Retail scheduling that works–for your business and your people
Use our checklist to evaluate your current approach–and unlock new potential in flexibility, employee satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
Actively involving sales staff in working time management is more important than ever. But how well is your organization prepared? This checklist gives you a clear view of how future-ready your scheduling really is–and where hidden opportunities may lie. Now is the time to assess, improve, and move ahead with confidence.
How do you actively involve sales staff in working time management?
Retail—especially brick-and-mortar retail—is shaped by long opening hours, fluctuating demand, diverse service models, and high personnel costs. A service-oriented and cost-optimized deployment of sales staff is a critical success factor. Behind the scenes, in logistics and inventory management, precise personnel availability is also increasingly important. At the same time, more and more variables are influencing optimal staff scheduling.
Legal, collective, and company-specific regulations all play a role, along with qualifications, break times, special promotions, and even weather forecasts. Many retailers are now involving their employees in working time management—whether in vacation planning, preferred shift requests, shift swaps, or more.
Understandably so: satisfied, engaged employees simply drive more sales. Flexible working time models and modern employee engagement strategies also help retain staff and attract new talent. Rigid top-down planning and inflexible shift models are no match for today’s highly variable customer traffic and demand patterns. What’s needed instead are market-responsive, employee-friendly working time models.
Taking employee needs into account—through tools like preferred shift schedules or digital swap platforms—not only supports a better work-life balance and more personalized schedules. Actively involving employees in working time design also boosts motivation, improves service levels on the floor, and increases conversion rates.
A professional workforce management solution helps retail and chain businesses of all sizes ensure that not only employees—but also customers—are fully satisfied on the sales floor.
What to consider when involving employees in working time management
Whether you're in brick-and-mortar retail, a large chain operation, or a cross-channel model: how can your retail company benefit from employee involvement in working time management? Use the questions below to assess how much room there is for optimization.
1. Transparency and mobile access
Do employees have real-time visibility into their working time accounts?
Are employees and managers informed of upcoming tasks through the system?
Do employees have mobile access to time-related information via an app?
2. Digital requests and approvals
Can vacation requests be submitted anytime, from anywhere, using a digital tool?
Can employees specify multiple vacation preference options?
Can managers approve or reject requests with a single click?
Are approvals processed through electronic workflows?
Are approved vacations automatically transferred into the time management system?
3. Shift planning and preferred schedules
Can employees submit preferences for their shift schedules?
Are these preferences submitted electronically?
Are shift preferences and approved vacations clearly visible in the planning tool?
4. Shift swapping and absence management
Is there a digital platform for employees to swap shifts?
Are required qualifications automatically verified during shift swaps?
Does the system automatically check legal, contractual, and company compliance during shift changes?
Are swapped shifts automatically updated in both the planning and time tracking systems?
In the event of an employee absence, are shift offers made available via app or online tool?