Are you having a hard time scheduling the shifts for your healthcare workers? Most Irish hospitals run on a 24/7 shift schedule, meaning that someone must be on duty at all times during the day.
In many cases, those workers are on 12-hour shift schedules, where they work for a solid 12 hours, then spend 12 hours (or longer) off. The problem comes when your workers need certain days off or can’t work at specific times for any reason.
Add this to the fact that you have a lot of workers (as most hospitals do), and it’s no wonder that your HR employees and scheduling managers end up getting overwhelmed and confused. Thankfully, you have some options, including these useful and effective tips.
24/7 Shift Schedule Solutions
Scheduling workers for a standard 8-hour workday can be tricky enough. The problem comes when you have longer shifts and more workers. Some of the best solutions to this issue involve software designed to handle a number of different aspects of these shift schedules.
Take Advantage of Scheduling Software
There are many different types of scheduling software in the market that can help with this. You don’t need to try to handle it the old fashioned way with paper and a pen. Those shift schedules have practically gone extinct, thanks to the modern options.
Plus, not only is it easier to schedule your workers with this software, but it’s much simpler for your payroll department. They won’t have to add anything and hope that your workers wrote everything down properly. Instead, they just need to pull up the computerized record.
Let Your Employees Handle It
Some types of shift schedules are simpler to manage when your employees in Ireland have free reign. They can use the software to enter the days and times that they can and cannot work and let the program handle the rest.
If one of their supervisors tries to enter them into a shift that they can’t manage, then the program will let them know. You’ll have less employee conflict this way.
Use an Auto Rostering Program
Auto rostering softwares essentially run on their own. You simply input your employees and their time constraints and let the computer do the rest. Sure, you’ll need to check to make sure that every shift is accounted for and that each employee has enough hours, but the majority of the work is done by the system. These auto rostering programs make it very simple to set up hospital shift schedules.
Why You Need Modern Solutions for Shift Schedules
Your hospital uses modern technology when it’s caring for patients, so why wouldn’t you take advantage of it when you are scheduling your workers? It makes sense to use everything that you can in order to make communication go more smoothly. Plus, the happier your workers are with their schedules, the better things will go to your hospital’s halls.
Communication is Key
Communication is the most important part of this. Instead of having your workers get mad at each other when one works the other’s shifts or ends up getting a day off that the other wanted, they can look at the system and see if they are able to switch.
Plus, it’s easier on your HR and management team. All of those phone calls, emails, and notes fielding requests for days off can get lost or overlooked, especially when they have plenty of other things to do. An employee scheduling software can make all of this communication much easier.
It’s efficient and simple
Scheduling software is very easy to use. It’s not complicated at all! Sure, it might be a bit time consuming at first, particularly when you need to enter everyone’s information.
However, once the workers at your Irish hospital are entered, everything goes smoothly. You’ll need to teach your workers how to use it, including the front line nurses and your HR employees, but all it takes is a short training session and a little bit of practice. The communication enhancement is well worth the aggravation of having to learn a new program.
Everyone Can See Their Hours
Once you have your rostering and scheduling software in use, your workers won’t be stuck wondering when they’re working. They won’t have to come in and look at a paper schedule.
Instead, they can log into the system and look at the schedule themselves. Everyone will be able to see it, from the nurses to the HR workers, making it simple to know who is on duty and where they must be. The more scheduling information that you can provide the better and these systems really do it all, from tracking vacation time to noting which shifts people can work.
If any questions arise, it just takes a quick peek at the system in order to clear them up.
