Every supermarket manager knows the drill: endless shuffling of shifts in Excel, calls from employees who can't make it, exchange requests that you overlook, and at the end of the week no idea whether your labor costs are still within budget. Excel seems handy, but it's actually built for numbers, not schedules. Time to be honest: scheduling in Excel takes too much time, causes errors and gives you little control.
A good supermarket planning tool changes that. How exactly? Let's look at six daily planning operations that are frustrating in Excel - and what you can do smarter with a WFM system.
In Excel, you're constantly copying, cutting and pasting. Every change feels like a risk: you forget to move an employee, make a mistake in the date or suddenly find yourself with double staffing. In a scheduling tool, you adjust shifts with a few clicks. You immediately see whether someone is available and whether the schedule is still correct.
Employees send their availability via WhatsApp, on a piece of paper or shout it in between. Consequence: you have to collect, remember and process everything. In a WFM system, employees enter their availability themselves. You have everything in one place, up-to-date and clear.
An employee wants to swap, you approve it via the app, but forget to adjust it in Excel. Or worse: two people think they have the same shift. In a good scheduling tool, employees swap themselves via the app. You approve it with one click and the schedule automatically adjusts.
You make a nice schedule, but don't know until afterwards whether you're within budget. In a WFM system, you can immediately see the costs of your schedule. This allows you to make adjustments in advance and avoid surprises at the end of the month.
In Excel, you can't immediately see where you have gaps or who you can deploy. A scheduling tool lets you see in real time where the schedule is still open and who is available. That saves stress and last-minute phone calls.
What is in Excel has to be retyped later in your payroll system. That takes time and makes errors almost inevitable. A scheduling tool automatically links to your payroll: hours are forwarded automatically.
A smart planning tool for supermarkets not only saves you time, but gives you control over your entire staff scheduling. Fewer mistakes. More overview. Better communication with your team. And real-time insight into costs and utilization.
Ask yourself: How much time and frustration would you save with one system taking care of everything?
Want to learn more about efficient scheduling in the supermarket? See how to get a better grip on costs, satisfaction and employability with smart scheduling tools.
