Online Theme Park & Entertainment Scheduling Software
For workplaces that ebb and flow with the seasons, scheduling can be a hassle. Between finding seasonal employees and accommodating shifting employee schedules, it's easy to get overwhelmed. When I Work simplifies schedule management, even at your busiest times, with better communication, streamlined schedule changes, and mobile apps that let you update the schedule on-the-go. Sign up for a free account to learn how you can simplify employee scheduling and improve productivity at your theme park, zoo, or entertainment business.
A better way to manage staff year-round.
Simplify Updates
When I Work makes schedule updates simple, fast, and mobile. If you need to add or remove a shift, simply use the mobile app on your iPhone or Android. Updates will automatically appear on the schedule when published.
Company-Wide Communication
Encourage communication among employees and between management and staff with When I Work. Employees can quickly find shift replacements, then send the shift swap to the manager for approval, all from their mobile phones.
Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
Open since 1927 and long-considered one of the top-ten zoos in America, this zoo continuously focuses on ways to grow while retaining their mark of excellence in the zoo community. Their focus on quality has paid off, as the USA Travel Guide calls it the aspiration of any traditional zoo. Along with over 7,000 animals, this zoo has more recently expanded to include a water park, amusement park and golf resort.
550+
Employees
1
Location
"The text message 'shift reminders' helped eliminate employee tardiness and absences, plus employees are better prepared for work. My managers are now able to create a 150+ person schedule in about an hour and our staffing this summer has been better than ever."
-Director of Operations, Columbus Zoo & Aquarium
Key Values
Saves management 3-4 hours per week
Better communication via mobile apps
Eliminates hassles with last minute changes
Challenge
As the number of employees and departments grew, so did the scheduling challenges. Last minute changes, time-off requests, and shift swaps were manually entered and communicated, which was time-consuming and inconvenient for supervisors and employees. In addition, despite being handed hard copies of the schedule, staff members occasionally missed shifts.
Solution
After implementing When I Work, scheduling is easier and faster than ever. Every employee can access the schedule through their smartphone app, eliminating the need for hard copies, email, and telephone tag. Employees are more engaged in the schedule and management can instantly send notifications about shift openings or changes to the entire staff via text and email. When I Work saves valuable time and simplifies life for employees.
Museum Hack
37
Employees
7
Locations
"Upgrading to When I Work was a game changer for us. Now we have a dedicated platform for scheduling our hourly people and they consistently show up on time, ready to perform. This massive improvement is despite doubling our team to 24+ people spread across multiple time zones. The result? We reached $1 million in sales this year, and When I Work has been a key contributor to that growth."
-Michael Alexis
Key Values
Ability for teams to communicate eficiently with one another
Mobile apps make it easy to convenient to create and check schedules
Time saved spent creating and managing schedules
Museum Hack was founded by Nick Gray to help share his passion of museums. As part of their success, Museum Hack offers fun, interactive and engaging tours that draw young and diverse visitors. Museum Hack also does private tours for companies which are optimized for team building but just as fun as the public tours. Although it’s roots started in New York City, Museum Hack has now grown to multiple cities such as San Francisco and Washington D.C.!
Prior to When I Work, Nick managed his employee scheduling via Google Calendar. However, he soon discovered that there was no ability to track shift accountability, no easy way to drag and drop shifts around on the calendar, and the implementation of shift reminders was difficult for staff. It became clear to Nick that with a dispersed workforce operating in different time zones, the only way to remain efficient was to bring all his scheduling into a centralized app.
Nick chose When I Work because with the Mobile App, he has quick visibility to who is working today. If a new tour request comes in, he can also use Shift Blocks to add popular shifts quickly into the schedule. Employees also benefit from the Mobile App because they can sign up to receive automated shift reminders and never be late to meet guests.
By using the time-saving features When I Work provides, Nick can now focus more time on ways to grow the business. Join us in congratulating Museum Hack for reaching $1 million in sales this year!
Lanier World
Georgia's premier resort and summer vacation destination. 400+ employees | 12 departments, 16 different job roles.
400+
Employees
1
Location
"We looked at other scheduling systems but chose When I Work because it was easy to use and the employees like using it. Before, the managers were on the phone all the time with employees about schedules. When I Work eliminated most of those calls by helping the employees be more self-reliant."
-Operations Director, Lanier World
Key Values
Employees are more engaged with the schedule
Management saves time making and managing the schedule
Enhanced communications via web, apps and text
Challenge
The height of the busy season requires a large number of seasonal employees and makes the scheduling challenging and cumbersome. Previously schedules were created on a spreadsheet and posted for employees. But ever-changing staffing needs resulted in constant changes to the schedule, which meant lots of phone calls to employees. This was not only time consuming but the problem was compounded by the demanding nature of the manager's job. These challenges resulted in missed shifts and frustration.
Solution
When I Work streamlined the scheduling and communication process. Schedule updates are simple and employees get automatic notification via text messages and email. Telephone calls have been eliminated. Employees have complete access to the schedule, while managers can monitor schedule changes and time-off requests via their mobile phones.
Woody's Yogurt Place
Woody's has been proudly serving customers in the Strawberry Village Shopping Center in Mill Valley, California since 1998.
5-15
Employees
1
Location
Key Values
Flexible monthly billing to fluctuate with workforce demands
Shift reminders to keep employees accountable to upcoming shifts
Copy shifts and schedules to save time
Woody's Yogurt shop is owned by father and son, Michael and Brian Woodson. Brian is the Operations Manager and is in charge of hiring and scheduling employees.
Woody's was founded in 1998 and is located in Mill Valley, California, a small town just north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It offers a rotating stock of ice cream and frozen yogurt flavors to match the season. It has deep roots in the community and has supported many local schools and sports teams over the years. They also hire local high school and college students.
Brian’s hiring fluctuates with the seasons. In the high season, Woody’s employs approximately 15 employees and during the low season, employs approximately 5 employees. Prior to using When I Work, the Daytime Manager used a paper calendar posted to the staff room to share the employee schedule. Employees would then come into the shop to copy down their shifts for the upcoming week. All time off requests and employee availability information were written onto the paper calendar.
Brian selected When I Work because it was built to improve team communication as well as improve employee accountability. With the mobile app, employees can quickly gain access to their schedule, receive text reminders of upcoming shifts, and easily trade shifts with colleagues. Prior to When I Work, trading shifts required a lot of legwork from Managers to find replacements, and now it takes a couple clicks in the app!
Employees love When I Work and it took about one week to adopt the app into their store’s workflow. Brian also explained that When I Work offered Live Chat and email assistance so they feel comfortable asking questions. He’s now completing his weekly scheduling in 10 mins!
Malco Theatres
6 Theatres, approximately 200 employees, depending upon season: Concessions, usher, box, doorman, 3-D, Group Show.
200
Employees
6
Locations
"[When I Work] makes scheduling like a living thing. We wanted a much higher reliability rate and a transparent process. When I Work gave us that."
-Nathan McDaniel, Eastern Regional Manager
Key Values
Increased employee accountability
Save manager 4-5 hours of hassle per week
Increased communications between employees
Challenge
Prior to using When I Work, the schedules were done manually on a spreadsheet and posted. Employees would miss shifts because they "never saw the schedule". Calling employees and managing shift swaps was a big headache.
Solution
When I Work streamlined the schedule creation and communication process. Employees are now accountable for their shifts because of the interactive systems of text notices and reminders. The schedule each theatre manager creates is monitored by the regional manager to make sure staffing levels are adequate.
Goldfish Swim School
45
Employees
1
Location
"Using When I Work has saved me more than 7 hours per week handling scheduling changes and requests. Now, I’m only spending about 15 minutes per week to build out a schedule. I also find myself very active in checking the requests submitted by employees through the Mobile app."
-Tommy Hamilton, General Manager
Key Values
Time Savings
Reduce employee absenteeism
Easy to Use platform requires minimal training
Goldfish Swim School of Reston, VA specializes in offering a safe and engaging environment to help children build their confidence and develop a lifelong passion for swimming. As part of their success, they employ millennials throughout the year to create a flexible curriculum that accom-modates all students. In addition to regular classes, they also host birthday parties and other fun special events!
Prior to When I Work, it took about 8 hours a week to oversee scheduling for 20 staff members on Excel. Because much of the business is consistent throughout the year, Tommy found that he was spending a lot of time copying and pasting shift information repeatedly on his Excel schedule. It soon became evident that in order to expand the business, Tommy needed to find a more efficient way of managing scheduling and time clock demands.
Tommy chose When I Work because it offered the ability to create shift templates for his most frequently scheduled shifts. Now, instead of copying and pasting information repeatedly, he can load in a pre-populated shift template with two clicks. He also enjoys the flexibility of adding OpenShifts™ when a special event requests comes in.
Tommy also chose to activate mobile clock in to provide his employees the option to clock in for their assigned shifts without waiting. Employees are also encouraged to review their timesheet and turn on shift reminders to reduce absenteeism. Using When I Work was a clear choice for Goldfish Swim School of Reston, VA as it was able to simplify scheduling demands and allow Tommy to grow his business. He’s now scheduling 45 employees in less than 15 minutes per week!
Painted Kanvas
9
Employees
1
Location
"I am always looking for a way to save time for my business. Using When I Work provided me with the ability to process employee requests [such as Swap/ Drop Requests] quickly without major interruptions in my day. I can just focus on my business and not have worry about staff clocking in late!"
-Chelsea Rose, Co-Founder of Painted Kanvas
Key Values
Employee accountability built into the app
Minimal manager oversight needed
Easy-to-use platform
Painted Kanvas opened in 2014 in Lawrence, KS and specializes in offering a one-of-a-kind painting experience where customers can learn how to paint in a relaxing environment with friends, family and co-workers. With interactive sessions hosted by local artists, Painted Kanvas is dedicated to creating an inviting space for artistic exploration!
A majority of Painted Kanvas’ events are scheduled in advance by clients. This makes scheduling difficult as there is no easy way to anticipate fluctuating workforce demand on a weekly basis. By using the When I Work’s availability tool, Employee Artists can enter their personal preferences. This helps Chelsea organize her time and process incoming event requests quickly by easily seeing who is available and qualified to work a specific type of event.
Employees also have the ability to turn on Shift Reminders to prevent tardiness. In addition, Chelsea also turned on the ability to allow Employees to edit their timesheets in case an event went longer than intended. With this additional visibility into their personal timesheets, Employees can quickly view their scheduled hours versus their actual hours.
Painted Kanvas selected When I Work because it was built for scheduling flexibility and it gave employees more accountability to their shifts. It’s clear that with When I Work, Chelsea’s workflow is simplified and she can focus on more ways to grow her business!
Barrie, Ontario KOA Campground
26
Employees
1
Location
"We have a mix of recurring shifts but we also needed the flexibility to add custom shifts into the schedule quickly. We tried Excel and ShiftPlanning previously but neither were able to handle our campground’s needs. We ultimately decided to use When I Work because everything can be done through the Mobile App!"
-Aaron Raposo, General Manager at Barrie, Ontario KOA Campground
Key Values
Time Savings
Mobile Apps offering Flexibility to both Managers and Employees
Cost Savings from hibernating account during off-season
Barrie, Ontario KOA Campground specializes in providing a seasonal family-oriented campground in Central Ontario, Canada. In addition to the stewardship of the 60 acres of pine trees, Aaron Raposo (General Manager) and Lindsay Krant (Front Desk Supervisor) also oversee the modern amenities including two heated pools, a playground, a pizza shop, and a mining centre.
Prior to When I Work, Aaron and Lindsay tried scheduling using Excel as well as ShiftPlanning for their 25 staff members. With Excel, scheduling was tedious and all shift swap and drop requests required a complete new draft of the schedule which took several hours. With ShiftPlanning, flexibility in adding new custom shifts on-the-fly was limited.
Aaron selected When I Work because it was easy for everyone to use, helped him save time through Schedule Templates, and offered flexibility to process scheduling changes from anywhere on the Mobile App. Aaron and Lindsay can now create a schedule 1 month in advance in less than 1 hour!
Using When I Work also simplified the internal processes of time clock management. Employees can quickly clock in from the Mobile App when they arrive to the campground. Aaron also gets a notification through the Mobile App if an employee clocks in late for their shift. This gives Aaron a quick way to know who is working at all times.
Because the campground is active for only 6 months of the year, Aaron also enjoys the cost savings of hibernating their account during the off-season. Now, with a reliable app to monitor scheduling and time clock requirements, Aaron and Lindsay can focus on offering exceptional customer service and finding new ways to grow their award winning campground!
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