Free Printable Weekly Employee Schedule Template [Excel]

What is an employee scheduling template

An employee scheduling template is a pre-designed way to organize and plan your team’s shifts. This template will help you assign shifts, track hours, and make sure that you have enough shift coverage for your business to function properly. Templates usually contain employee names, shift start and end times, break times, work days and off days, and job positions or roles. You can use a spreadsheet or scheduling software to capture all of this information, and it helps you save time so you don’t have to rebuild the schedule manually every single week.

The benefits of using our free printable weekly employee schedule template [Excel]

Switch from paper and pencil to a weekly employee schedule template (Excel spreadsheet).

Using this template will improve the accuracy of your schedules and eliminate the errors that can creep in through manual data entry. You can adapt the template based on your business and your team. Best of all, you’ll save hours by using this ready-made template.

The disadvantages of traditional manual scheduling

Are you still managing your employee scheduling on paper? Your time could be better spent on other HR processes or investing in your core business. Besides, navigating the ever-changing sea of employee availability and preferences can be exhausting. The entire process presents countless opportunities for errors and mixups. Also, if one of your workers needs to change shifts, it can be frustrating to accommodate their request.

Streamline your work schedule planning with When I Work

Even though making the jump from a handwritten schedule to a digital solution will make it easier to share with your employees, there are still limitations. You’ll have to make a new document for each week, if there’s a change, you have to send out the entire schedule again, and you can’t always be sure that each employee has the latest version of the schedule. That’s why using scheduling software can really improve your work life, your employees’ work lives, and help your business save time and money

Affordable software that improves the way you handle schedule planning. Thanks to the cloud-based app, users can create and edit schedules on any device from anywhere in the world. Create schedules in mere minutes, and share them with your team. 

When I Work allows companies to:

• Create, edit, and manage schedules
• Communicate through the app
• Respond to time-off requests
• Track time and attendance
• Manage projects

The When I Work platform can handle both single and multiple locations. And with access to real-time data, you’ll gain maximum visibility over your labor costs.

Automated employee scheduling

Automated features let you create your entire schedule in just one click. All you have to do is create the shifts you need. The software will automatically create a schedule based on your needs and your employees’ availability and/or qualifications.

• Auto Scheduling saves you time each week by assigning employees to shifts Auto Scheduling saves you time each week by assigning employees to shifts
• It takes into account availability, time-off requests, and employee eligibility
• You can make any adjustments you need before you publish the schedule

When you would be spending hours doing all this with a spreadsheet, using When I Work and automatic scheduling can save you up to 15 hours each week.

Schedule templates

Why reinvent the wheel? When I Work allows you to duplicate the schedule from the previous week—or you can create a template for repeated use. You can use this template to create new schedules, and When I Work will continue to populate shifts with the right workers.

• Copy and paste last week’s schedule to the current week to save time
• Create a template out of a schedule that worked particularly well and keep using it
• Build templates for busy seasons or different departments to stay organized

Managers report saving 8X time on building the employee schedule with When I Work, and templates are a big part of that. Plus, when your employees have a reliable schedule, you can join our users who see a 3X reduction in no-shows.

Labor forecasting

Never worry about being short-staffed or having too many workers on the clock. When I Work offers labor forecasting tools so you can optimize your schedule based on cyclical demand. You’ll keep your business running at peak efficiency and save on unnecessary labor costs.

• Have constant visibility into your labor budget right within the schedule
• See your labor costs as you build the schedule
• Get alerts when an employee is scheduled to work overtime

When I Work gives you the information you need to be able to manage your spending on overtime. Users who take advantage of these reports and alerts can decrease their labor costs by 20%.

Integrated time clock

With When I Work, any device can be used as a time clock. Managers can easily track and generate reports for attendance, hours worked, break time, and more. With pay rules and schedule integration, companies can better control costs and increase their bottom line. While this is a significant advantage for remote workers, it also comes with added features for on-site workers, including a GPS functionality that improves the accuracy of your time tracking while introducing an added layer of employee accountability.

• Employees can clock in and out on their phones with geofencing to be sure they’re on site
• Timesheets are easy to access and gather for payroll processing
• You can get notifications if employees miss a clock in or clock out for easy editing

Adding the time clock to your employee schedule reduces errors, which can save you money in the long run. It also helps prevent time theft and buddy punching. Plus, you’ll be able to process payroll much faster with integrations, saving you time and reducing errors there, too.

Messaging features

Keep your team in sync and on task with robust messaging features. Along with group chat functionalities, the When I Work platform allows your team to send messages directly to one another without revealing their phone numbers. The app also makes it easy to share

• Protect employee privacy by not sharing phones numbers or email addresses

Instead of trying to manage various texts, voicemails, emails, and written notes, keeping all communication about work within the schedule helps you be more organized. It also helps you keep a documented record of information you’ve given your employees, so you know that they have everything they need to be successful at work.

Ditch the spreadsheet and start scheduling FREE with When I Work

Making the switch to a digital scheduling solution is the first step to saving time. But you can still have a FREE employee schedule while using When I Work and make it even easier on yourself. Sharing the schedule will be a lot easier than using a spreadsheet, and your employees will love it. Sign up now to use When I Work for free.