The past few years have seen disruptive changes in our society. The result of a pandemic, economic troubles, and societal tension have been cataclysmic shifts in the way people want to work. Many of the trends that started to take shape in the years leading up to 2020 have continued to gain momentum. As ideas like wanting to be engaged in the workplace, needing to give away a shift if you're feeling ill, and wanting a peaceful work/life balance move full steam ahead, they will undoubtedly continue to shape how people work for the year ahead. Most notably, the job market will continue to be tipped heavily in favor of employees.
Here are the top three trends taking shape for 2023, what they mean for you as an employer, and what SubItUp’s time and attendance software can do to help you navigate these changes.
#1 High Turnover
Today’s employees have different needs and wants regarding the role their job plays in their lives. More than ever, employees expect to work when and how they want to. This is in stark contrast with the prevailing mindset of previous generations, where they worked for the same company their entire lives.
If a company doesn’t meet an employee’s beliefs on what their work life should be like, they’ll leave and go elsewhere. Gartner tells us that by the end of 2022, about 37.4 million people will have voluntarily quit their jobs. Their research emphasized “new employee expectations” and the fact that a lack of flexibility in scheduling “will continue to fuel the rise in attrition” for the foreseeable future. While resignation can happen for several reasons, burnout is a major contributing factor for many workers in many industries. Even before the pandemic, burnout was a serious workplace issue, especially among management and hourly workers.
Your goal should be as little turnover as possible. This means knowing what makes them happy, happy enough to stay on your team. Our software makes it not only possible but easy to finally know what your employees love, who does what best, and where there are opportunities for improvement.
Flexibility, especially when it comes to work schedules, has emerged as a non-negotiable for many workers today. Social Scheduling is a tool that allows staff to add, drop, and swap shifts in a collaborative and flexible fashion. It's a great way to keep your team members happy, engaged, and part of a cohesive team. When they don't have this ability, Deloitte tells us employees are 174% more likely to seek a new job. Social Scheduling is a win-win for your managers and employees!
#2 Labor Shortages and Coverage Gaps
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, there are 10 million current job openings and 8.4 million unemployed people who are still actively looking for work . Statistically, and perhaps hypothetically, there is a job opening out there for each and every person searching for one. Yet, that’s not how it plays out in real life. The labor shortage crisis is especially acute in industries that rely heavily on hourly workers.
Labor shortages can be traced back to several key sources. There is a large number of retiring Baby Boomers, as well as stressed out and disgruntled employees looking for work elsewhere. The result is that there are fewer job seekers than openings.
The current labor crisis won’t end anytime soon. Workers used to compete for jobs, but now companies compete for workers. Due to this, workforce managers almost unanimously cite labor staffing issues as a top challenge. In fact, McKinsey predicts more than 85 million jobs will be left vacant by 2030.
Over the past few years, workers have reexamined how they feel about their jobs, and how their jobs tie into their lives. People all across the world are reassessing their values and the aspects of life that are truly important to them. They’re considering work-life balance, a supportive work environment with a boss who listens to feedback, feeling engaged, feeling valued in the workplace, and having control over their own schedules — just to name a few.
Today’s shift workers want a say in when they work. SubItUp makes that possible! Our software makes everything from employee engagement to performance reviews to finding coverage for a sick team member easier to handle. Team management has never been more simple and straightforward! Our employee tracking software aggregates all your employee data, including who adds shifts, drops them, clocks out late, and helps out their teammates – and allows you to visualize it in one dashboard. This gives you the data to celebrate your rock stars, find training opportunities, as well as build better schedules.
Our staff scheduling software eliminates subjectivity around staff availability, allows you to control max hours and unnecessary overtime costs, and gives your staff the flexibility they desire – everyone is happier!
#3 Growing Scheduling Complexity
Workforce scheduling has always been both challenging and time-consuming. This is even more true going into 2023 because there are now a record number of people working more than one job. This is due to a variety of reasons, including inflation and a recession. Inflation hit a 40-year high in June of this year, driving up the prices of general goods and requiring more people than ever before to work two jobs in order to keep up. The same month, gas prices hit a national average of $5 per gallon for the first time ever, causing further hardship. Hundreds of thousands of people are now relying on a very complex schedule to make ends meet. As a scheduling manager, you must work with the availability they give you.
Scheduling decisions must often be made upon short notice as a person’s availability changes and team member callouts arise. An AI-powered staff scheduling software provides managers with the operational agility needed to make day-to-day scheduling decisions both strategically and quickly. It reduces unnecessary OT and lowers labor costs resulting from scheduling errors. Our software solutions were designed to help schedulers identify and assign the most cost-effective, eligible workers for every shift. This improves scheduling efficiency, meaning happier workers and management.
Staff Scheduling Software From SubItUp
Things are a bit more complex in the world of scheduling. Getting it wrong isn’t an option, as it is clear that your team members can and will leave to work somewhere else if your organization can’t keep up with their workplace needs. To continue to attract and retain key talent, scheduling managers must rethink shift work and the experience of employment for shift workers. We can help you do that!
The trends mentioned above aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, so it’s up to your organization to adapt. We'd love the opportunity to show you exactly how our staff scheduling software can transform the way your department runs. Contact us today for a consultation to learn more about what we can do for you. This 10-minute conversation is a casual way for us to get acquainted with one another and know whether our software is the right fit for your organization.
