For managers all across the country, their daily lives are anything but “harmonious”. In fact, the managers at your organization may see a word like that and chuckle, thinking it’s an impossible achievement for someone in their position.
We're here to tell it’s not! Not only is it possible to achieve the work/life balance your scheduling managers have always dreamed of, but it’s actually incredibly important to do so. Believe it or not, it all comes down to using the right scheduling software. Scheduling takes a lot of time away from managers. Managers tell us that they spend up to 10 hours creating and managing work schedules each week. On average, that's over 60 work days a year spent on creating schedules. It doesn’t need to be this way. Just recently, Purdue found this to be true.
The Problem Purdue Was Facing
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, has over 41,000 students. A student population this large requires an extensive staff as well. In fact, over 10,000 people are employed by Purdue University – a portion of them in jobs that require shift work, like the campus bookstore and dining hall.
Their Student Recreation and Wellness Department hires students to fill roles, like officiating, life coaching, financial wellness, budgeting, and more. These roles account for anywhere from 800 to 1,100 student employees at any given time, with around 40 full time staff to manage them. These managers had to manually approve schedule changes and PTO requests, meaning they constantly had to check their phone or email to make sure they didn’t miss a request and leave a shift empty. Some managers were spending an estimated 30 - 35% of their time just on scheduling, and had to constantly check to see if there were shifts they needed to approve. Think of the value to be gained by having those hours back!
Because of the number of staff members who needed their shifts scheduled, their managers were always “on”. They couldn’t put down their phones! Their staff always needed to keep up with schedules and approve shifts, even on nights and weekends. What they needed was one software that could support how the campus wanted to run their programs.
How SubItUp Scheduling Software Helped
Before SubItUp came into the picture, managers were constantly creating, distributing, and maintaining the schedule. All of that changed when they partnered with us! Our scheduling software enabled them to set parameters and automation that differed from group to group — and that’s only the beginning.
Automated scheduling put artificial intelligence to work for Purdue. A manager set up the initial rules, inputted minimal data, and AI did the rest to create their optimal schedule. Availability collection is key here. Once the software knew when people could and could not work, it was able to create the most optimized schedule for the department. Shifts were assigned intelligently; they weren't random. Employee prioritization put their rock stars on the schedule first, filling the hardest shifts first. It’s important to note that our platform also took into account that some student employees worked for multiple departments and couldn’t be overscheduled, in two places at once, or working a job they weren't qualified for.
The Benefits of a Balanced Life
This isn’t a one-off anomaly just for Purdue University. We regularly hear feedback from clients that mirror these results. Not only is it possible for your scheduling managers to enjoy a better work/life balance once SubItUp scheduling software is put in place, but it’s also incredibly important for their sake that it happens. Consider just a few reasons why:
Improved Mental Health
Chronic fatigue, disengagement, low motivation, and poor performance are all telltale signs of employee burnout. When your workers are burdened and overworked, stress begins to take a major toll on them. APA tells us stress over and over again, like every day at work, can result in a long-term drain on the body. Emotional symptoms of stress include:
- Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Having a hard time relaxing and quieting your mind
- Low self-esteem, including feeling lonely, worthless, and depressed
- Constant worrying
- Racing thoughts
- Forgetfulness and disorganization
- Inability to focus
- Poor judgment
Better Physical Health
Stress isn’t just mental; there are physical effects as well. A quick browse of WebMD shows you just some of the physical toll stress takes on a person’s body includes:
- Low energy
- Headaches
- Upset stomach
- Aches, pains, and tense muscles
- Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
- Insomnia
- Frequent colds and infections
- Nervousness and shaking
- Clenched jaw and grinding teeth
- More use of alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes
Less Absenteeism and Employee Turnover
While the benefits are important for the individual managers, there’s a lot in it for the organization as well. Workers who aren’t burnt out, those who are healthy both mentally and physically, are more productive. Research shows this results in less absenteeism and employee turnover, both of which are expensive for your departments. Research shows that burnout is cited as one of the top reasons behind employee attrition. The same study points out that burnout is the biggest threat to workforce retention, as reported by 95% of human resource leaders. Research by the Center for American Progress points out that companies spend anywhere from 16% to an astounding 213% of an employee's salary to cover the costs of finding a replacement.
Lower levels of absence, sickness, and stress, an increase in productivity, a boost in staff morale, and improved customer service customer service are all directly correlated to team members who have an ideal work/life balance. If you’re thinking a manager who has chest pains and insomnia is going to be less productive, at best, and needs time off from work, at worst, you’re right.
According to a survey undertaken by Investors in People, 66% of employees desire a better work-life balance. This means if your workers feel burnt out, they’re much more likely to quit. In fact, Purdue saw this first hand when a good staff member quit and stated being burnt out by the burden of scheduling as the main reason why. This manager left because of the exorbitant amount of time scheduling was taking from their day. Everything they were doing was scheduling, leaving them unable to focus on other tasks they were hired to do.
Take a page from Purdue University’s book and implement SubItUp’s scheduling software. It’s a win for everyone; your team members who get more accurate schedules, your managers who avoid burnout, and the organization as a whole who builds a happier, healthy workforce. Not only will everyone be happier, it actually saves you money in the long run. It’s time you connect with our team and learn more about what our solutions can do for you.
