SCHEDULING SOFTWARE

For your Agency

Scheduling Software

Scheduling software can dramatically simplify the nightmare of managing a schedule for just about every agency. Far too many departments are still using old methods for scheduling.

What Scheduling Software Can Do

Imagine computer software than can show you which shifts have fallen below minimum manpower due to vacations, schools, comp time or sick time, and this can be done days, weeks, and months ahead of time. Or, scheduling alerts can be set with the software to notify you of upcoming busy shifts which need more manpower.

How about when an officer calls out sick, you can pull up a screen listing every officer not working on that shift - in order of overtime hours - which can be brought up to simplify filling the shift vacancy. On the same screen or just a screen away would be a database containing contact information for the available personnel.

When an employee goes out on extended leave from injury, reserve duty, or something similar, you can immediately pull up a list of which shifts will need additional manpower.

Scheduling software can even show you which shifts are lacking supervisory personnel. By pulling up a particular screen, you can see where corporals, sergeants, or lieutenants are needed.

These are just some of what various scheduling software packages offer. The features listed for each software program are very in depth, but we wanted to give you a broad idea. Just about every feature you could imagine is offered by one or more of these scheduling software companies.

Finding the Right Scheduling Software

There are several employee scheduling software packages available, so you have plenty from which to choose.

The first thing you need to do is identify which features would be needed by your particular agency. Once you have determined this, you need to shop the various software programs for the features you require.

To identify which scheduling features are available, you need to do you homework. Many of the companies which produce employee scheduling software offer trial versions. These can be downloaded free and toyed with for several days. This is an excellent method of researching which scheduling software package is right for you.

Scheduling Software - The Cost

Simply, if you want the convenience of scheduling software, you are going to pay.

The scheduling software packages we looked at range in price from $99.00 to $10,000.00, but most were under a thousand dollars. The largest factor in determining cost seems to be how many users will have access to the software from their computer, so minimizing this number can help keep the cost low.

Some Scheduling Software Packages

Below are some of the scheduling software programs we found along with excerpts from their websites. Again, as indicated above, there are several different programs available, so do your research!

Virtual Staff Scheduler by Atlas Business Solutions 

"Visual Staff Scheduler® PRO (VSS PRO) is the fastest and easiest way to schedule your employees. Over 70,000 department managers, supervisors, and business owners rely on VSS PRO daily, making it the #1 employee scheduling solution.

Whether you need daily, weekly, or monthly schedules, by employee, shift, department, or location, VSS PRO can do it all and save you time. Plus, VSS PRO will give you the peace of mind you deserve by making sure you have the right people scheduled at the right time and place.  When it comes to viewing and creating schedules, VSS PRO provides unparalleled flexibility. You can view work schedules on-screen in any format and for any time frame. Scroll forwards or backwards through the schedule or simply enter the date you wish to view. VSS PRO offers you the most flexibility and power when it comes to viewing employee work schedules."

On Duty by Jivasoft

"Powerful Shift Scheduling, Roster Preparation, Job Assignment, Attendance and Leave Time Tracking for Law Enforcement Agencies of All Sizes. Download a presentation that take you through the features and benefits."

Xtra Duty

"Xtra Duty is the only complete outside employment administration software. It's exactly what you need to save time and money while streamlining your efforts. This software is designed for outside employment jobs which are a scheduling headache for most employers."

Schedule Pro

"Our automated scheduling software monitors staffing levels to ensure that you have all the officers needed. This software helps you find a replacement officer when an officer calls in sick. User can process shift trades (mutual shift exchanges) between two employees using our police scheduling software."

WorkBrain

Large, complex organizations with large hourly workforces face the challenge of effectively deploying their most important resource – their people. Workbrain Enterprise Scheduling is the most advanced suite of industry-focused scheduling solutions to forecast, schedule and manage labor deployment for workforce optimization.

From one central database, employee data, including skills, certifications and preferences, are tracked and cross-referenced with staffing policies, labor and union regulations, and scheduling requirements to ensure that for even the most complex scheduling environments, the right people with the right skills are deployed to the right place at the right time. With features such as Shift Trading, Schedule Bidding and on-line employee access to schedules, employees have more control over their schedules, which improves employee satisfaction and retention while reducing administrative burden and costs.

Time Tracker

"Time Tracker scheduling software allows you to automate and analyze staff schedules efficiently. Costly errors are reduced and adjustments are easily made. Schedules are generated in seconds.

Time Tracker is more than just employee scheduling! Time Tracker tracks vacation time, sick time, lieu time, and user defined other time. It analyses past activity and prepares data for payroll."

Identify what you need, do you homework, try out the scheduling software trial versions, assess the different programs, and choose the software package this is right for your agency.

Scheduling Software