How to Make a Work Schedule

A great work schedule isn't just busywork. It's what keeps your team organized, your customers happy, and your labor costs under control.

For busy small business owners, learning how to make a work schedule effectively can be challenging—especially when you're juggling multiple priorities.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about creating schedules that work. You'll learn practical steps and insider tips to build and manage employee schedules quickly and efficiently.

Whether you're a restaurant manager, retail owner, or service provider with an hourly team, these strategies will help you make better schedules while saving time.

How to Create a Work Schedule: The Quick Guide

Need to create a work schedule fast? Here are the essential steps every small business owner should follow:

1. Determine Your Labor NeedsFigure out how many hours you can afford and when you need the most staff. Look at your sales forecasts and budget to set clear labor targets.
2. Gather Employee AvailabilityCollect information about when your team can work. Consider school schedules, other jobs, and personal commitments. Pro tip: Use a consistent method for tracking availability.
3. Know Your Team's StrengthsMatch employees to shifts based on their skills. Put your most customer-friendly staff on busy shifts, and your detail-oriented team members where precision matters.
4. Check Labor LawsUnderstand overtime rules, break requirements, and scheduling regulations. Avoid costly compliance mistakes by knowing the basics.
5. Choose Your Scheduling ToolSelect a method that works for your business. Options range from spreadsheets to dedicated scheduling software. Look for tools that can save you time, track availability, and make communication easy.
6. Create Your Initial ScheduleBuild a draft schedule that covers all shifts, balances employee hours, and meets your business needs. Use templates to save time.
7. Review and AdjustDouble-check for common scheduling errors like overstaffing, conflicts, or accidental double-bookings.
8. Communicate and ShareDistribute the schedule with plenty of notice. Make sure every team member knows their shifts.

Homebase Hack: Our scheduling tools can automate most of these steps, saving you time and reducing scheduling stress.

What is a Work Schedule?

A work schedule is a physical or digital document that communicates the hours and shifts that an employee is set to work. It's that crucial document that keeps everyone on the same page without constant check-ins or confusion.

Your schedule isn't just about filling shifts. It's about making your business hum. When done right, it:

• Keeps your busiest times fully staffed so customers never wait
• Prevents costly overstaffing during those inevitable slow periods
• Gives your team the predictability they need to balance work and life
• Aligns your staffing with sales targets so you can nail your labor budget

Whether you're cranking out weekly schedules or planning a month ahead, a solid work schedule is how small businesses turn chaos into clockwork.

What Makes a Perfect Work Schedule?

A perfect work schedule isn't just about filling shifts—it's about creating a system that works for everyone. Think of it like the secret sauce that keeps your business running smoothly and your team feeling unstoppable.

A truly great schedule does more than just assign hours. It:

• Balances business needs with employee preferences
• Prevents burnout by distributing shifts fairly
• Provides predictability and flexibility
• Maximizes team productivity
• Helps everyone feel valued and heard

Key ingredients of a perfect schedule include:

• Clear communication about shift expectations
• Consistent and timely distribution
• Consideration of individual team member strengths
• Built-in flexibility for unexpected changes
• Transparent processes for shift swaps and time-off requests

And to be honest...at Homebase, we try and help business owners make every schedule the perfect schedule!

Type of Work Schedules for your Small Business

Choice, choices, choices. When it comes to work schedules, you have so many options to choose from. But it means you can choose the system that works best for your small business!

Let's break down the types of schedules that actually work for businesses with hourly teams:

Weekly Work Schedules

Weekly shifts are the most common for hourly and shift workers. This means the schedule is updated or changed from week to week.

Why it rocks: Maximum flexibility to adjust staffing based on changing needs. Busy weekend coming up? Staff up. Slow period ahead? Scale back. Perfect for businesses where no two weeks look the same.

Fixed Work Schedule

Fixed work schedules provide consistency, so everyone knows their work schedule well in advance. With fixed shifts, employee shifts stay relatively constant from week to week.

Why it rocks: Your team can plan their lives more than a week ahead, and you'll free up hours of your time. Ideal for businesses with consistent customer traffic or predictable service needs.

Rotating Work Schedules

These are common for businesses where several shifts need to be covered regularly. The shifts tend to stay the same, but every week (or month) things rotate and employees move to a different shift.

Why it rocks: Everyone gets their fair share of both the desirable and less desirable shifts. Perfect for businesses that operate extended hours, like healthcare facilities or certain retail operations.

On-Call Schedule

On-call schedules are commonly used in customer-facing industries where demand can fluctuate. Employees who are on call typically find out closer to their scheduled shift if they're needed or not.

Why it rocks: Built-in flexibility when things get unexpectedly busy or someone calls out sick. It gives businesses the ability to add more employees if needed without overstaffing during slow periods.

Most businesses choose one or a combination of these types to meet their scheduling needs. The best approach balances your business requirements with your team's preferences—without turning scheduling into a weekly headache.

Who’s Responsible for Making a Work Schedule?

Work schedules don't just magically appear out of thin air. (Although, sometimes we wish they would.) In small businesses, these key people typically handle scheduling:

Business Owners

Often wear the scheduler hat along with everything else, especially in newer or smaller operations.

Managers & Supervisors

Take on scheduling as part of their operational responsibilities in established businesses.

Department Heads

Handle scheduling for their specific teams in larger operations with multiple departments.

Whoever creates your schedules needs to understand labor laws, budget constraints, and how to balance business needs with employee availability. They should know which team members work well together and how to distribute your top performers across shifts for maximum impact.

Create effective work schedules in seconds. Use Homebase's auto-schedule feature to make a work schedule based on your team's latest availability, sales forecasts, and labor targets in just a few clicks. (Pretty close to magic if you ask us.)

How to Make a Work Schedule

Creating a work schedule doesn't have to be complicated. With the right approach, you can build schedules that keep your business running smoothly and your team happy—no more constant questions or frantic shift-swapping requests.

Follow these eight steps to create thorough, problem-free schedules that your employees can count on:

Step 1: Determine your labor targets

Labor costs can cost you a pretty penny, with labor costs making up as much as 50% of total costs for some businesses. Before you can schedule your employees, you need to know how much labor you need and how much you can afford.

Here are some questions to help better understand your labor targets:

• What's your labor budget? This is how much you can afford to spend on employee wages. This will help you budget the number of work hours you can schedule in a week and is often relative to your sales forecasts.
• Which days or times do you need more staff? The goal of an employee work schedule is to make sure that you have employees when you need them. For example, in a restaurant, weekend evenings might be busier, which means you'll need to schedule more staff to support your customers.
• What's your ideal labor percentage? Track the relationship between your labor costs and sales. Set a target percentage and monitor it weekly to ensure your scheduling decisions support your bottom line.

Step 2: Get to know your team

Every person you hire is unique. So while it can be tempting to simply stick an employee where there's an open shift, it's best to schedule employees for shifts where you know they'll make the biggest impact.

Build your schedule around each person's strengths. For example, an employee who has excellent people skills is probably better off working a busy customer-facing shift. Meanwhile, a quieter employee who has great organizational skills might be more productive taking an inventory shift.

Keep track of what you learn about your team:

• Their specific strengths and skills
• Which positions they excel in
• Who they work most effectively with
• Their reliability and adaptability
• Their schedule preferences when possible

Get to know your team's abilities through daily interactions and the hiring process itself. This insight turns good schedules into great ones.

Step 3: Gather employee availability

Before creating your schedule, you need to know who's available and when. This is especially important for hourly teams with varying shifts.

Common availability constraints to manage:

• Religious observances that affect weekend availability
• School schedules for student employees
• Childcare responsibilities limiting certain shifts
• Second jobs or side hustles
• Transportation limitations (bus schedules, carpools)
• Medical appointments or ongoing treatments
• Family care obligations (elderly parents, etc.)
• Educational commitments (classes, study groups)
• PTO requests throughout the year

Best practices for managing availability:

• Establish a clear process for submitting availability changes
• Set reasonable deadlines (require 2 weeks' notice for permanent changes)
• Create a simple form or digital system to track requests
• Require employees to find their own replacements for last-minute changes
• Keep backup staff on call for emergencies
• Balance business needs with employee preferences
• Be consistent with your policies to avoid favoritism claims

Remember, you have to put your business needs first, so not every request can be approved. But accommodating where possible improves employee engagement and reduces turnover.

And psst...with Homebase, your team can update their availability right from their phones, and you'll get notifications when they do. No more sifting through text messages or trying to remember that conversation from last Tuesday about someone's dentist appointment!

Step 4: Familiarize yourself with the FLSA and employment laws

Employee scheduling isn't just about what your business needs—it's also about following the law. In the U.S., many labor requirements are enforced by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Key laws to keep in mind when scheduling:

• Overtime: Non-exempt employees who work over 40 hours in a workweek are entitled to overtime pay at 1.5x their regular rate of pay.
• Minor work restrictions: The FLSA limits how much teenagers can work. For example, 14-15 year olds can only work 3 hours on school days and 18 hours during school weeks.
• Break requirements: Many states mandate meal and rest breaks. California, for instance, requires a 30-minute meal break for shifts over 5 hours.
• Predictive scheduling: Some cities and states have enacted "fair workweek" laws requiring advance notice of schedules and compensation for last-minute changes.
• State variations: Every state has its own spin on labor laws. What's legal in Texas might not fly in New York.

When in doubt, check it out: Labor law violations can lead to hefty fines, even if they're accidental. Homebase's scheduling tools help flag potential compliance issues before they become problems, saving you both headaches and money.

Step 5: Decide how you want to make your schedule

Choosing the right tool for scheduling can make the difference between hours of frustration and a quick, painless process. Most small businesses today have moved beyond pen and paper to more efficient digital methods.

Your scheduling options:

• Spreadsheets: Google Sheets or Excel templates work for basic scheduling—simple but can get unwieldy as your team grows.
• Handwritten schedules: The classic approach. Easy to start but a nightmare when changes happen (and they always do).
• Scheduling software: Tools like Homebase that handle the heavy lifting and keep everyone in the loop automatically.

You can keep it simple by creating a template with Google Sheets. However, digital scheduling tools like Homebase make the entire process more efficient.

Instead of manually tracking time-off requests, availability changes, and shift swaps—or sending schedule files through texts and emails—everything stays in one central place.

Your team can check their schedules, request changes, and communicate about coverage all through the same system. No more tracking down employees to make sure they saw the updated schedule or sorting through a mess of text messages.

No matter what tool or software you decide to use, make sure to keep an eye out for features that can help save you time. Our favorites? Shift swaps, built-in blackout dates, and integrations with time clock apps.

Step 6: Create Your Schedule

Ready to build a schedule that actually works? You've gathered all the pieces—now it's time to put them together and create a schedule that keeps your team unstoppable.

Every business is unique, so your schedule will look different, but here are the must-have elements:

• Dates (because timing is everything)
• Employee names and key information
• Precise shift times and duration
• Total hours per employee
• Specific notes and shift instructions

Even better, make sure to create a schedule template you can use so you're never starting from scratch!

Pro tip: Skip the scheduling stress. Use Homebase's free drag-and-drop schedule tool and build your perfect schedule in minutes. No complicated formatting, and no unnecessary follow-ups required!

Step 7: Review for Common Scheduling Errors

Scheduling mistakes happen, but they can cost you big time. At best, you might find yourself short-staffed. At worst, you could accidentally break a labor law. Being aware of common scheduling errors can help you avoid potential issues.

Some scheduling landmines to watch out for:

• Overscheduling employees beyond their agreed hours or legal limits
• Understaffing critical shifts that could tank your business performance
• Accidentally scheduling an employee on their requested time off
• Double-booking the same employee across multiple shifts
• Ignoring employee availability and personal constraints
• Failing to track overtime which can lead to unexpected labor costs
• Scheduling employees for roles they're not trained to handle
• Not accounting for mandatory breaks required by labor laws
• Creating schedules without considering peak business hours
• Forgetting to factor in seasonality or special events

Pro tip: Homebase's scheduling tools automatically flag these common errors before they become real problems. Why play detective when technology can do the heavy lifting for you?

Step 8: Share Your Schedule with Your Team

Creating a schedule is just the start. Your team needs to know when they're working—and the sooner, the better. When it comes to sharing your schedule, follow these key guidelines:

• Release schedules consistently - Pick a set day and time (like every Friday for the following week)
• Give at least 7 days notice to help employees plan their lives
• Use a communication method that reaches everyone - Whether that's an app, email, or team messaging system
• Confirm receipt of the schedule - Make sure every team member has seen their shifts
• Be clear about how to request changes - Establish a simple process for shift swaps or time-off requests

If you're using a scheduling app, you'll likely have a feature that pushes the schedule out to the entire team. Otherwise, you can email the schedule or post it in the workplace.

Remember: If you need to make changes after you've sent it out, make sure to send an update to your team. Otherwise, your team might miss the changes.

Pro tip: Homebase turns schedule sharing into a quick tap. Push your schedule to the entire team simultaneously, and watch communication flow seamlessly. No more phone tag, no more missed shifts—just unstoppable team coordination.

Step 9: Follow Up and Iterate

Creating a great schedule isn't a one-time event—it's an ongoing process of improvement. After you've shared your schedule:

• Gather feedback from your team about the scheduling process
• Track scheduling effectiveness by monitoring:
  • Shift coverage
  • Employee satisfaction
  • Labor costs
  • Overtime incidents
• Adjust your approach based on what you learn
• Regularly review scheduling patterns to identify potential improvements

Pro tip: Homebase helps you track scheduling metrics automatically. See how your scheduling impacts your team's performance and your bottom line—all with a few taps.

How to Share a Work Schedule: Team Communication Methods

Effective team communication is the backbone of any successful scheduling system. It's not just about telling people when to work—it's about keeping everyone connected, informed, and engaged.

The best communication methods for hourly teams should:

• Reach everyone instantly
• Be easily accessible from mobile devices
• Allow for quick updates and shift changes
• Provide a single source of truth for schedules
• Give employees a way to communicate about work

Top communication channels for small businesses

• Team messaging apps
• Group text systems
• Scheduling software with built-in communication
• Shift notification platforms
• Work-specific communication tools

Potential communication features should consider

• Instant notifications
• Read receipts
• Easy file and image sharing
• Private and group messaging options
• Integration with scheduling systems

Pro tip: Homebase's team messaging feature keeps everyone on the same page. No more lost text messages or missed shift updates!

Common communication pitfalls to avoid

• Using personal text message groups
• Relying on email for urgent updates
• Scattered communication across multiple platforms
• Inconsistent messaging protocols

Manage Emergencies: Creating a Back Up Plan

Even the most carefully crafted schedule can fall apart. Emergencies happen, employees get sick, and unexpected situations arise. A solid backup plan is your safety net for keeping your business running smoothly.

Key components of an effective backup strategy

• Maintain a list of on-call employees
• Cross-train team members for multiple roles
• Develop clear protocols for last-minute coverage
• Create a reliable communication system for emergencies
• Have a process for quickly redistributing shifts

What to include in your backup plan

• Contact information for potential backup staff
• Backup employee skills and qualifications
• Overtime and compensation guidelines
• Emergency shift coverage procedures
• Documentation of backup staffing process

Pro tip: Homebase helps you manage backup staffing with tools that simplify last-minute scheduling changes. Track availability, send instant notifications, and keep your team operating effectively—even when unexpected challenges arise.

Potential backup plan red flags

• Overrelying on the same few employees
• Burning out your most reliable team members
• Failing to compensate backup staff fairly
• Lack of clear communication during emergencies

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Make a Work Schedule with Homebase

Say goodbye to scheduling stress for good. Homebase’s free online schedule software helps you create a work schedule for your small business in minutes.

When you make your schedule with Homebase, you can:

• Save time with smart templates and auto-scheduling
• Track overtime and labor costs with ease
• Share shift changes with just a few clicks
• Empower your team to swap shifts and request time off
• Set up availability tracking to prevent scheduling conflicts
• Create custom shift rules and blackout dates
• Automatically notify employees of schedule updates
• Integrate sales forecasts to optimize labor scheduling

Homebase is your team management sidekick—complete with time clocks, payroll, messaging, and everything else small businesses need to stay unstoppable.

Ready to simplify scheduling with Homebase?

See for yourself why 100,000+ small businesses across all industries love Homebase. Get started for free today.