Imagine a scenario where your restaurant, which operates 24/7, is visited by some customers during the daytime. It’s not the holiday season, so customers take their time during the day, mostly empty chairs.
What will be the impression on customers when they walk in?
Will they be greeted by a diligent staff member committed to customer experience or welcomed by bored, too-lazy-to-work staff with a lot of time to kill?
It depends on what kind of customer experience you will create by optimizing your workforce and improving operational efficiency.
For businesses like retail and restaurants, typical 8 or 12-hour shifts are not beneficial in covering the operations and providing the best customer experience. The solution is to use split shift, which allows businesses to chunk the shifts into two or three blocks while the total shift time still adds up to 8 hours per day.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of split shift schedules, exploring their definition, characteristics, and how they work in various industries.
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What is a Split Shift Schedule?
A split shift schedule is a work arrangement where an employee’s daily work hours are divided into two or more separate periods. There’s a break of several hours between the periods, and this break is often referred to as a “split.” A split schedule typically breaks between work periods ranging from a few hours to several hours, depending on the organization’s needs and the employee’s role.
To illustrate this concept, let’s consider two examples from different industries:
- In the restaurant industry, the waiting staff is often given split shift hours to ensure coverage during busy periods. For example, their first shift could start at 11 am and end at 2 pm to cover the busy lunch period. After a three-hour break, the servers would return for their second shift from 5 pm to 10 pm, covering the dinner rush.
- Similarly, a retail store employee might also work a split shift schedule. For example, they could work from 9 am to 1 pm, helping with store opening, stocking shelves, and assisting customers during the morning hours. Then, there can be a few hours break before the employee returns for an evening shift from 5 pm to 9 pm.
Such split shifts enable businesses to have sufficient staff during the busiest times of the day while allowing the employees some time off in the afternoon.
The key characteristics of a split shift schedule include:
- Divided work hours: Unlike other shifts here, the employee’s daily work hours are split into two or more segments, with a significant gap between each segment.
- Extended break periods: In split shifts, the breaks between shifts are typically longer than a standard lunch break. Longer breaks provide employees more time to rest, run errands, or attend to personal matters.
- Flexibility: Split shifts allow organizations to schedule employees during peak hours and adjust staffing levels according to business needs, ensuring optimal coverage and efficiency.
Unlike traditional 9-to-5 schedules, there is no continuous 8-hour shift with a short lunch break. Also, split shifts typically involve working two or more shifts within the same day, with a significant break between shifts. Unlike rotating shifts, this requires employees to work during the day and evenings.
How Does a Split Shift Work?
Split shift is designed to cover the most critical operation hours of the business while providing employees time off during slow hours. The aim here is to maintain adequate staffing levels during critical periods while providing businesses with a more efficient utilization of their human resources and a more flexible work schedule.
For example, nursing staff is often given split shifts in the healthcare industry. For instance, a nurse working a split shift might start their day at 7 am and work until 11 am, covering the morning rush. They would then have a break from 11 am to 3 pm, allowing them to rest, run errands, or attend to personal matters. The nurse would return to work at 3 pm and continue their shift until 7 pm, covering the afternoon and early evening hours when the hospital experiences another peak inpatient needs.
Which Industries should consider using Split Shifts?
Several industries can benefit from split shift schedules, particularly those that experience fluctuations in demand or require extended hours of operation.
Here are some of the industries that should consider using split shifts include
- Retail: In the retail industry, the peak hours are concentrated around specific day periods. For example, stores often experience peak customer traffic during particular hours, such as lunchtime or evening shopping. A split schedule is beneficial for such stores.
- Cleaning & Janitorial Services: Businesses often have to serve their clients around the clock in cleaning and janitorial services. Split shifts allow them to accommodate their needs during less busy hours.
- Construction: Split shifts can be helpful in construction industries where work schedules may be affected by weather conditions or other external factors.
- Security: Security personnel may need to cover different shifts to ensure 24/7 coverage of the premises they protect. Split shifts provide round-the-clock coverage.
- Healthcare: As mentioned in our examples above, hospitals and clinics often require staff to be available during peak hours, which can be effectively managed through split shifts.
- Transportation & Logistics: Split shifts help cover peak delivery times and optimize their workforce in the transportation and logistics sector.
- Manufacturing: In the manufacturing sector, 24/7 operations can use a split shift schedule to maximize production output and efficiently utilize machinery and resources.
- Hospitality: Hotels, restaurants, and event venues often require staff to work during peak service hours, which can be managed through split shifts.
- Warehousing: Split shift is often used in warehouses to manage inventory, receiving, and shipping tasks more efficiently.
- Facilities Management: Split shifts can ensure that facilities are adequately maintained and serviced throughout the day without disrupting regular business operations.
Types of Split Shift Schedules
Depending on the requirements of the business operations, employers can choose from several types of split shift schedules. Here are the most commonly implemented types of split shift schedules:
- Morning-Afternoon Split: Most familiar in the education and daycare sector, this split shift requires employees to work a few hours in the morning, take a break, and then return for an afternoon shift.
- Afternoon-Evening Split: Employees start their shift in the afternoon, take a break, and then return for an evening shift. In the healthcare sector, the afternoon-evening split shifts can be used to provide round-the-clock patient care.
- Morning-Evening Split: Most familiar in the manufacturing section, this type of split shift schedule requires employees to work a few hours in the morning, have a long break, and then return for an evening shift.
- Variable Split Shifts: In businesses like call centers, employees have different split shift schedules each day or week, depending on the organization’s needs.
- Weekday-Weekend Split: Employees work split shifts during weekdays and have different weekend schedules.
- Peak Hours Split: Employees work split shifts covering peak business hours, such as lunchtime and dinner rushes in a restaurant.
- Overnight Split Shifts: Employees work split shifts that cover overnight hours, typically used in 24/7 operations like hospitals or security firms.
How to Strategically Implement Split Shift Schedules
Now that you understand split shift schedules and how effective they can be for your business, the next step is learning how to implement them.
This requires careful planning and consideration to ensure a smooth transition and successful schedule adoption. Follow the steps for strategically implementing a split work schedule to ensure employee well-being, productivity, and overall business performance.
- Assess Business Requirements: When it comes to split shifts, there is no universal solution. Businesses must evaluate their needs, peak hours, and customer demands to determine if split shifts are viable solutions.
- Design the Split Schedule: Based on the outcome of the above step, create a split shift schedule that aligns with your business needs. Ensure to consider employee preferences and availability when implementing the schedule.
- Discuss with Team Members: The new shift arrangement will ultimately impact your employees. Therefore, engaging in open conversations with your employees is mandatory to gather their feedback, address concerns, and ensure their willingness.
- Communicate Changes: To ward off any discontentment or protest, clearly communicate the new split shift schedule, including the reasons behind the change and how it will be implemented.
- Utilize Scheduling Tools: Split schedules can get complicated to manage if there are a large number of workers to put in shits—leverage technology and scheduling software to streamline creating, managing, and communicating split shift schedules.
- Ensure Legal Compliance: Familiarize yourself with local, state, and federal labor laws regarding split shifts, overtime, and breaks to ensure compliance.
- Review and Modify: You might not have the productivity or coverage your business needs from split shifts. This is why I regularly review the effectiveness of the split shift schedule and make necessary modifications based on employee feedback and business needs.
- Collect Employee Feedback: You can count on your employees to help you improve scheduling. Actively seek employee input on split shifts to identify areas for improvement and address any challenges.
- Optimize the Schedule: Keep refining and optimizing the split shift schedule to maximize efficiency, productivity, and employee satisfaction.
Advantages of Split Shift Schedules
Split shifts have benefits for both organizations and employees. Here are some of the advantages of implementing split shift schedules
- Improved Work-Life Balance: Split shifts breaks regular work hours into chunks with long breaks. It allows employees a longer break during the day, enabling them to attend to personal commitments, such as childcare or education.
- Increased Availability and Productivity: With this type of schedule, organizations can rearrange and schedule workers during peak hours, ensuring optimal staffing levels and improved productivity.
- Controlled Labor Costs: By strategically scheduling employees during peak hours, organizations can reduce the wastage of the workforce. That can help bring down labor costs associated with overstaffing during slow periods.
- Coverage on Business: Split shifts help organizations maintain adequate daily coverage, ensuring smooth business operations and customer satisfaction.
- Employee Retention: Businesses can provide their staff with flexible work arrangements using split shifts. It will improve employee satisfaction and reduce turnover rates.
- Boosted Productivity: With more considerable break periods between work shifts, employees working split shifts may experience less fatigue and be more focused during work hours, leading to increased productivity.
- Skill Utilization: Split schedules allow organizations to schedule employees with specific skills when they are most needed, optimizing the utilization of their workforce.
Challenges of Split Shift Schedules
While the benefits of implementing a split schedule may be tempting, there are also challenges involved that organizations must address:
- Employee Fatigue: In scenarios where employees are far from the workplace, a split schedule can require them to travel twice for eight hours of work. This can lead to increased fatigue.
- Complex Scheduling: Creating and managing split shift schedules requires more resources than other schedules. It can also be more time-consuming compared to traditional work arrangements.
- Effects on Team Unity: Frequent shift changes and the absence of consistent work hours can make it more difficult for employees to build strong relationships with their colleagues.
- Possibility of Overlaps and Underlaps: If not appropriately managed, split shift schedules can result in overstaffing or understaffing during specific periods.
Best Practices & Tips for Managing Split Shifts
Now that split shift pros and cons are on the table; it’s time to explore the best practices for managing split shift hours.
- Consider Commute Time: Beware of the employees’ commute time when creating split shift schedules. You aim to ensure the divided schedule makes workers spend only a little time commuting to and from work to minimize fatigue and stress.
- Leverage Technology: Scheduling software such as Truein can be highly effective in streamlining, creating, managing, and communicating split shift schedules.
- Know Local, State, and Federal Laws: Shift schedules cannot be out of the bounds of labour laws. Always ensure compliance with relevant labor laws and regulations regarding overtime and breaks.
- Ensure Fair Distribution: Distribute split shifts fairly among employees to avoid burdening specific individuals or teams.
- Keep Accurate Records and Regularly Review and Adjust Schedules: Businesses must keep accurate records of employee work hours as per law. Regularly review work hours and adjust split shift schedules based on business needs and employee feedback.
- Communicate well with Employees: Establish communication channels facilitating open and transparent communication with employees. Addressing concerns, providing updates, and gathering feedback on the split shift schedule are essential.
- Encourage Employee Feedback: Proactively seek employee input and suggestions to identify areas for improvement and ensure the success of the split shift schedule.
Are There Any Legal Requirements for Split Shift Scheduling?
Split shift scheduling must comply with the requirements of the jurisdiction and industry. Some of the most common legal considerations include:
- Minimum wage: Employers must ensure that employees working split shifts are paid at least the minimum wage for all hours worked as dedicated by local and federal laws.
- Overtime: Split shifts must adhere to overtime laws and regulations. Employees must be paid accordingly for any overtime hours worked.
- Break periods: Even when split schedules have long breaks between work hours, employers must still offer required meal and rest breaks as mandated by local, state, and federal laws.
- Record-keeping: Organizations must maintain accurate records of employee work hours, including split shift schedules.
How Split Schedule Rules Vary Geographical
While federal rules like the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act apply throughout the United States, there can be state laws that put additional rules into the picture.
Let’s see how split schedule rules vary according to state.
- New York: In New York, employers are required to pay additionally, known as ‘spread of hours pay’ if the total number of hours from the start of the split shift till the end exceeds 10 hours.
- Oregon: Oregon law requires employers to provide 10 hours of rest between shifts for split-shift employees.
- District of Columbia: Employees must receive an additional hourly pay for each split shift at the minimum wage rate.
- Illinois: Illinois doesn’t have any law regarding split shifts. However, the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance mandates that employees cannot be made to work without at least 10 10-hour waiting periods between split shifts.
- California: California labor law requires employers to pay employees a split shift premium if the break between shifts exceeds one hour.
How Truein Helps with Employee Shift Scheduling
Truein is more than a cloud-based time and attendance-based solution; it also offers comprehensive scheduling features to streamline employee shift scheduling, including split shift management.
With Truein, organizations can:
- Create and manage complex split shift schedules more efficiently
- Ensure schedules comply with local, state, and federal labor laws
- Facilitate communication with employees through mobile apps and notifications
- Track employee attendance and work hours in real-time
- Generate reports and insights to optimize workforce management
It is a complete set of tools helping organizations to effectively implement and manage split shift schedules while reducing administrative burdens and ensuring compliance.
Conclusion
Split shift schedules can effectively manage the workforce, optimize staffing levels, and improve overall business performance. Understanding the definition, characteristics, and various types of split shifts and the industries that can benefit from this scheduling approach can help employers implement split shift schedules successfully.
Organizations can use tools like Truein for employee shift scheduling to streamline creating, managing, and communicating split shift schedules.
