Any company running shift-based scheduling requires tools for workforce management. You lose productivity and sales if your organization still depends on paper timesheets and spreadsheets to schedule labor and it can also result in high labor costs.
Employee scheduling is essential to ensure that business operations can function smoothly while at the same time, employee scheduling apps enable managers, and supervisors to quickly look at data and allocate workers into various timeslots.
We have picked the 5 best employee scheduling apps of 2023 to help you automate the tedious and error-prone process of employee scheduling.
Top 5 Employee Scheduling Apps
Truein is an employee scheduling software for medium and large-scale enterprises, contract workers, distributed staff, retail chains, and on-the-go field employees. Its selfie-based geo-fencing technology allows employees to record attendance from their mobile or tablet.
The AI-powered facial recognition algorithm can screen for facial attributes like masks, beards, or specs to identify workers. The company has clients in manufacturing, construction, mining, services, facility management, etc. This mass adoption is due to the robustness of Truein as a cloud-based, face-recognition employee time and attendance monitoring software.
Features:
- Complete shift scheduling
- Selfie attendance with geo-fencing
- Kiosk mode (Touchless)
- Leave and overtime management
- Supports multiple in-out
- Integration with HRMS/Payroll
- Admin dashboard (web and mobile)
- Offline attendance
- Reports and analytics
- Employee directory
Pros:
- Real-time view of multiple sites
- Better scheduling with centralized controls
- 70+ customizable policies for attendance, leave, and overtime management
- Payroll-ready reports with automated timesheet calculations
Cons:
- There are no free plans. You could however schedule a trial demo.
Homebase offers premade schedule templates that allow managers to create work rosters easily. It also has the option to create smart work schedules to forecast labor costs. There is a free mobile app available for employees to download.
While Homebase has employee scheduling, time tracking, and communication tools, it is suitable for sectors like retail, beauty, and hospitality but not for industries like construction and manufacturing.
Features:
- Homebase scheduler automatically calculates overtime
- Alerts for schedule conflicts
- Sales data and forecasts integration
Pros:
- Free app
- A ‘Forever free’ basic plan
- Easy to make schedules with templates
- Ability to text employees directly
Cons:
- With applicant messages, there is no way to block or end communications
- When importing hours into the payroll system there is no way to separate overtime from normal hours.
- Also, notifications are reported to be not punctual at times.
If you are looking for employee scheduling software for the enterprise-level workforce, then Fourth is the app we recommend. Its robust work scheduling module automates all the processes, saving many resources for managers and employees.
Features:
- Users report faster work schedule creation
- The ability for future workforce capabilities
- Tools to control labor costs and budgets
Pros:
- Scheduling on a large scale
- Automatic compliance
- Forecasting functionality
Cons:
- Only suitable for the retail and hospitality industry
- No free plan
- It’s not as lightweight as the Truein app and is reported to slow down devices
- Workers are not able to access the data or updates outside the work
Sling combines schedule planning and absence management features. It helps simplify shift management and avoids conflicts within the team with an absence schedule. You can create shifts and schedules through copy to easily create recurring shifts and eliminate repeated entries.
Features:
- Copy shifts and schedules between days and weeks
- Social Space feature allows workers to interact
- Task management to keep employees accountable
- Schedule and monitor multiple locations from one dashboard
Pros:
- Long-term scheduling
- Labor cost management
- Calendar synchronization
- Free plan available
Cons:
- Not suitable for every industry
- There is no option for workers to request leave or overtime updates from managers
- No flexibility to accommodate contract workers
Designed as field service management software, this application is yet another powerful tool for employee scheduling. If your business deals in services like technical repairs, service staff, and workforce, you can use mHelpDesk for scheduling, billing, and communication between managers, coworkers, and laborers.
Features:
- End-to-end workforce management
- Track workers in real-time
- Scheduling and dispatching
- Drag and drop calendar
- Staff communication
Pros:
- Mobile access
- Offline access for scheduling and attendance
- Estimation and budgeting
- GPS tracking
Cons:
- Only for the services sector
- Does not support multiple administrator types like Truein
- Its mobile tracking feature is reported to be inaccurate at times
What features should you look for choosing an employee scheduling app?
Here are some crucial features you shouldn’t miss while choosing an employee scheduling software.
1. Scheduling and shift management
Smaller businesses with a few workers can manage with manual scheduling tools or free scheduling plans with software solutions. However, suppose your business requires 24-hour shift coverage. If you operate out of multiple locations or have a large workforce, you will need an employee scheduling app that offers complete scheduling and shift management.
Choose a product that provides features like shift optimization, shift-swapping, schedule publishing, auto schedulers, and leave tracking.
2. Timekeeping
Any employee scheduling software should have timekeeping features such as clock in and out, time-off requests, timesheet approvals, compliance tracking, etc. Advanced employee scheduling applications with features like geofenced clock-in and facial recognition are best because they help your business against labor and time fraud thus saving both man-hours and money.
3. Payroll integration
One of the intrinsic goals of implementing employee scheduling software is to improve productivity and HR automation. The team scheduling app you choose must have a payroll integration feature. When you minimize human intervention in labor hour calculation, you reduce errors and ensure accurate compensation.
This saves a lot of time otherwise spent on payroll calculation and also results in higher worker satisfaction.
4. Cost
Every company has a different pricing policy. Some charge per-employee fee plans, others offer a one-time fee, while some charge a monthly fee for a set number of accounts. You shouldn’t be penny-wise, pound foolish while choosing an app and choose the cheapest one.
First, narrow down the features that you are looking at, compare various apps, and then opt for an employee schedule that provides you with these features at a sustainable cost.
Benefits of employee scheduling software
1. Business efficiency
The ability to quickly create schedules and give staff access to their shifts via a mobile application hugely improves business efficiency.
2. Ensures Smooth business operations
With scheduling apps, you can track shift availability, allow shift swaps, maintain full shift coverage, and implement varying compliance rules to keep running day-to-day operations smoothly. Irrespective of your business type and size, efficient staffing ensures high productivity, shelves are stocked, and projects are completed and delivered on time.
3. Cost savings
Efficient scheduling saves hours by improving management productivity. Furthermore, overtime tracking and demand-based shift optimizations prevent redundancies in the scheduling process and reduce payroll costs. Also, correctly tracking employee work hours helps adherence to compliance factors avoiding penalties and fines.
Conclusion
Companies still using manual employee scheduling tools are wasting valuable resources.
Instead of investing hours in calculating work hours, scheduling shifts, and managing attendance and leaves, an employee scheduling app could significantly improve your business’ efficiency and productivity.
