How to Run a Better Hostel with Shift Scheduling Software
It's late at night and you're sitting in your office with an empty shift schedule for the coming week staring back at you. Beside you sits a stack of papers. On these papers are the preferences submitted by your employees of when to work and when not to work. Ideally, they would all have submitted their preferences on time and in full, but that's hardly ever the case. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, you waste hours trying to build a working shift schedule, only to come out at the end of each attempt with an untenable solution – you assigned John to the front desk, even though he can't handle it by himself, or you assigned Carol to work the night shift four nights in a row. In the worst situations, you might even get a call from Robert after you finally put together a workable schedule, an hour or two before his shift is to begin, letting you know that he can't make it that day and that you need to scramble to find someone to replace him.
Modern technology has provided a solution to your recurring scheduling woes.
Employee shift scheduling software like EZShift makes the entire process of creating a work schedule a breeze, from start to finish. Sophisticated shift scheduling software lets you set conditions that fit your schedule's different shifts – times, types of workers needed on each shift, etc. – and define employee attributes – level of experience, certifications, etc. – before you click a button and let the software build a schedule for you. This schedule will be done in minutes, not hours, and will be error-free on the first try.
Let's look at an example for how shift scheduling software like EZShift can help your hostel run more smoothly. Suppose your hostel takes check-ins from 2 PM. To handle the incoming rush around that time, you'll want an extra person at the front desk who has more experience. To make sure the rooms are as clean as possible to receive the new guests, you'll also want an extra person to clean up before people get in. Before, you would wind up sitting for hours on end, struggling to make the schedule fit in just the right way such that you had the right people on duty in the right shifts at the right time. Any time you realized a mistake made earlier in the schedule, you would have to start over from that point. It would last for as many times as necessary before you got it perfect. With shift scheduling software like EZShift, you can bypass this waste of your valuable time. You simply define who the more experienced receptionists for the front desk are, who the more cleaning staff is, what shifts you want them at, and let the program find the best schedule that fits your hostel's particular scheduling needs.
Another benefit of employee shift scheduling software is the ability for managers and employees to communicate easily and efficiently between each other. Currently, you may find that some employees don't fill out their shift preference list simply because they didn't remember to do so before leaving the hostel the day it was due. Luckily, advanced shift scheduling software such as EZShift solves this problem by giving you, the owner, a built-in communication system that allows your employees to fill in their scheduling preferences from the comfort of their own computers. Such software packages also helps your employees remember to put down enough shifts, whether types of shifts (time of day, day of the week, etc.) or total, by prohibiting them from submitting preference list without satisfying the requirements you set out.
Another example: Thomas, your newest worker, finished and went home for the week on the day his preferences for next week's shifts were due. Before, you and Thomas would have to track each other down by phone. Now, with shift scheduling software like EZShift, he can log into his part of the hostel's shift scheduling software package and submit his preferences from home, and will be unable to complete the process until he has met the minimum number and type of shifts you set.
In the future, save yourself time and make sure you always schedule the right number of receptionists, cleaners, and cooks for your hostel. Help yourself and your business, and let a shift scheduling software package like EZShift do the hard work for you.
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