Scheduling Tips for Holiday Shifts

Written by KOVA Corp

It can be challenging coming up with a staff schedule at the best of times. Once you add the holidays to the mix, creating a schedule that everyone likes can be next to impossible. It’s a busy time of year and many employees would like to spend at least some of the holiday season relaxing with their friends and families.

When it comes to creating a schedule that your employees will be happy with, it pays to find out what your staff want. When do they like to work? What motivates them to work certain shifts more than others? Here are a few tips to help you schedule holiday shifts with ease!

Ask Staff When They Like to Work

You might be surprised to find out what agents are looking for in a schedule. Some employees enjoy working the shifts that others might consider to be undesirable. Make sure you ask your employees what their preferred shift times are. If you can’t give them their preferred shifts all the time, at least try and sneak some in once in a while to keep your staff happy.

Offer Premiums for Undesirable Shifts

Many employees are motivated by higher pay. Offering premiums for graveyard and other undesirable shifts is a great way to entice employees to take those shifts. You can also offer extra pay (above and beyond what the law requires) for employees who work holidays.

Schedule Vacation Time Based on Seniority

Allow your most senior staff to choose their vacation times first. This is a fairly standard practice at many companies so new hires won’t be surprised by this and it keeps your long term staff happy.

Stagger Shifts and Break Times

When things are really busy, it helps to stagger shift start and end times as well as break times so you aren’t missing too many employees at the same time. This way employees will have extra backup when needed.

Offer Extra Time Off During the Year in Lieu of Time Off During the Holidays

One way to try and deter staff from taking their vacation during holiday season is to offer extra time off during the remainder of the year if your employees agree to take their vacation during a time of the year that is less busy, instead of during the holidays.

Communication is key when it comes to creating a schedule that you and your employees are happy with. To create the most effective employee schedule, communicate with your staff and find out the shift times they like to work, and offer incentives like extra premiums for working on holidays and extra time off during times that aren’t as busy.

If you need assistance creating your holiday shift schedule, KOVA Corp can help. We provide enterprise workforce management solutions to help organizations boost employee performance and customer service in their call centers. KOVA’s Verint Media Recorder Workforce Management solution provides accurate forecasting to help contact center supervisors prepare optimal staff schedules. Contact us today to learn more about our enterprise workforce management solutions.

 

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