Scheduling Crash Course: How to Schedule Employees Like a Pro

Feeling overwhelmed by the biweekly scheduling shuffle? If you find yourself putting off scheduling tasks or recycling the same old schedule week after week just to keep things manageable, you're not alone. No judgment here—we're all about simplifying the process. What if scheduling didn’t have to be so complicated? What if you could learn how to schedule employees without the headaches? With a bit of prep work, flexibility, and the right tools, it’s entirely possible—and this scheduling crash course will equip you with the skills you need to whip up your next schedule in no time.

What makes employee scheduling so hard anyway?

Balancing the needs of your business with the availability and preferences of your employees can often feel like solving a complex riddle in a foreign language. With a myriad of factors to consider—like varying availabilities, shift preferences, skill sets, and time-off requests—it's no wonder that creating a balanced team schedule is both challenging and time-consuming. And just when you think you have things figured out, there’s always a last-minute change or unexpected absence to consider. 

Add evolving labor laws and overtime regulations to the mix and it’s easy to see why scheduling remains an ongoing source of stress for many small business owners. The good news? With a bit of preparation, organization, and a time-saving tool or two, scheduling stress can be a thing of the past (yes, really). 

How to schedule employees (and create a great schedule)

So, how can a new business owner bypass the trial-and-error phase and master the art of scheduling from the get-go? It starts with seven simple scheduling tips.

1. Get your team’s availability

A great schedule always begins with understanding your team's availability. After all, a schedule is only effective if your team can show up for their assigned shifts. While it's ideal to gather this information during the interview process, things can change.

To ensure your schedule aligns with your team’s evolving availability it’s important to regularly consult them about their preferred working hours, scheduling constraints, and any outside commitments.

Although it’s not always possible to make everyone happy, creating a schedule with your team's preferences (and availability) in mind will minimize those last-minute shift swaps and foster a happier more productive team.

2. Schedule in advance

Whether members of your team need to arrange after-school childcare, schedule a dog walker, or coordinate soccer practice carpool, these commitments are much easier to manage when scheduled in advance.

Ideally, it’s best to create your schedule at least two weeks in advance to limit last-minute scrambles for child or pet care and provide a more stable work environment for your team.

It's important to highlight that in some jurisdictions, proactive scheduling isn't just a preference—it's actually mandated by predictive scheduling laws aimed at safeguarding workers from last-minute changes. In addition to ensuring compliance, proactive scheduling reflects your acknowledgment of your team's time and commitments beyond the workplace, fostering a more positive and productive team environment.

3. Keep an eye on PTO requests

While time-off requests may disrupt an otherwise consistent schedule, they're an inevitable aspect of managing a team. Unfortunately, missed texts or emails often lead to overlooked requests, underscoring the need for a clear and user-friendly system to track PTOs. 

Even if you’ve been able to manually manage your small but mighty team’s PTO requests so far, it won’t be a sustainable practice as your team grows. By establishing systems now, you can avoid the headache of juggling the PTO requests of a growing team and onboarding an entirely new system in the future. With a user-friendly PTO system, you can ensure you don’t miss a request, send approvals promptly, and avoid the headache of last-minute scheduling changes. 

4. Keep the team balanced

Crafting a great team schedule involves more than just proactively managing availability and time-off requests—it's also about understanding team dynamics. Consider the diverse experiences, strengths, weaknesses, and skillsets of each person before finalizing your schedule. For instance, intentionally pairing your new hires with more experienced team members will support hands-on training and knowledge transfer, while creating valuable opportunities for mentorship. 

Taking the time to consider your team’s strengths and weaknesses while crafting your schedule will help ensure every shift is capable of tackling the challenges that come their way, as well as creating a more well-rounded workforce that will benefit your business for years to come.

5. Use a scheduling tool (like Homebase)

Now, if all of that still sounds like a bit too much to handle on top of your other duties, you’re certainly not alone. Scheduling is one of the biggest recurring headaches for novice and seasoned business owners alike.

And although the "grit and bear it" mentality may have helped you get your business off the ground, day-to-day operations shouldn’t (and don’t need to) be that hard.With scheduling tools like Homebase, managing your team's schedule becomes effortless.

You can easily view availability, assign (and automate) shifts, and approve swaps and time-off requests—in one convenient place. Plus, your entire team can access their schedules and updates directly in the app, making scheduling easier for everyone involved. Want to simplify things even further? Homebase integrates seamlessly with leading payroll systems (like Quickbooks, Gusto, and ADP), so you can eliminate manual data entry and reduce the risk of payroll errors, too. 

6. Have a clear shift-swapping policy in place in case something doesn’t work

Life is unpredictable. Availability changes, illnesses pop up, and some employees don’t quite fit the bill—which is why flexibility in scheduling is key. Setting up clear shift-swapping policies empowers your team to handle unexpected situations without throwing the whole schedule off track. Make sure your shift-swapping policy includes details on how to request a swap, any restrictions (such as seniority or shift types), and the responsibilities of employees involved in the swap.
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Don’t worry, they’ll still need your stamp of approval, but it will only require a quick click. The goal is to establish clear processes that minimize your involvement and empower your team to tackle problems on their own, so you can focus on the hundreds of other tasks on your to-do list.

7. A team communication tool to keep in touch about shift swaps and any information the team should have heading into their shift

Whether your team is swapping shifts or communicating important information between shifts, having a centralized communication hub ensures everyone is on the same page. With real-time updates, group messaging, and document sharing, Homebase makes it easy to coordinate responsibilities and stay informed about developments within the workplace. 

Easy employee scheduling means less headaches and more time for what matters most.

When you're starting out, it's natural to feel the pressure to handle everything yourself, particularly when you're focused on keeping overhead costs low. But don’t forget, your time is valuable too. Strategically integrating time-saving tools will help you reduce your time spent on complex operational tasks such as scheduling, streamline your processes, and free up valuable time to focus on what truly matters for the growth and success of your business.

Say hello to simplicity with Homebase’s scheduling tool for small businesses.