Author: Jim

Unexpected absences happen, but your operations don’t have to come to a halt because of them. A well-designed on-call system can ensure business continuity by filling those last-minute gaps efficiently. Whether you manage a plant, or any operation with round-the-clock demands, on-call systems offer a reliable safety net.

What is an On-Call System?

An on-call system is a formal arrangement where non-working employees are designated to be available in case they’re needed on short notice. These systems are designed to fill critical vacancies or respond to unexpected workload surges, ensuring that your business keeps running smoothly.

When Do You Need On-Call Coverage?

On-call systems are especially valuable in scenarios where:

·        Minimum staffing levels must be maintained: Industries such as chemicals, refining, power generation and emergency healthcare services cannot afford to have coverage gaps, and want to ensure that essential operations continue uninterrupted.

·        Highly skilled roles are needed: When specialized knowledge or certifications are required, on-call employees ensure that those roles are always filled by qualified personnel.

·        There is no readily available source of coverage: In industries with long shifts, like 12-hour shifts, or where the on-shift personnel cannot be held over. 

How Do On-Call Systems Work?

A typical on-call system includes:

·        Defined on-call windows: Employees are typically on-call for a specific time period, usually around shift change. This window might be from an hour before the shift starts to 30 minutes after it begins.

·        Compensation: In many industrial settings, on-call pay is not provided. The responsibility is considered a normal part of the job.

·        Reachability: On-call employees must be easily reachable and ready to report to work when needed. Failure to respond can lead to disciplinary actions.

·        Coverage ratio: One on-call employee is often assigned to cover three or four on-shift workers.

·        Cross-training: Cross-training employees for multiple roles ensures flexibility, allowing the on-call pool to fill a wide range of positions.

Balancing Operational Needs with Employee Well-Being

While on-call systems are essential for maintaining continuity, they can disrupt employees’ personal lives. Striking a balance is key. One way to manage this is by rotating on-call duties fairly across your team. Consider offering incentives for employees who are frequently on-call to acknowledge their commitment and reduce the likelihood of burnout.

Conclusion

A well-implemented on-call system is essential for businesses that need uninterrupted coverage. By planning ahead, cross-training your team, and utilizing scheduling tools, you can ensure that your operations run smoothly—even when the unexpected happens.

If you’re looking to improve your on-call system or absence coverage, we’re here to help. Contact us today at (415) 763-5005 or [email protected] to learn how we can tailor a solution to meet your specific needs.  You can also schedule a meeting directly with one of our experts by clicking here.

Compressed Work Week (CWW) schedules are gaining popularity in various industries for their ability to provide employees with more time off while maintaining or even enhancing operational efficiency. But is this model right for your business? In this article, we will explore how CWWs work, their benefits and drawbacks, and provide some real-world scenarios to help you determine whether this approach could be beneficial for your staffing and scheduling needs.

What is a Compressed Work Week?

A Compressed Work Week allows employees to work longer hours on fewer days, resulting in additional days off. Instead of working the traditional five 8-hour shifts, employees may work four 10-hour shifts or three 12-hour shifts, for example. The main idea is that by working more hours per day, employees gain more consecutive days off without reducing their total weekly hours.

Is a Compressed Work Week Right for You?

Whether or not a CWW schedule will work for your organization depends on your specific needs and operational setup. Below are a few scenarios that illustrate the impact of a CWW on different types of businesses:

Scenario 1: Single Employee, Minimal Scheduling Requirements

In this case, a company employs one person who trims trees for 8 hours a day, five days a week. Here, the scheduling is relatively flexible. The employee can work in either 8-hour or 10-hour increments without major disruptions to the business. However, if the employee works 12-hour shifts, overtime costs may increase, as the total weekly hours will exceed 40 in some weeks. In this situation, no additional staffing is necessary, but overtime expenses are a key consideration.

Scenario 2: Single Employee, Fixed Shift Length

A receptionist working 8 hours a day, five days a week, offers a different challenge. Since the job only requires 8 hours of coverage per day, moving to a CWW schedule means paying for extra hours that aren’t needed. Furthermore, the employee would only work four days a week, requiring additional staffing or overtime to cover the fifth day, which could increase operational costs.

Scenario 3: Multiple Employees, Flexible Shift Needs

In a business where five employees work 8 hours a day, but only four are needed at any given time, a CWW schedule can work well. By moving to 10-hour shifts, each employee can work four days per week, ensuring the necessary coverage without incurring overtime. However, the situation becomes complicated when the number of employees doesn’t neatly align with daily staffing needs, potentially leading to inefficiencies.

Key Takeaways from Compressed Work Week Scheduling

As these examples show, whether or not a CWW is the right choice for your business depends on your specific staffing requirements. When considering this model, it’s important to weigh the potential for increased employee satisfaction against operational efficiency and cost control.

Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Employees often enjoy CWW schedules because of the extra days off. While the longer workdays may initially be challenging, the benefits of extended time off usually result in higher job satisfaction. This can improve retention, but keep in mind that if you revert to a traditional schedule after implementing a CWW, employee dissatisfaction could lead to turnover.

Health and Well-Being: Interestingly, research shows that employees on CWW schedules tend to sleep more overall compared to those on traditional 8-hour schedules. While they may sleep less on workdays, they significantly make up for it on their days off, contributing to improved overall well-being.

Industries Best Suited for CWW: Compressed workweeks are most commonly implemented in 24/7 operations, such as healthcare, manufacturing, or security. These industries often benefit from the CWW model due to the continuous nature of their work and the need for constant staffing.

Conclusion

Implementing a Compressed Work Week can bring a host of benefits, from improved employee satisfaction to streamlined operations—if it’s the right fit for your business. The key to success is understanding your operational needs, considering the trade-offs, and ensuring that any changes made to the schedule will enhance, rather than disrupt, your operations.

If you’re interested in exploring how a CWW could work for your organization, or if you need help optimizing your current scheduling practices, we’re here to help. Contact us today to discuss your options and find the best solution for your business.”

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid in 24/7 Operations –  What the Employee Surveys Reveal 

Managing a workforce across different shifts on different days and times – poses unique challenges in a 24/7 operation. From communication hurdles to maintaining a healthy work-life balance, the intricacies of overseeing diverse schedules require a nuanced approach.  By understanding and addressing these challenges, managers can make a difference, helping their company to foster a more balanced and productive work environment.  Our employee surveys, based on extensive employee feedback, conducted at a wide variety of manufacturing companies point to five mistakes managers need to steer clear of in 24/7 labor-intensive, blue-collar environments:

1. Ineffective Communication Across Shifts: Data from our employee surveys consistently reveal that poor communication, at various levels, is a major concern among shift workers. This aligns with our observation that companies with low communication scores tend to have lower employee satisfaction levels. Inadequate communication can often foster resentment, frustration, and disengagement, which can have far more detrimental effects on the work environment than commonly perceived. When addressing communication issues, the focus often centers on “what” and “how” information is conveyed. However, the things that are not communicated can have just as much impact on shift workers. For instance, the lack of response regarding vacation requests, the absence of follow-up on previously discussed issues, or the failure to provide feedback on reported safety incidents can significantly impact employee morale. Detecting the absence of effective communication can be challenging. However, we’ve observed that supervisors who actively engage with their teams and maintain a consistent presence on the floor are less likely to encounter such issues. Supervisors, who consciously make themselves accessible for open communication, foster two-way dialogue instead of one-sided monologues, and proactively seek feedback can effectively bridge communication gaps and elevate morale on the shop floor – cultivating a more positive and productive work environment for their shift workers.

2. Downplaying the Importance of Schedule Flexibility: Schedule flexibility can have varying interpretations for different audiences. For shift workers, two recurring yet opposing concerns emerge (1) Inability to take time off: shift workers often express frustration with the rigidity of their schedules, limiting their ability to take time off when desired. (2) Limited Overtime Opportunities: Conversely, some shift workers desire additional overtime hours to supplement their income but find their schedules restrictive. The solution to both concerns lies in optimizing staffing levels. Having too few staff members leads to excessive overtime, while an overabundance of personnel can be costly to the company and potentially disappointing to those employees who rely on overtime opportunities. Understanding both the financial implications and employee preferences for overtime is crucial for determining the ideal staffing level. By striking a balance between these considerations, companies can create a schedule that accommodates both employee needs and organizational goals.

3. Missing the Mark on Training:  Despite managers believing they train shift workers adequately, our surveys reveal a common disconnect: workers desire more. While companies invest considerable effort in developing and delivering training programs, employees often feel their training is not focused on what is most important to them. These individuals, embedded within the daily operations and directly interacting with the production line, co-workers, and equipment, possess valuable firsthand knowledge of training deficiencies. By actively seeking the insights and perspectives of their shift workers, managers can address this disparity and can gain a clearer understanding of the workers’ unmet training needs. Combining surveys, interviews, and direct observation is an effective way to tailor the training curricula, ensuring that the content is relevant, engaging, and addresses the specific needs of shift workers.

4. Failure to Publicly Recognize Good Performance:  Employees consistently tell us that being publicly appreciated for their efforts is crucial for their job satisfaction.  Higher job satisfaction is often linked to higher employee engagement levels, more profits, and lower employee turnover. It is worth paying attention to and requires little investment. Companies have numerous options for public recognition, including verbal acknowledgment (during team meetings, safety talks, and casual conversations), and company communication channels such as digital displays, awards, and celebrations. Online nomination platforms and even shift handover reports can be utilized to ensure that recognition continues for differing schedules. Appreciating specific actions and behaviors motivates others and reinforces desired conduct. Personalized and regular employee recognition is a valuable investment that can yield numerous benefits for all stakeholders involved.

5. Underestimating the Value of Workforce Input: A purely “top-down” management style works in some environments but in most, it can lead to missed opportunities that lie within the knowledge base of the workforce.  To successfully manage a workforce, seeking input directly from employees is key. Their firsthand experiences and unique ideas about shiftwork, schedules, and work-life balance provide valuable insights, enabling managers to understand and address what is truly important to the workforce. By creating a culture where workers feel valued and respected, companies can reap significant rewards in terms of increased productivity, creativity, and innovation.

Juggling a successful operation while managing shift workers in a complex environment can be tough, but understanding common pitfalls is key to building a better workplace and a thriving business. Clear communication, flexible schedules, thorough training, appreciation across all shifts, and empowering employees through their input – these are the ingredients that help managers navigate the unique challenges of shift work, creating a space where productivity thrives around the clock.

What would your workforce say?  Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and discover how we can assist you with shaping a positive work environment, improving productivity, and sustaining a prospering business. Shift to success!

What can HR and Operations do together to boost production and employee satisfaction?

Over decades of working with shift work operations, we have witnessed firsthand the transformative impact of integrating HR and operational strategies on production output, employee management, and job satisfaction.  Our experience has confirmed time and again that collaboration between HR and Operations can bring about incredible results. 

The Interconnectedness of HR and Operations

Operations focus on the efficiency and effectiveness of production processes, often to maximize output and minimize costs. On the other hand, HR is tasked with recruiting, training, and retaining a skilled workforce. At first glance, these might seem like separate domains, but they are intrinsically linked. The performance and productivity of employees, which, in large part, fall under HR’s purview, directly impact operational efficiency and output, and vice versa. 

Misalignment of Production and Resources – Analyzing the Gap

Even in a strong economy, if human resources are scarce, companies often see unmet production needs and increased turnover as workers look for better compensation or improved work-life balance. To address the imbalance, managers carefully assess the specific areas where operational requirements exceed available resources. This could involve analyzing production schedules, staffing levels, equipment capacity, or inventory management. Putting a number on the discrepancy requires looking at questions such as How much additional production is required compared to current capacity? or How many more workers are needed to meet peak demand periods? or Is the shift schedule in place helping or hurting?

Addressing Resource Shortfalls – The Role of Shift Scheduling 

Shift schedules, sitting right at the intersection of HR and operations, answers the question of resource shortfalls. Optimal shift scheduling finds the right schedule for the output requirements and matches it with the needed manpower supply. An ideal schedule harmonizes both leadership and employee expectations. Scheduling is more than assigning work hours; it’s about balancing workloads to prevent burnout and aligning work schedules with personal lives to boost morale and job satisfaction. This delicate balance cannot be achieved without a collaborative effort between HR and operations as decisions on shift schedules impact production output, employee management, and job satisfaction.

Employee Engagement and Productivity

Employee engagement is where the synergy between HR and operations becomes evident. Engaged employees are more productive, innovative, and committed to their work, directly influencing the quality and quantity of production output. HR’s strategies to enhance engagement, from career development opportunities to recognition programs, work best when supported by operational policies that allow these initiatives to flourish in the day-to-day work environment.

The Feedback Loop

A continuous feedback loop between HR and operations is vital. HR can provide insights into employee sentiments and behaviors, which can be crucial for operational planning and adjustments. Conversely, Operations can offer real-world feedback on how HR policies play out on the production floor, providing valuable data for refining HR strategies. This loop and a continued dialog ensure that both departments are aligned and actively learning from each other and adapting to dynamic business needs.

Case in Point  

One of our food manufacturing clients struggled with high turnover rates and declining productivity. After assessing operational requirements and resource issues, we evaluated the current shift schedule and surveyed the workers’ sentiments.  We designed and implemented a new schedule in a collaborative effort between HR and Operations. The initiative was accompanied by a comprehensive study which identified the specific needs of the production lines as well as the work-life expectations of the workforce. New HR policies were put in place to support the changes. The result was a significant boost in employee retention and satisfaction, and a marked increase in production efficiency. 

Conclusion

Our experience at Shiftwork Solutions has shown that operations and HR departments that actively seek to understand and help out each other ultimately enhance the success of both.

Find out how we can help you optimize production and employee needs:

• Call or text us today at (415) 763-5005
• Complete our contact form and we will call you back
• Request a meeting by booking a time that works for you the best here.

1. Poor distribution of overtime can cause more problems than overtime itself.  About 20% of every workforce never wants any overtime.   Interestingly, a different 20% want all of the overtime they can get.  The remaining 60% will work what they consider to be their fair share of overtime without complaint. What this means is that no matter what your overtime level is, some people will be happy while others are going to complain.  One of the best ways to minimize dissatisfaction with overtime is to make sure you have a distribution policy that focuses on having overtime for those that want it while never having to mandate it.  This can be complicated, requiring strategic staffing and cross-training plans.  However, the result can be a huge boost in employee satisfaction with overall work-life balance.
2. No matter how much maintenance you think you need, you are wrong.  Plan for that.  Maintenance, specifically corrective maintenance, has no regard for what your staffing is at any given moment of the day.  If your staff is too lean, you risk having an extended downtime.  If your staffing is too high, your costs will be high with potentially no return on that cost.  The best plans include cross-training between trades, a robust call-out system a knowledge base of outside resources.  All of this can be fine-tuned if accompanies by a cost/risk analysis; a study that looks at the cost of various options versus the likelihood of unexpected maintenance downtime occurring.
3. Sleepiness will harm production, quality, and safety.  High overtime, rotating shifts, and a poor understanding of circadian rhythms as they pertain to sleep needs can all contribute to a workforce that is less than fully alert.  A lack of alertness can impact a person’s judgment when it comes to things like the importance of quality and safety.  Proper staffing, good overtime policies, and employee education concerning sleep can all improve the overall alertness of your workforce.
4. To attract employees, you need not be perfect.  You just need to be their best option.  Current and future employees will stay with your company so long as they see it as the best choice for them and their families.  Major issues that impact their opinions include the work schedule, overtime, flexibility, and income.  Know who is competing for your workers and strive to be the best choice when it comes to those issues that matter the most to your employees.
5. Public recognition of a job well done is important. Praising in public for a job well done is Leadership 101.  However, it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind of meeting production targets while dealing with a desktop full of high-priority projects.  What this means is that public praise needs to be consciously given a high priority or opportunities to do it may pass.  A recent study by Shiftwork Solutions LLC found that employees rated “public recognition” as one of the biggest contributors to their satisfaction with work-life balance.

1. Book a call here.
2. Call or text us today at (415) 763-5005
3. Complete our contact form and we will call you back

We have been helping companies to retain and attract quality employees across all industries for more than 30 years.

The problem

The most popular schedule in the country is the 2-2-3 (also called the 2-3-2 or Every Other Weekend Off).  Like most 12-hour schedules, half of the days in the year are scheduled off.  However, what sets this schedule apart is the popular feature of having every other weekend off as a 3-day weekend. 

The 2-week pattern of this schedule is shown below.  As you can see, by going back and forth between weeks 1 and 2, you end up working 2 or 3 days in a row with 2 or 3 days off in a row in addition to the alternating weekends off.

Shift workers tend to love this schedule.  However, our office will get a call about once a month that goes something like this: “We are on a 12-hour schedule and the people hate it.”  When this happens, we immediately know who the usual suspects are.  First, they are talking about the most popular schedule in the country (the 2-2-3) and secondly, the people that hate it are working it at night.

This schedule can be worked as a fixed shift where two crews are always assigned to Day shift and 2 crews are always assigned to the Night shift.  Alternatively, this schedule can have rotating shifts where crews rotated between the Day shift and Night shift weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, or at even longer intervals.  In either case, it is always a problem for those working at night.

Let’s look at this schedule as if it was a fixed Day shift.  You can see that the crews work 2 or 3 days followed by 2 or 3 days off.  Every other week they are off on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  A typically 12-hour Day shift is from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm so their sleep pattern on their workdays and days off are probably going to be fairly similar.  This means when they come to work after some days off, they are already adjusted to the shift hours.  Similarly, they are already adjusted to being a “normal” day person on their days off.

Now let’s look at it from the perspective of a shift worker on nights.  With the same pattern, they no longer see 2 or 3 days on and 2 or 3 days off.  They see 2 or 3 days of work followed by a day off spent in bed trying to catch up on their sleep.  This has the effect of them only having 1 or 2 effective days off before returning to work.  Even the first day of their 3-day weekend is often lost to sleep.  Then, when it’s time to return to work, they are only just beginning to adjust to working a night shift (typically 6:00 pm to 6:00 am) before their stretch of workdays is over.  The effect is that they are never truly adjusted to be alert during the nights when they are supposed to be working, nor during the days when they are supposed to be enjoying their time off.

Night shift workers on this pattern typically say, “I feel like I’m either always asleep or always at work.”

If you are on a 24/7 schedule, there is a very good chance that you are nodding in agreement with me at this point.  While none of this is surprising, the solution to it may be.

The remedy and how to go about it

The solution is to allow your night shift and day shift patterns to be different from each other.  You don’t have to make this a zero-sum solution where the Night shift gets a better pattern but only if the Day shift loses its great pattern.  Leave the Day shift pattern in place and offer up patterns that your shift workers may prefer to work on nights.  This can be done with either fixed or rotating shifts.

In addition to offering a different pattern to the Night shift, you may also want to consider educating the workforce on things such as Sleep Deprivation and Circadian Rhythms. 

Shiftwork Solutions can help to address the challenges of this work schedule.  We can collaborate with your workforce and explore several different work schedules along with information about the benefits and downsides of each. We can help them find a work schedule that is both beneficial to them and the company. We also offer education sessions on the body’s biological clock, including a day-by-day sleep/wake strategy for whatever schedule you are on.

1. Book a call here.
2. Call or text us today at (415) 763-5005
3. Complete our contact form and we will call you back

We have been helping companies to retain and attract quality employees across all industries for more than 30 years.

Shiftwork Solutions is still seeing a trend that started in 2020, that labor, not capital, has become the productivity bottleneck.  This will continue into the foreseeable future since labor shortages are here to stay. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 10 million unfilled jobs in the United States.  

In other words, the people you are seeking to help you operate your business are in short supply. Although, a US Chamber of Commerce study points out, not all industries are equally impacted. Some have a shortage of labor, while others have a surplus of workers. “For example, durable goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and education and health services have a labor shortage—these industries have more unfilled job openings than unemployed workers with experience in their respective industries. Even if every unemployed person with experience in the durable goods manufacturing industry were employed, the industry would fill 44% of the vacant jobs.”

Labor scarcity has transformed the way companies are thinking about their operations. An increased number of companies – including highly automated ones – have come to us, with the goal not to necessarily change their schedule, but to evaluate their entire shiftwork operation from the employees’ perspective. These leaders know that understanding output requirements and their implication on the shift schedule is only one part of the story. Equally important is finding what their employees’ needs are and implementing solutions to attract and retain workers to their operations. 

We have completed several projects over the past couple of years where the company said, “We already have a schedule that provides the coverage we need.  We want to make sure it is the right schedule for the workforce.” Companies have been eager to find out:

• Is the current schedule in the way?
• What schedule characteristics do their employees prefer?
• What shift length, rotation, or schedule pattern do they like?
• Is overtime a problem? How many depend on it?   How much is wanted? How much is disruptive?
• What about start times?
• Are we training enough?
• Are there sleep and alertness issues?
• Does communication need to be addressed?
• Is commuting something to be looked at?
• Do employees feel like they are valued and are part of the company? What influences that?
• How do employees view the company?
• Is there a difference between newly employed workers versus old-timers, young versus older employees? What factors are influencing their views?
• What’s the local competition for labor up to?

So, how do you find answers to the above questions? And how do you know if the answers are specific to your company and its policies or just to the nature of a shift-work operation? How does your company compare to other companies?

At Shiftwork Solutions LLC, we have decades of experience that help us to answer these questions.  It all comes down to employee engagement.  If you want to know what the workforce thinks about any work-life balance issue, ask them. Our comprehensive Shiftwork Work-Life Balance Survey finds the answers to these questions and more.

To do this, we come on-site and administer a survey specifically designed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your operations from the perspective of your shift workers.  We compare the responses of your employees to our large normative database we collected through the years and across industries. The survey helps us separate those issues that exist because of the inherent difficulties of shiftwork (working nights and weekends) and those issues that exist as the result of having the wrong staffing, policies, or schedule at the company. It shows how a company is doing compared to its peers in those areas.

Companies find the results from the survey both predictable and surprising.  There are always some issues that are already suspected and the survey merely confirms and quantifies these.  However, there are new aspects to be found that substantiate employee preferences and can help steer the company to take to take the right steps.

The survey results provide you with actionable items that address the issues you know for a fact, are important to your workforce. It will provide the key to implementing the next important step in attracting and retaining employees in your company.

Call or text us today at (415) 763-5005

Book a call here.

Complete our contact form and we will call you back

We have been helping companies retain and attract quality employees across all industries for more than 30 years.