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Setting up an employee schedule might seem daunting, but there’s no need to be intimidated. Manually creating employee schedules is a simple step-by-step process. An employee schedule template lets you streamline tasks, hours and expectations using a preexisting format. The scheduling sheet you use should determine what will most efficiently suit your needs. This article examines different schedules and templates; read on to find one that suits your needs.
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Types of Employee Schedules and Templates
Before selecting your employee schedule system, there are a few questions you should keep in mind:
- Does your business run 24 hours per day?
- Do you need a four-two or rotating three-fourths schedule?
- Are employee hours tracked daily or weekly?
- Do your employees self-report their hours?
Factors such as these will play key roles in determining what type of scheduling forms you use. You may decide to set up documents through Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. You might also choose to use scheduling software to create your paperwork.
Additionally, if you are not interested in a manually made scheduling system, there are plenty of pre-made employee schedule templates from which to choose.
Daily Schedule
Download Daily Work Schedule Template
Daily schedules tend to be very basic and straightforward, often reserved for employees who are assigned to specific tasks or departments that may be subject to change later in the week. This template is good for helping workers stay on task, manage their time efficiently and meet all end-of-day deadlines.
While this format works for day-to-day planning, it’s very narrow scope makes it hard to look ahead, making it necessary to supplement scheduling with weekly and monthly work schedule sheets.
Weekly Schedule
Download Weekly Schedule Template
This schedule is more typical of businesses that are open five to seven days per week. Additionally, full- and part-time employees will be able to track hours and note daily changes in shift obligations.
With this format, it is much easier to account for availability, such as in the event of scheduled time off. That said, one thing to look out for when working with weekly schedules is the possibility of over-scheduling or accidentally forgetting to add an employee to the schedule.
Monthly Schedule
Download Monthly Schedule Template
Although more complex than the previous formats, the monthly employee schedule is worth establishing for projects that go on for days or weeks, not necessarily ending neatly within the confines of a typical work week. Alternatively, you may choose a monthly format to better track employee hours for payroll.
This setup could be ideal as it helps your staff to be aware of upcoming milestones, any individual obligations or deadlines, and what lies ahead once goals are met. You can avoid double-booking projects or assigning unrealistic deadlines by having a better grasp of who is available and what is achievable within the month-long window.
Shift Schedule
Download Shift Schedule Template
Restaurants, hospitals, manufacturers and similar businesses often select employee shift schedules. In these work situations, an employee’s hours, station or team members are subject to change night by night. Although the scheduling could appear similar to a daily employee sheet, many shifts are set for the week, providing more information beyond a single work day.
That is useful for informing staff members of where they will be and what they will be doing throughout the week, providing the chance for employees to better plan any off-the-clock obligations or activities as they know whether they are working.
Shift scheduling, when done right, can ensure all days are adequately covered, with personnel not over-scheduled.
Choose the Right Employee Schedule Template
Each type of employee schedule template comes with unique advantages and disadvantages. Choosing the correct template often depends on what information you need to convey to staff and share among management.
For instance, you may have days when you need two employees in one department, but other days when you only need one. A daily employee schedule may inform an individual of expectations over a single shift. However, a shift schedule better informs the entire staff of what everyone’s hours and tasks are, letting you avoid confusion among those scheduled for similar tasks in the same station or floor.
Choosing the appropriate schedule template lets everyone know what to expect, allowing you to save time and avoid unnecessary confusion.
Manual Scheduling vs. Scheduling Software
Should you handle the schedule yourself or rely on popular scheduling software? This decision will ultimately come down to your familiarity with developing staff schedules and the quality of the applications you choose.
If you only need to develop a simple work schedule for a few employees, you could probably get away with designing your own or using templates in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel. At most, it might take you a day, but typically you can create schedules within a couple of hours.
Alternatively, software tools will likely be preferable if you have a large staff and wish to save time creating schedules. One of the more popular scheduling tools is monday.com, which offers daily, weekly and monthly scheduling features. The service is free to start and has premium tiers that scale upward according to your business size and needs. Learn more in our monday.com review.
Other popular scheduling software options include Homebase, Planday and Deputy.
How To Create Employee Schedules
When developing your employee schedules from scratch, there are a few simple steps to take to get you through the process quickly. Double-check all employees and hours, and that the format is flexible enough to account for sick days, emergencies or scheduled time off.
Step 1. Select the Right Template
A seven-day template is pointless if your business is open five out of seven days. If shifts change week to week, a biweekly or monthly shift schedule may be more beneficial than a weekly one.
Consider all the relevant information your employee schedule needs to convey: day of the week, shift hours, employee name, department or task, etc. You want to develop a template for employee scheduling that answers every question your staff members will have.
Step 2. Confirm Employee Availability in Advance
Rather than assume all employees are equally available to work, you should always confirm availability. It could be that staff members have scheduled or agreed to time off for specific days. Putting these instances in the schedule rather than relying on memory is best. Forgetting this could massively backfire, forcing you to operate with fewer staff members and straining employee relations.
Account for holidays
Employees will likely want time off on Christmas and Thanksgiving to spend time with their families. Or the nature of some holidays could mean that there may be no customers or very few. Rather than treat every available workday the same, remember that you may need to schedule differently on holidays.
Step 3. Use Easy-To-Read Format
When working on your schedule in Excel or Sheets, make sure it is easy to read from left to right and top to bottom. Only highlight sections or bold text as necessary. If there is any information the employee has to fill out themselves, make sure they have enough space to do so.
Step 4. Confirm Everyone Has Access to the Schedule
Whether you print and post the employee work schedule or link to it online, you want to ensure everyone has the appropriate level of access. You may email employees or refer them to an area on site to see their hours for the week or upcoming shifts.
There may be advanced scheduling information only known to management. In that case, be sure that scheduling data gets shared in a secured space or is appropriately stored online, perhaps using passwords or two-factor authentication (2FA).
Bottom Line
Whether you methodically create your employee schedule, use a template or rely on scheduling software, the aim is always the same: maximizing employee availability and ensuring everyone is completing work efficiently. Be sure to stick with formats best suited for your company’s days of business, hours of operation and staff size. Remember, set up schedules according to realistic expectations and always double-check before finalizing them as there may have been something you missed.
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Contractor payments
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Base monthly price
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SurePayroll
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Yes
Base Price
$29.99/mo plus $5 per employee
3
Gusto
Benefits administration
Yes
Contractor payments
Yes
Base monthly price
$40 per month plus $6 per user
4
Rippling
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Contractor Payments
Yes
Base Price
$35/month plus $8 PEPM
5
Justworks
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Contractor Payments
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Base Price
$50/month + $8/user
Forbes Advisor Staff Reviewer Toni Matthews-El contributed to this article.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Should I use an employee schedule template or create my own schedule?
If you are unfamiliar with creating an employee schedule, you may want to start off using reliable templates and then develop your own once you are more familiar with the practice.
How long does it take to create an employee schedule?
Developing an employee schedule could take minutes or days. Length of time may rely on factors, such as if you are creating your own schedule from scratch or developing one using a preexisting template or scheduling software.
What is the best software for creating employee work schedules?
Some of the most popular tools for creating employee work schedules are Planday, Homebase and monday.com.
Is a weekly schedule better than a daily schedule?
Weekly work schedules tend to share more information than daily schedules. A weekly schedule may be better for employers that use shifts or wish to notify staff of who is unavailable or who is covering for a team member.