In 2017, there were more than 80 million hourly workers in the US alone and since you’re reading this, some of those people might be working under your employ.

Whether you have hundreds of employees or just 10, keeping track of each and every employee can become a headache in the long run. And it’s not like you can skip on such an important activity. Every business needs to look after their employees’ work hours, leaves, overtime and so much more and if a business fails to do so, it can lead to dissatisfaction among employees, increased turnover and ultimately a loss to the business.

But things never have to reach this point, a fully-featured employee scheduling software can help you manage large amount of data that’s important to your business and your employees in an efficient and effective manner. To get you started in the world of automated employee scheduling, here are five ways a scheduling software can make your life easier:

1. Saving time, effort and money

Most business owners will find this the most interesting and rightly so. Every business exists to achieve certain goals and it’s of prime importance that you are able to achieve such objectives while being efficient and effective.

A scheduling software helps to save time, effort and money by automating the major part of scheduling like collecting data and organizing data. The saved time and manpower can be used on more important core activities of your business, edging you closer to your ultimate organizational goal.

2. Happier employees

It’s no secret that you need a happy and motivated workforce to make sure the gears in your company run smoothly. A well-defined schedule can be the oil that lubricates those gears and keep the work going.

Your employee scheduling software can do more than just collect and process data, it can help you communicate with your subordinates, collaborate on work activities, manage your business from anywhere at any time and more.

The software will even help you get to know your team. It can keep a record of each employee’s contact information, qualifications, leaves taken, interests, and anything else you can think of. This will enable business owners make the best out of their team by putting them at the right job and making sure they develop their skills. According to a survey from TriNet, 85% of the millennial employees feels they would be more engaged in their jobs if they had frequent performance conversations with their boss.

3. Preparing for the worst

There is one thing every business owner agrees to, and that the business environment is dynamic. It’s ever-changing and anything can happen. Hence, it is extremely important that you are always ready for the worst.

It is highly likely that you are away from business when something unfavorable takes place and at such a time, you generally may not be in a place to take business decisions but scheduling software allows owners to take business decisions from any part of the world. With up to date information, real-time changes and communication, scheduling software allows entrepreneurs to never delay decision-making and make the best of every opportunity.

4. Algorithms

Today’s scheduling software uses a number of complex algorithms to accommodate changes and problems. With the amount of information available at its disposal, the software can make changes to the schedule when the situation so demands, changes that otherwise you would have had to make yourself.

There are also a large number of templates that can be used to cut down the time and effort spent on scheduling by quite a lot.

5. Streamlining the process

A fully-featured scheduling platform will help make your life easy by introducing a streamlined and well-defined procedure for all your employees related needs. From swapping shifts to alerting employees about upcoming shifts, there is a process for everything. No more confusion and ambiguity in the organization. That means less of your workers calling to ask you about what they are supposed to do. Instead they can use the group chat feature to chat with grouped workers or you can send out a broadcast.

There is always a chance that one of your employees will decide that they can’t work this Friday anymore but with the help of a scheduler, you don’t have to worry about that since you have candidate matching. A feature that helps match workers with the right skills and availability for your shifts.

Using a scheduler help save you the hassle of unnecessary enquiries, wasted resources, time, and money. So what are you waiting for? Schedule your hourly workers. Better. Faster. Easier.