No matter what center you walk into, the schedule has been, is, and will always be a major talking point. It’s how we plan our day, our work life, and our time off. For supervisors, it’s all about covering the center, filling vacancies, granting leave, and hopefully not going insane in the process. When employees ask to take the hard copy of the schedule, I joke that they can go ahead and set fire to it. But they know it is already a dumpster fire on its own.
The only thing constant on the schedule is change. It’s rare to have a day when everyone shows up and no one goes home early on discretionary or sick leave.
Finding a schedule that fits your personnel’s preferences is another matter. Regardless of what schedule you choose, there will always be someone who has an idea for a schedule that works better. I’ve worked at least five different schedules in my career. Our committees have proposed several different schedules over the years, only to arrive at one constant result: No one stays happy with any schedule.
If you can’t meet everyone’s preferences or plan for staffing challenges, the question becomes how well defined is your schedule? You might consider the following questions for a schedule tune-up:
- Where or how is your schedule posted (electronic or paper)? How far in advance is it available?
- Who has ultimate responsibility for it? How many people have access to change the schedule?
- Are the guidelines or rules posted or available for employees to review?
- Does your agency have union representation with a contract your agency follows?
- What is your overtime policy? Is there a process for assigning mandatory overtime or handling unexpected vacancies, or is it a free-for-all?
- What is your switch or flex policy? Do you have limitations on the number of switches allowed during a pay period? Are there guidelines on shift flexibility, such as working 12 hours one day and only 4 on another?
Clearly defined policies can help limit frustration when coordinating the fluctuating needs of keeping a communication center fully staffed.
When it comes to offering overtime, our agency has a 96-hour rule: If the supervisor posts 10 slots of overtime on a specific date, each employee can only sign up for one slot for 96 hours. This gives everyone a fair opportunity to pick up overtime. Short-term vacancies (that appear within 24 hours) are exempt from the 96-hour rule, but supervisors are required to give fair distribution. If two employees call in and one has 8 hours of overtime and the other 0, the overtime goes to the one with 0 hours of overtime.
Flex time is another possibility that allows personnel to help fill the schedule while also helping themselves, if your agency allows it. Let me set the stage: Your agency always requires four personnel on shift. On your second day of the schedule, there is a vacancy for 4 hours on the shift attached to yours. On your last day of the schedule, there are two extra people. Can you offer to work a 12-hour shift on your second day and leave early on your last day? This saves overtime and gets you starting your days off early after working extra hours earlier in the week. Instead of taking leave, you may choose to work on a day with a vacancy and save your day of leave for another time. Supervisors look very kindly on employees who work with them to cover the schedule.
All these factors mentioned combine to maintain one complicated, constantly changing schedule. While people may think it’s easy to handle, it’s much more complex and involved than the credit given. You can do your part to help, whether understanding the challenges or assisting to be part of the solution.
