When I Blog + News

Organize Your Way to Smart Overtime Scheduling

Posted on May 10, 2012 by kparker

It’s no secret that success in customer service industries hinges largely on prioritizing customer needs, and a common place for businesses to improve is simple availability. In order to cater to customers, some businesses have expanded their hours so that they open before the crack of dawn, or stay open late into the night, or they just keep the place open 24-hours a day. While this may result in a wider customer reach, employees often become drained, and managers may be overwhelmed with overtime hours that need to be paid out.

According to Alicia Sloan, a former Taco Bell shift managers, overtime weighed on employee satisfaction, without adding any weight to their paychecks. Over her eight years of employment with Taco Bell, she says that managers often shaved hours off of worker’s time cards in order to avoid paying out overtime. Sadly, this situation isn’t entirely uncommon; according to another Huffington Post article, lawsuits filed against employers for unpaid overtime have jumped 32% since 2008.While most managers (thankfully) don’t jump to withholding overtime pay when budgets are tight, it’s crucial that managers find a balance between their resources and their customer requests.

Availability and longer hours of operation need to be balanced with a highly organized schedule, so managers can clearly see employee availability, and the number of hours each employee is scheduled for per-week. By allowing managers to view crucial employee information as they build the schedule, When I Work makes it easy for managers to assess their resources, and determine if overtime is necessary, or if they need to hire additional employees.

When I Work can’t correct morally questionable decisions like not paying overtime, but it sure can help the overwhelmed manager find some peace while still keeping customers and employees happy. Sign up for a free 30-day trial, and find your own scheduling harmony.

Robots Serving in Restaurants?

Posted on April 16, 2012 by apidde

It is no surprise that the restaurant industry is one of the largest industries in the United States. Bizologie reports that 12.8 million people are employed within the industry, which explains the huge impact it has on our economic job market. According to Dawn Sweeney, president of the National Restaurant Industry, “The restaurant industry strongly contributes to the health of our nation’s economy by driving job growth across industry segments and providing rewarding career and employment opportunities for millions.” I’m not surprised that its impact on our economy is great. Everyone likes to go out to eat or hit up a happy hour every once in while, but I fear the future will hold a different story as technology advances within the industry.

Fast Company created a list of technological changes to the restaurant industry and serving robots is just one of the seven ways technology is going to change the way we eat. Apps are making it easier to replace the server by simply giving the diner a pad to use to peruse the menu and send their order in. No waiting necessary. This may make life easier for diners but what about human contact and the awesome jobs restaurants are creating? Are they to disappear because robots and iPads can do a better job?

Technology isn’t all bad when it comes to the restaurant industry. It is proving valuable when it comes to finding restaurants and creating reservations, thanks to the Urbanspoon RezBook app. Interactive menu apps are also making dining a more enjoyable experience for those who want to know everything about what they are eating and drinking. There’s even this great employee scheduling app that many restaurants use to make life easier for their managers, servers, cooks and bartenders. These are great examples of how technology can help grow the restaurant business, but there’s no need for it to take away the human connection, and jobs, that server and hostess positions provide.

The restaurant industry is booming right now and technology is making it easier to find good deals, create reservations fast, and provide fun service, but it may also cause a decline in the job market. I say let’s keep real people in the industry and let the robots take a hike.

Make Summer Vacation Employee Scheduling a Breeze

Posted on April 13, 2012 by kparker

Here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, people are celebrating the beginnings of spring by peeling off their sweaters and breaking out the sandals. Are they jumping the gun a bit? Maybe, but they just can’t help it – summer is exciting! The weather is nice, the days are longer, and vacations nearly call out to you, just begging to be taken.

If you’re a manager, the idea of summer approaching may give you fewer warm fuzzies, and more of a cold chill. With Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Labor Day, and various other reasons to get out of dodge during the summer months, employees tend to be very particular about their vacation time. How can you plan for the onslaught of vacation requests, without letting it ruin your summer glow? Business Management Daily recently summarized the results from The HR Specialist asking simply, “What’s the best way to schedule vacations without employees complaining?” Here are a few of our favorites, with some added tips to make your summer easier:

• Require advance notice. Avoid unwelcome surprises, and give your employees a firm amount of notice required to request time off. With When I Work, you will receive a notification immediately when an employee requests time off, so you can see if the required notice was given, and approve or reject it on-the-spot.
• Ask your employees for help. Discuss the summer vacation situation with them openly, and discuss how many staff members can be off on any given day. Make time-off scheduling even easier by giving your employees the opportunity to provide their availability to you on their own time.
• First-come, first-served. To keep things fair, allow vacation on a first-come, first-served basis whenever possible. With When I Work, the people with time-off will show up on the schedule, so desperate vacation seekers can reach out to those who have the day(s) off, and keep you out of it…apart from allowing you to simply approve the swap with the push of a button.

Don’t let your summer be spent shuffling schedules and calling for replacements. Heed the advice above, try out our incredibly easy employee scheduling software for a 30-day stint, then put your summer scheduling troubles behind.

St. Francis Hospital Nurses: A Scheduling Evolution

Posted on April 5, 2012 by kparker

If you’re skeptical about whether revamping your scheduling process could really impact your business, a recent article from HealthLeaders Media may change your mind. Only a short year and a half ago, St. Francis Hospital in Colombus, Georgia, struggled with staffing problems. Just to fill the schedule, nurses floated between units (against their wishes), the hospital handed out incentive payments for extra shifts, and nurses from expensive agencies filled in the remaining gaps. Fortunately, these scheduling woes are problems of the past, as St. Francis no longer has any scheduling holes, and doesn’t hand out extra dollars for incentive payments or agency nurses.

The schedule evolution began when St. Francis adopted self-scheduling, which gives the nurses more say in when they work. The new program has given nurses the tools to be more involved at work, and more satisfied with their jobs. Nurse manager William Reynolds, explains that the nurses were always willing to pick up the extra shifts, they just wanted to control when and how they do it. With the new schedule, Reynolds says, “[Nurses] are not only picking up the shifts that we need when we need them to, but they do it willingly, and they’re excited about it.”

In addition to having more say in when they work, nurses are able to view the schedule online, which makes it convenient to keep up-to-date with schedule changes. The program also makes grabbing shifts easy and instant; nurses simply provide their availability, and the program will notify them immediately via text, phone, or email when a shift that fits within their availability opens up.

St. Francis has experienced the difference that schedule organization and autonomy can make, and we at When I Work know that scheduling is core to employee satisfaction, time-management, and overall productivity. We hear echos of our customers in each aspect of this story. When I Work has a similar “self-scheduling” feature that allows managers to post OpenShifts for the week, then employees can sign up for the ones that fit their schedules. Allowing availability requirements and preferences gives employees a voice to help guide their schedules, while mobility makes schedule management quick and painless for both employees and managers. Further, When I Work allows managers to set up multiple locations, which makes scheduling, especially for nurses and other healthcare workers, even easier.

To the skeptics out there who believe learning a new scheduling program isn’t worth the effort, think about what it’s worth to have an business  that’s organized, fully-staffed, and filled with satisfied, happy employees.

Try When I Work for free, and start your own scheduling evolution.

Round 2: Get to Know Your Customer Support: Wil

Posted on April 3, 2012 by admin

At When I Work we like to think of ourselves as a team. We are a small baseball-sized team that works together to create an outstanding product that makes life easier for those who use it. Each person in our team offers different perspectives and skills to create When I Work. Last week you had the opportunity to meet me (Angie). I don’t know how When I Work is coded but I do know the product and have a lot of personal experience dealing with schedules. This week I’m going to introduce you to a member of our team who knows more about the inner workings of When I Work. Read what he’s all about in this week’s bio of Get To Know Your Support.

Name: Wil

Age: 33

What you do at thisCLICKS:
I’m the Interactive Director here. I figure out the details of the technologies we use to build our products. I also do a lot of programming on these projects.

Hobbies:
I like creating things. I spend most of my free time playing guitar, playing piano, photographing the world around me, drawing or designing, and cooking.

Fun Fact:
I come from a long line of restaurateurs.

Generation Y is Taking Over But Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Worry

Posted on March 29, 2012 by apidde

As Generation Y edges into the workplace, older generations, such as Baby Boomers or Generation X, may be getting a little uneasy. In fact, these Generation Y-ers, which includes people born after 1980, are set to make up around 75-percent of the workforce by 2025. A recent article by New York Times painted a picture of Generation Y as a group delaying adulthood: waiting to get married, changing careers, jet-setting to new locations, etc. Those outside this generation may be thinking 20-somethings are just a bunch of loose cannons, and what can they bring to business anyway? A lot, actually. Here are some reasons to relax and let Generation Y show their business smarts.

How do Generation Y-ers differ from previous generations? The biggest difference is that they grew up with technology, so it feels natural to use it in the workplace. According to Forbes, Generation Y-ers have transformed workplace communication by perpetually having their smartphones within arm’s reach, making them ready to work from wherever, whenever. Further, Gen Y-ers follow the rule to BYOD, or “bring your own device,” because many prefer to use their own personal devices for work. This simplifies working on the go, which is important as 70% of organizations now support telecommuting.

Perhaps Generation Y’s biggest contribution and expertise lies in social networking. After all, where would our marketing be today if Facebook and Twitter were not involved? Sure, people love to use social media to share personal events, feelings, etc., but its influence on multiple aspects of business cannot be ignored. Not only for marketing, but also employee communication. Smartphone apps have changed the way many of us use the web, which is why a Facebook or Twitter reminder from When I Work can improve employee reliability. For Gen Y-ers, apps, mobility, and technology are just a way of life.

Although Gen Y-ers may be entering adulthood differently than past generations, they also have the skills and knowledge to make a big mark in business. Maybe they’re switching jobs, or still living with their parents, but they’ve also come into adulthood in the midst of a recession that put a hard stop to hiring and pay increases. Despite less than optimal circumstances, Gen Y-ers remain optimistic, and ready to show what they are capable of. Perhaps they’ll change the old handwritten schedule into a new mobile/online scheduling app like When I Work, or use Twitter and Facebook to create closer relationships with current and new customers. Generation Y is ready to bring their technological knowledge to the business table, so don’t worry, Baby Boomers or Generation X members, they have your back.

Are We Turning Into ‘App Potatoes?’

Posted on March 27, 2012 by kparker

We’ve all been there. You punch something into Google, like “Who is the muffin man?” and sure, you may find your answer there, but you’ll also end up lost in something entirely unrelated: muffin recipes, bakeries that have fresh-baked muffins, or a review of all the breakfast places in town. Although most of us have adapted to this internet of open exploration, could our dependence and fascination with apps make the wide open terrain of the current internet a thing of the past?

Possibly, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Center. In this study, which surveyed over 1,000 experts, the majority believed the boom in apps for smartphones could instigate an “anti-internet,” where some people exclusively use apps in order to keep their surfing within their chosen content limits instead of the wide world of the current web. Experts said they didn’t see the internet becoming obsolete, but becoming part of a digital divide, where people essentially choose the app team or the internet team.

Of this app team, Giacomo Mazzone, the head of institutional relations at the European Broadcasting Union, concisely stated, “Instead of couch potatoes, you’ll have app potatoes.”

We have nothing against apps, of course. After all, we’ve put a lot of energy into making ours the best it can be. Apps are a convenient way to get the exact information you want/need, without pushing through the weeds, which at times is a perfect solution…but what if you don’t always want to bypass the weeds? What if, instead of finding out who the Muffin Man is, you actually could find some valuable recipes from your search? (I like baking, so this metaphor works for me. Make your own as you see fit.)

Venture capitalist Richard Titus, expert surveyed, said, “Apps’ ability to meet specific needs becomes a double-edged sword; they  simplify life and create ’walled gardens’ and a lack of serendipity.”

What’s your take? Are you becoming an ‘App Potato’ or do you use the internet as much as your smartphone?

Get to Know your Customer Support: Angie

Posted on March 22, 2012 by admin

You may have noticed that when you write to When I Work support you receive a response from someone you don’t know, yet they address you by your first name and seem to know everything about your schedule. Since we are in the age where almost all communication happens silently over the web, the human touch in customer support has been all but lost. Seems a bit creepy, right? So, to remedy this uneasy feeling, allow us to introduce ourselves. For the next few weeks, we are going to provide a profile of a customer support staff member weekly. Read on to get to know the story behind the person answering your questions, emailing your account information, or sending you a hand-written note.

To start off this exciting first edition of Get to Know your Support, I, Angie, will tell you more about myself.

Name: Angela (Angie)

Age: 23

What I do at thisCLICKS: I started last June as an office administrator. Since then I have become the manager of our customer support and I’m the lovely lady who likes to write you cards and Tweet about When I Work.

Hobbies: I’m a freelance theatre artist, so a lot of my time is filled up with designing sets or stage managing shows around the Twin Cities. I also love to read historical novels, practice yoga, and cook!

Fun Fact: I knew nothing about apps or Twitter before I started working here. Now I feel like a pro!

Fitness Clubs Kick Off Spring With Productive Employee Scheduling

Posted on March 7, 2012 by kparker

Gyms are generally busy year-round, but when the snow starts to melt and the world begins awakening from the grey chill and regaining some color, many winter couch potatoes get an extra burst of motivation. Perhaps it’s the extra daylight, or the thought of squeezing into a swimsuit, but by the time Spring has sprung, gyms have usually repopulated themselves with fresh faces ready to get fit for the warmer months. During this time of year, more people are joining gyms, personal trainers are taking on extra clients, and class instructors are rushing from location-to-location to teach packed classes. To keep the chaos under control, gyms must adopt a system that optimizes time management, and helps schedule employees across locations keep track of their schedules. Just think of how not having to worry about the schedule would impact the functionality of a fitness club…

• Employees would save time and trouble by viewing their schedules across locations simultaneously, without having to drive from place-to-place.
• Trainers would know when the next client is coming, and could plan ahead if they see a coworker is training another client at the same time.
• Managers would view at once every employee’s requested time off, allowing them to successfully schedule around each employee’s needs, while ensuring they have enough staff to take care of members.
• As new members join and seek personal training, managers could send a quick “open shift” message to all staff via text and email, simplifying the task of tending to new business.

Boosting productivity and time management through an organized schedule doesn’t need to be hypothetical. When I Work simplifies fitness club management through all the above elements and more. Check out the features page to see how When I Work can ease you into a stress-free Spring and beyond.

“All Things are Difficult Before they are Easy” –Thomas Fuller

Posted on March 5, 2012 by apidde

For most people, change stirs up some conflicting feelings. Technology, which is ever changing, is a perfect example of something that can be both exciting and terrifying at the same time. After all, why does something that is supposed to make life easier have to be so hard to understand? Whether you own your own business or simply work for one, you must adjust to using new technologies in order to appear hip, up-to-date, and relevant. Think about how social media has changed corporate marketing. If I can’t find you on Facebook or Twitter, are you even a real company?

I know you’re thinking, “I don’t have time to sit down and try to understand new ways to schedule my employees and market myself.” I have good news for you though; as with most things in life, it’s difficult before it’s easy, but once it’s easy you will be thankful you upped your game and made small, yet powerful adjustments, to improve your business.

Think of your first reaction to Facebook. For me, I thought, “How creepy! What in the world would I put on a profile page?” When status updates came out, that seemed ridiculous too, “Why should anyone know what I’m doing or thinking about right now?” Then, as status updates became the norm, Twitter took over the instant-update universe. Technology evolves over time, and the initially strange usually becomes the standard.

When I Work may also seem unfamiliar to some people. Before I started working for thisCLICKS, I had no idea that mobile scheduling tools existed. Scheduling employees via websites and mobile phones sounded complicated at first., After working with the software, however, I realized that my college years as a server would have been much simpler if I could have done everything via web and phone.

Technology can be scary, but simply taking the time to understand it will not only make it easy, but can give you new tools to make big changes in your life and business. So give the strange, intimidating, and new a try. Once you do you will never look back.