Proactivity is the key in managing one’s workforce scheduling processes. Ensuring that you are always scheduling the right employees to work the right positions at the right times is paramount for any manager. A schedule needs to be determined before a shift starts, not configured during the shift. This simple paradigm shift of practicing proactive (instead of reactive) scheduling saves organizations tens of thousands of dollars by reducing overtime, fairly awarding extra duty, minimizing grievances, and cutting payroll processing time in half.

Shift bidding, the process of allowing employees to bid on shifts, is of the most effective components of a proactive scheduling philosophy. Businesses that practice shift bidding allow employees to view available shifts and rank those shifts in order of priority selection.

Shift bidding can be awarded based on the rules set by your business. This post covers the benefits of shift bidding from both employee and employer perspectives.

How Does Shift Bidding Work?

Shift bidding allows management or administrative staff to create open shifts with predetermined business rules and skill sets, which provides employees with the ability to select those shifts for which they qualify.

For shift bidding to work fluidly, it’s important that the scheduling software with shift bidding capabilities account for various work rules, such as seniority, qualifications, training, overtime, location, and other various business requirements.

Shift bidding or self-scheduling is often used successfully by hospitality and retail organizations that rely heavily on part-time, or on-call workforces. Automated scheduling solutions with shift bidding capabilities can dramatically improve both the efficiency of your operations and employee morale.

Why Employees Love Shift Bidding

• Employees can shape their schedules to better accommodate lifestyle needs, or schooling aspirations. For part-time and hourly employees who lack work at home or flex schedule options, this can be a valued asset.

• Shift bidding enables an employee to be actively involved in the scheduling process, empowering the employee to take initiative and become proactive within their work environment.

• Employees often believe that the shift bidding process is a system that employs fairness in scheduling processes ensuring that all employees have equal access to all shifts for which they qualify.

How Can Employers Benefit From Shift Bidding?

• Employers immediately see a benefit in time savings achieved by eliminating the need to manually collect employee availability and preferences.

• Schedules become available in real-time providing instant and up-to-date access to all employees.

• Employers see benefits in improved employee satisfaction and engagement, leading to decreased turnover rates and higher levels of employee retention.

• Employers see cost savings in the bottom line with an across the board reduction in administrative costs associated with an automated solution.

Final Thoughts

Incorporating shift bidding into the scheduling process is not difficult; in fact, automated software tools exist that define this process. Automation is essential as it eliminates confusion and human error typically caused by systems where employees are required to manually provide their scheduling preferences.

In addition it eliminates the temptation to grant priority to employees based on tenure or seniority, as all shift assignments should be based on performance, skill set assessment, quality monitoring and other elements that motivate employees for success in the workplace.

To learn how shift bidding can improve your bottom line, contact VCS for a needs assessment analysis.