Most business owners would agree that the heart of their business is their employees. After all, if you didn’t have employees to produce your goods to sell or package them for delivery, or to serve your customers, you wouldn’t have much of a business at all.

Scheduling+ offers the best employee scheduling software that helps businesses manage their employees’ time. Our scheduling software allows you to easily schedule your employees and allows them to view their schedule any time via our employee scheduling app. In addition, employees can clock in and out with the app, and payroll is integrated as well, allowing you to collect the data and then use a different payroll processing system or ours. Having an all-in-one workforce management system helps to eliminate errors and provides you the data you need, such as overtime management, quickly and easily. Below, we’ll offer up tips on how you can maximize the slow times at your small business. Contact us today to get started!

TIPS TO MAXIMIZE SLOW TIMES AT YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

Get Organized

During the busy times, things can become disorganized in the rush to either accomplish tasks or to serve customers. Such things like deliveries don’t get unpacked, a pair of scissors gets left somewhere, or even a box of toilet paper gets left out as you rushed to replenish the bathroom during lunch time. When times are slow, you should use these times to get organized. Put things away that didn’t get put away, straighten the papers on your desk, check and respond to emails, and then think about the hours and the days ahead. If you know you’ll have a dinnertime rush at your retail establishment, plan for it. Replenish frequently used items, such as ketchup and cups, ahead of time, and start peeling potatoes now. Or, look at your schedule, and prepare for tomorrow’s presentation before customers start lining up.

Scheduling+ recommends this time to be used to finalize your employees’ schedules and changes so everyone is on the same page via our workforce scheduling software. You can also use this time to assign employees tasks to be done during the next slow time. In a small business, time is money — including everyone’s time, not just your own — so you want to be sure as little of it is wasted as possible.

Plan

As well as getting organized, planning ahead will eliminate headaches in the near future, such as missing necessary supplies or scheduling meetings. If you have an important presentation coming up or a client meeting, go over your materials and rehearse what you will say. If you are a food business, use this type to see what you are missing, or to plan a special holiday menu that you’ve been meaning to do. You can also plan for your goals as well during the downtime. This can be either measurable goals, such as sales records, or more personal goals, such as just making it a point to be more friendly. There’s always something to improve upon no matter what business or profession you are in.

Scheduling+ recommends that you use our task management app to help your employees during their down times. You can set a task, such as setting goals, or wiping down the counters easily. Not only does this ensure necessary items get done, such as sanitizing, but it also helps your employees know what to do in their downtime. Many employers consider the fact that their employees are standing around and socializing as laziness. Many times, this is not the case. In fact, most of the time employees simply don’t know what to do, so when you provide them with guidance, they are more than happy to oblige.

Invest in Training

Many times employees are not cross-trained on tasks simply because you don’t have the time to train them, or you are usually busy managing customers or orders. The downtimes at your business are perfect opportunities to train an employee in a new task. These can be impromptu as well. Thus, when your retail establishment slows down after 6 pm, you can train your employee on inventory ordering or any other task you have been meaning to train them in. In fact, many small business owners find this the ideal time because the employee is not missing out on anything at work, and you are not rushed in explaining because your establishment is busy.

Scheduling+ encourages you to use our best employee scheduling software to schedule employees who need training specifically during known downtimes at your small business. This will also give you a gentle reminder about the training so you don’t forget. Remember, the more employees who can do tasks not only makes them feel included and gives them authority, but it makes your job all the more easy.

CHOOSE SCHEDULING+ FOR YOUR WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

As most small business owners can attest, the more tools you have at your disposal that can help you maximize your time efficiently, the more your business will grow. When you partner with Scheduling+ for your workforce scheduling needs, you will be reducing your scheduling time, better able to monitor if tasks are completed, and your payroll processing will be streamlined. Employees will be able to clock in and out on their mobile devices and be able to switch shifts with colleagues. Furthermore, by investing in the best employee software, you’ll also be able to make your employees feel more empowered, which leads them to be less likely to leave at the next opportunity. Contact us today for more information!