With R&R’s “ Auto-Schedule ,” you can have a store scheduling proposal ready to work with in just a few minutes. A lot comes together in those few minutes. “ Auto-Schedule ” tackles the puzzle that you, as a scheduler, know all too well: who can work when, what’s needed, and how do you make sure everything fits together in the end?
To put that puzzle together, Auto-Schedule needs input. What exactly is that input, and what does it mean for the schedule proposal? In this blog post, we’ll walk you through all the elements that come together in a schedule proposal from Auto-Schedule.
With Auto-Schedule , you can take an important step in your store planning in just a few minutes: based on the data in R&R, you’ll receive a suggested schedule for your employees. This takes into account the store’s needs and the availability of your team members. Read our blog post on this topic to learn how Auto-Schedule helps you create an effective store schedule.
To generate a schedule proposal, Auto-Schedule uses the data available in R&R. That data forms the basis for the schedule proposal. The better it aligns with the actual situation in your store, the more effectively Auto-Schedule can work with it. Up-to-date and complete input is therefore essential for a good schedule proposal. The reverse is also true: incorrect or outdated input will directly affect the proposal generated by Auto-Schedule .
The starting point for Auto-Schedule is the budgeted hours. The way these hours are distributed throughout the week shows how much staffing is needed on which days and at what times, and thus serves as an important basis for the proposed schedule. For example, if the staffing requirement on a Saturday morning is higher than on a quiet Tuesday afternoon, the proposal takes this into account.
Auto-Schedule is based on the availability information in R&R. If that information is no longer up to date, it immediately affects the proposed schedule. For example, an employee might then be scheduled for a time when they are actually unavailable.
School schedules are also essential input. Specific rules under the Working Hours Act (ATW) apply to young people. Auto-Schedule needs the school schedule to verify compliance with those rules. Without a school schedule, that verification cannot be performed, and the employee will not be included in the proposed schedule—even though that might not be necessary at all.
One thing is certain: your employees' availability at all times. In our blog post about current availability and school schedules, you can read about how to keep this information up to date together with your team.
Not every employee can be assigned to every location or every task. For example, a certain qualification may be required to work in a particular department, or someone with a specific responsibility—such as a first-aid responder or key holder—must be present at certain times. When creating the schedule proposal, Auto-Schedule takes into account the qualifications and responsibilities that are recorded for employees in R&R.
In addition, certain assignments may be tied to specific times. By using time windows, you can specify the time period during which that assignment is needed, so that Auto-Schedule can take this into account in the schedule proposal.
Want to dive deeper? Check out our knowledge base article on the key inputs for Auto-Schedule.
As a scheduler, you often know more about your store and your staff than is perhaps documented. For example, you know that a certain employee always prefers to work on Monday mornings and that another performs best in a specific location. You can already incorporate these types of fixed assignments into your standard schedule. For the shifts that Auto-Schedule then fills in, the system uses the information stored in R&R. The more Auto-Schedule knows about what’s going on in your store, the better the proposal will align with the reality you already know.
Wondering how Auto-Schedule can help with your planning? Contact us!
