Artificial intelligence (AI) is profoundly impacting business activities. According to McKinsey, gen AI could produce $4.4 trillion in productivity growth.
AI enables operations to manage complex shift requirements better, instantly considering multiple factors to enhance employee scheduling. The results are less time and stress for schedulers to ensure coverage, quicker responses to changing availability and requirements, and better overall productivity for both workers and management.
AI deployment for employee scheduling will continue to expand as capabilities evolve, best practices develop, and teams learn to implement the tools effectively.
How does AI Work?
AI uses historical data collected through machine learning and can process image, video, text, and audio data.
Machine learning is the concept of algorithms and statistical models used by computers to perform tasks without explicit instructions. Instead, it relies on patterns and inference. Machine learning algorithms build mathematical models from data. It then uses this data to make predictions or decisions without being explicitly programmed to do so.
For example, in scheduling, AI will learn from a scheduler’s behaviour patterns. It will then analyze them and reach an evidence-based conclusion to create the schedule.
The critical aspect here is the utilization of data. With scheduling software, AI functionality can analyze the historical data it’s been collecting since its implementation. Then it uses this data to generate insights and improve scheduling efficiency.
AI Thrives on Complexity
Every business has its standard practices, and as a result, every schedule has its own complexities and intricacies. When it comes to setting schedules, a multitude of factors are in play. Employee experience, seniority, availability, certification, and total hours are just a handful of them.
Unsurprisingly, every business wants to minimize overtime hours while still ensuring the best employees are working. AI can take these factors into account while, notably, following business rules and applicable laws.
Business owners want scheduling efficiencies, but they also want to make sure they can trust their software. When appropriately deployed, AI ensures that schedules adhere to all pre-determined business guidelines.
For example, if an employee has a record of working shifts for a particular client, it may indicate they are well-suited to that client. AI can discern this trend and incorporate it into the scheduling process by suggesting this employee for any shifts related to that client.
Shift Management Operational Issues
AI improvements in productivity improve processes across an organization. The ability to identify patterns and trends within data can reveal valuable sales leads, highlight peak demand, and predict consumer behaviour.
The ability of AI to accelerate workflows and uncover valuable data is a key benefit to improving insights and leveraging an organization’s talents and knowledge.
Manual scheduling is time-consuming and inefficient
The assignments given to a scheduler are often complex. Each employee has their individual needs and abilities that require consideration. Every set of shifts has its own demands, and each role, client, and location also has specific criteria.
It’s challenging to create a schedule that perfectly fits every employee, while also delivering the necessary coverage.
Creating a schedule is only one aspect of managing employees. Robust shift management requires high levels of communication and coordination, especially with a highly mobile workforce. Handling this task manually is not only challenging but also time-consuming and inefficient. A lot of time and energy is wasted on an operation that businesses hope to complete immediately.
Manual scheduling is prone to error
The tedious, complex nature of manual scheduling makes it prone to errors. These errors are costly for the business and often add to labour costs, such as overtime.
Such errors often result in double bookings, no-shows & missed shifts. In the end, the business is overstaffed or understaffed.
biased, unfair schedules
Manual scheduling might introduce biases in which some employees are preferred and judged higher than others based on factors other than performance.
This can have significant consequences. For example, a study by the University of Washington found managerial bias toward flexible scheduling. Managers prefer or prioritize employees who work early hours over those who work later. This bias is worse in companies where flexible scheduling still isn’t an option.
Benefits of AI in Employee Scheduling
AI can make employee scheduling easier and offer a range of other benefits. It’s important to understand that AI-powered scheduling doesn’t replace schedulers but makes them better decision-makers and enables them with more capabilities.
TIME & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Proper scheduling is a component of efficient management, but it should not be the primary focus of a capable management team. Time spent fixing schedules, resolving avoidable mistakes, or chasing no-shows is paying a premium for tasks a system can handle.
Every company has additional productive tasks and goals that require its time and resources. AI can help automate scheduling, free managers from mundane tasks, and enable them to focus better on strategy, retention, and creating value.
REMOVE ERRORS & IMPROVE SCHEDULE QUALITY
AI scheduling systems can handle layers of complexity that even the best experts cannot. The scope for AI is practically limitless. AI can review schedules for errors and further improve scheduling quality by suggesting the best-fit employees for any shift.
The results are in real time and can be adjusted based on dynamically changing information, such as availability, qualifications, and the client’s needs.
MANAGE AND UTILIZE SCHEDULING DATA
AI staff scheduling systems can analyze data points such as availability, paid time off, vacation, contracted hours, overtime, qualifications, regular shift patterns, and many more.
AI uses this dataset to create an optimized schedule that simultaneously meets your business’s and your staff’s needs. As a result, the track of qualifications, certifications, overtime, work hours and typical shift patterns for any employee would always be at the tip of your fingers.
Managers can use this data to improve the scheduling process continually.
AI IS FAIR AND UNBIASED
With predictive analytics, AI extracts information from existing datasets to identify patterns and predict future outcomes and trends.
AI focuses on the metrics that matter. The sole job of AI in scheduling is to save time and money and boost the company’s performance.
AI won’t experience frustration or burnout. It makes outcomes based on concrete data rather than intuition. It takes a proactive approach, enabling schedules that follow preset rules, such as labor union rules, seniority, and breaks for employees.
The AI recommends fair and unbiased scheduling, which promotes a culture of trust and respect.
The employers still have control over the company’s scheduling. They can accept recommendations for the system to schedule them automatically. Or, they can review recommendations and make changes as required.
Video: The Benefits of Using AI in Scheduling
While AI relies on complex models and technology, using it is simple.
A user can work with AI-powered employee scheduling software without realizing it, as it works behind the scenes. Or a natural-language chat session can create, change, or delete shifts conversationally.
It helps companies save time and money and helps retain employees by offering fairer schedules. It helps businesses become more competitive, streamlines their employee scheduling processes, and reduces errors and costs.
AI is a powerful tool for improving employee scheduling, optimizing the entire shift management process, and maximizing operational efficiency.
Discover firsthand how AI can help your shift management operations.
