Copy and Past the Schedule
A common question about Shift Agent is "How do I copy and paste last week's schedule?"
How Copy and Paste works in typical scheduling
The traditional form of copy and pasting schedules is fundamentally different from how Shift Agent works. It usually involves copying the people who worked last week at certain times and simply repeating the exact same schedule.
- Really fast.
- Consistent. Bad or good?
- Doesn't consider changes in operations needs.
- Potential conflict w changes in availability.
- They might have requested off this week.
- Might repeat an unnecessary overtime mistake
How Copy and Paste works in Shift Agent
What you "copy" in Shift Agent is the operation without the people in the shifts.
Our idea is that if you invest 15 minutes or 30 minutes in making the schedule each week, you will be in the best position from an operations standpoint as well as from a team standpoint. This is because that time is invested in thinking through the aspects of the operation and your team that will provide the greatest number of savings and the best level of flexibility LONG TERM.
Creating Consistent Schedules in Shift Agent
The goal is to provide consistently good schedules for your employees, and at the same time to avoid making consistently bad schedules. By taking a few seconds to consider the suggestions that Shift Agent provides you for each shift, you will create consistently good schedules for the team members and meet all of your operations needs.
Shift Agent considers the person who worked the same shift last week in the suggestion area. You will see an "LW" (Last Week) next to their name. And, if they are the best fit, you will notice them at or near the top of the suggestions. If the person who worked the shift last week is not near the top and has orange or red or black or silver bars, you will want to consider those warnings that this may not be the best person for the shift even though they worked it last week. (availability changes, day off change, too many hours already, etc)
Overall, by taking a minute or two to simply use the suggestions, you can make schedules really quickly, assuming the information in the system is correct.
