Ultimate Guide to Schedule Optimization (Excel)
byAs a small business owner, you likely spend hours building your shift schedules. The thing is, building schedules from scratch every week is not the answer. By doing that, you’ll face an increased risk of errors and poor efficiency.
When it comes to schedule optimization, Microsoft Excel is a good option. With that in mind, the following is a schedule optimization Excel guide. It will provide you with some practical tips to make better schedules.
Not only that, but it will even discuss how you can leave the Excel spreadsheets behind with When I Work. It’s our dynamic staff scheduling tool that will save you time and promote optimal staffing. Try it free today.
Key takeaways:
- Manual scheduling is time-consuming and error-prone
- You can save time by creating reusable Excel templates
- Customizing your Excel documents to include automated calculations helps ensure accuracy
- Excel is a good (but not great) option for optimizing your scheduling practices
- Switching to When I Work means access to features that save time and improve scheduling
Table of contents:
- Common challenges of manual schedules
- What does it mean to optimize schedules in Excel?
- Tips for optimizing in Excel
- Schedule optimization example
- How automated templates can help you optimize your scheduling
- Improve your staff scheduling with When I Work
Common challenges of manual schedules
Using manual schedules leads to all sorts of logistical headaches. You’ll find that your business is often understaffed or overstaffed. Your payroll will also include lots of wasteful spending. These negative business impacts go hand in hand with the following challenges:
Human error
No matter how careful you are when building a schedule, mistakes can still happen. Even minor errors can lead to your business being under or overstaffed. Other types of errors can hurt team morale. A prime example would be scheduling someone when they requested the day off.
Time-consuming processes
You’ve got enough on your plate. The last thing you need to do is spend more than ten hours a week scheduling. Yet that’s exactly what you will be doing if you are always creating schedules from scratch.
Difficulty managing and tracking changes
Schedule changes are a fact of life for any business. But still, tracking last-minute changes is difficult with manual schedules. Something as simple as an overlooked shift swap can leave you shorthanded.
Inability to manage complex scheduling needs
Making manual Excel spreadsheets is a good choice if you have simple shift needs. But that’s not the case if your business uses a more complex layout. Suppose that you use rotating schedules. If so, you’ll need many different spreadsheets to track your workforce. That means even more wasted time and a greater risk of error.
Lack of integration
Excel spreadsheets don’t integrate with payroll or time-tracking software. You’ll need to rely on separate tools to handle each aspect of managing your workforce. Spreading out your workforce data increases the risk of errors.
For example, you might have a tough time tracking and paying overtime hours. To business owners, these payroll errors sound like easy fixes. But almost half of workers say they would consider leaving a job over payroll mistakes.
What does it mean to optimize schedules in Excel?
When working toward schedule optimization, Excel helps keep spreadsheets more organized and functional. The goal is to divide your staff in the most efficient way possible. Improving your Excel schedules promotes workforce optimization. That aims to apply tools and strategies to ensure your business is always staffed. It also cuts down on overtime and helps you adjust to fluctuations in demand.
Let’s say a retail manager spends hours each week adjusting Excel schedules by hand. These changes are necessary to adapt to employee availability and store demands. Setting up an Excel spreadsheet with automated functions could save them those hours.
Tips for optimizing in Excel
When it comes to schedule optimization, Excel includes lots of features and options. Taking advantage of these tools can help improve scheduling. Still, you can’t go and create a custom template on a whim. You need a game plan that addresses the unique needs of your business.
Here are some tips to help you optimize Excel:
1. Identify the signs that your process needs optimization
Knowing when your scheduling process is due for a refresh is vital. Some common signs include the following:
- Frequent scheduling conflicts
- Lots of time spent altering schedules
- Employee displeasure due to scheduling problems
For example, let’s say that double-booking employees happens often. That would be a warning sign of poor and wasteful scheduling processes.
2. Determine if your challenges are logistical or operational
Scheduling challenges can fall into two categories: logistical or operational. For example, say you keep track of employee availability when using rotating schedules. That is a logistical issue. Trying to keep staffing levels in line with peak business hours is an operational issue.
Both types can hurt your bottom line and stop growth. Identifying their root causes allows for targeted solutions.
3. Choose a scheduling framework or policy
Next, you need to pick a scheduling framework. You’ll also need to put clear company policies in place. These should address common issues like shift swaps and processing time-off requests. The goal is to take the guesswork out of scheduling. You want to provide your team with some consistency.
4. Look for Excel templates that work for your business
Setting up a spreadsheet can take hours, especially if you aren’t too savvy with Excel. That’s where templates come into play. They have preset functions and layouts that you can use to speed things up. There are several free Excel templates available online. You can set each person’s availability and visualize the resulting schedule.
5. Automate calculations
Making schedules involves a lot of crunching numbers. You need to add up everyone’s hours to make sure they don’t rack up too much overtime. Of course, you don’t want to complete these calculations by hand for every staff member.
Excel’s formula capabilities can automate many parts of scheduling. The SUM function will calculate the total hours worked. The IF function can flag overtime by pointing out when the number of hours in the SUM column goes over 40.
6. Try conditional formatting and implement filters
Conditional formatting can highlight important info. For example, you can identify anyone who is over 40 hours. You can also see if you’re understaffed for any days of the month and plug the gaps.
Filters are another Excel tool you should get familiar with. They sift through your data based on what you search. For example, you can get a quick look at which employees are under the 40-hour limit and who can pick up extra hours.
7. Keep the schedule visible and accessible
A schedule is no good if people can’t find it. Don’t store yours on local hardware. Use the cloud instead. An accessible schedule makes it easy for people to find out when they have to be at work. It also promotes clarity, which is great for morale. Managers should have permission to make edits, and employees should have view-only access.
8. Consider implementing templates from automated software
Excel can be a powerful tool for scheduling, especially if you use a few pre-built templates. However, employee scheduling software is far superior. These solutions provide customizable templates that you can update in real-time. The best options also have built-in time clocks and messaging tools. With these, you can keep your employees in the loop at all times.
Switching from Excel to an automated platform can save you lots of hours each month. It will also promote scheduling efficiency. Altogether, it will ensure you have enough team members to meet customer needs.
Schedule optimization example
Let’s consider a scenario where a restaurant manager faces regular scheduling issues. Employees are getting angry about irregular assignments and possible unfairness.
The manager can address these concerns in the following ways:
- Using a structured Excel template
- Automating calculations for total hours and overtime
- Applying conditional formatting to highlight understaffed shifts
The end result will be better employee morale and proper coverage during peak hours. The business will also have fewer scheduling errors and happier customers.
How automated templates can help you optimize your scheduling
Automated scheduling templates make it easy to organize and visualize your shifts. At a glance, you can see who is working, who is available, and who is off (or meant to be off).
Here’s where the automation aspect comes into play. You can carry over the base schedule from the previous week or month to the new template. Make a few updates based on employee availability, and that’s it.
Automated scheduling templates also recognize when someone has approved time off. They will appear as off in your schedule, letting you know you have a gap to fill.
How When I Work helps you optimize your schedules
When I Work provides powerful automation tools that streamline scheduling with custom templates. These allow you to create schedules that address recurring staffing needs. Not only that, but they will reduce the time spent on manual scheduling by a large margin. Most managers save up to 15 hours per week by getting rid of repetitive tasks.
When I Work also addresses other key pain points that come up with manual scheduling on Excel. With When I Work, you can do the following:
- Auto-fill schedules for recurring shifts
- Avoid confusion and provide staff with consistent schedules
- Improve transparency and boost trust
- Make easy updates to reflect staffing changes
Some more key features and benefits you’ll enjoy with When I Work are as follows:
- Customizable templates: Create schedules tailored to your team’s unique needs with ease
- Recurring shift automation: Save time by reusing templates for regular shifts
- Error reduction: Cut down on scheduling conflicts with automated accuracy
- Adaptability: Adjust templates as needed to account for changing staffing requirements
- Team visibility: Give employees access to their schedules in real-time
- Time savings: Automating schedule creation and changes can save up to 15 hours each week
Small business owners and managers love When I Work. Alex R., a restaurant owner, had this to say: “Before using When I Work, creating our weekly schedules took hours. Now, with automated templates, it’s done in minutes — and it’s always accurate.”
That’s everything you need to know about When I Work. The only thing left to do is ask, why are you still wasting precious time building manual schedules in Excel?
Improve your staff scheduling with When I Work
Ready to leave Excel spreadsheet headaches behind for good? When I Work can modernize the way you manage your workforce. Employee scheduling software makes it easy to track and optimize every aspect of your schedule.
The built-in team messaging feature allows you to keep everyone in the loop about shift needs and schedule changes. When I Work also has a time clock feature that ensures every hour gets tracked.
Save up to 15 hours per week and build better schedules with When I Work. Try it free today.
