Organization
Sheraton Grand Chicago
Located in the heart of the bustling River North district, Sheraton Grand Chicago is a 4 Star Hotel within 15 minutes walk of Millenium Park, Navy Pier, and the Grand Red subway station.
Location: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Industry: Hospitality
Company Size: 150+ Employees
Challenges
The Sheraton Grand Chicago was looking for a solution that would allow the scheduling staff to abide by the property rules while still meeting the needs of their full and part-time staff. The main challenge that they required help with was scheduling for their D-list employees including:
- Following Union rules when filling shifts using the various rotations that they have in place
- Removing the need to have their staff call in twice a week to select their shifts
- Completely replacing their manual scheduling
Solution
Given the complex rules used in their scheduling of full-time and casual employees, the Sheraton Grand Chicago was able to solve their key problems using Celayix. Their successes include:
- Automating their previously 100% manual process for scheduling D-list employees.
- Setting up the Celayix employee mobile app, enabling D-list staff to automatically self-select their own shifts and in turn, freeing up their scheduler to do other tasks
- Giving employees the opportunity to indicate they can no longer work shifts that had been previously chosen. This information allows managers to find replacement employees that are available and qualified, fast, and with ease.
- Export shift information out of Celayix into their other systems
“With Celayix, we were able to reduce our scheduling administration to one hour per week. The automation also freed up our staff to quickly select their shifts, rather than having to try to call in and speak with someone. “
Sommer Gay, DIrector of Banquets
Results
Increased Efficiency
With the implementation of Celayix, the Sheraton was able to achieve an efficiency increase of 86%. The manual process would usually take 7 hours a week to just create the schedule. Using Celayix, the D-list scheduling process now only takes under one hour per week. This efficiency was maximized through the use of the Celayix Rules-Based Engine. With this feature, schedulers can create and manage rules based on a range of requirements such as overtime, union rules, seniority etc. which will help automate the shift scheduling process. Now, they can create schedules without having to worry about following these rules manually. If they happen to schedule a shift that breaks any rule, they will be notified before saving the shift.
Improved Communication
Management also use Celayix to communicate with employees. Schedules could be shared with employees instantly, saving further time and confusion. It also removed the need for a phone system, additionally freeing up hotel phone lines that were being used for employees to call in to select their shifts.
Improved Flexibility
Celayix has provided Sheraton’s employees with tools to pick their own shifts ensuring all rules set out by the property are met while helping to significantly reduce the time and resources spent scheduling. Schedulers can choose between self-scheduling and shift bidding, depending on how much control they want over the schedule themselves. It’s been proven that providing flexibility to employees can increase employee engagement and retention. These are common issues in the hospitality industry.
If you’d like to experience some of these benefits for yourself, you can request a free live demo here.
