage multiple locations with Google Calendar integration, precisely the way you want them, ensuring compliance through compliance tracking, so there won't be any need for anyone else to feel unhappy because they don't know what their job entails anymore.
5. Humanity
Humanity is a powerful and easy-to-use workforce management solution. With its intuitive interface and scheduling feature, managers can create schedules quickly, integrating the best shift scheduling software and best employee scheduling app to manage other tools without any stress or hassle, resulting in more time to manage the business and other more pressing matters.
You'll have complete control over creating even the most complex schedule that you need to do at work with ease, so there won't be any more late shifts due to incorrect information either. Hence, generating pay stubs for your employees with a free employee scheduling app would be less complicated, as the shift scheduling software important adjustments for late shifts are automatically accounted for in your computations.
6. Deputy - Planning Software
Deputy features an extensive range of tools that managers can use with ease to create schedules and plan shifts. It gives you complete control over creating schedule templates, so it doesn't matter if your shift patterns constantly change.
You'll be able to get up and running quickly without any learning curve at all. Plus, there's no need for expensive hardware upgrades either since this software works on phones, tablets, and desktops alike.
Deputy enables business owners schedule flexibility when using Windows, with drag-and-drop capability and a 31-day free trial.
Pros
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Unlimited Support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone or online chat.
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31-day risk-free trial
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App for mobile devices
Cons
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A monthly minimum of $10 is required.
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Lower-tier programs do not provide annual payment savings.
Deputy History
Deputy was founded in 2008 and is constantly improving its solutions to meet the needs of a wide range of employers. The comprehensive planning software works well on Windows computers and includes mobile apps for easy employee usage, making it our choice for best for Windows.
The organization does not accept annual payments for its Scheduling or Time & Attendance services, but it does accept them for the Premium plan. All versions include:
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Dashboard for administration
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Company posts and document sharing in a newsfeed
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For simple logins, use single sign-on.
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Paid time off (PTO) and leave administration
Regardless of the number of users, you must spend at least $10 each month on the services. Most business owners choose the Premium edition to acquire all of the necessary payroll and scheduling capabilities. Among the backup plans are:
Scheduling costs $2.50 per user each month and includes food and rest break planning, employee and auto-scheduling choices, and tasking.
Time and Attendance costs $2.50 per user each month and includes timesheets, payroll integration, tasking, and food and rest break planning.
Premium: $4.50 per user each month, or $4 if billed annually, includes all of the features found in the Scheduling and Time & Attendance plans, as well as sophisticated reporting capabilities.
Enterprise: Contact Deputy for a tailored price that includes dedicated support for businesses with more than 250 employees.
Final Thoughts: Planning Softwares
Time is an essential part of a business. Planning the proper schedule is key to ensuring that all employees are happy and healthy, resulting in better productivity overall. Planning software allows managers to create schedules quickly and easily without any stress or hassle involved.
If you're having trouble deciding on a workforce management solution, consider these top options for your business instead. You'll be surprised at how much easier scheduling will become once you get to use one of them.