| Article written by Thomas Aagaard, Head of Business Development at PDC. Contact me on tel 3636 0000 for a chat about options. Or, write at pdc@pdc.com or visit www.pdc.com for more information. |  |
I spend a lot of time in companies that are interested in acquiring a shift planning system.
Effective shift planning has become important and operations critical for how efficient an organization can be. Many companies lack a clear structure for who is going to work as well as when, how, and how much work is to be done in the coming period.
A shift planning system influences large parts of the organization and involves many people in the company. Thus, many also have an opinion on how they want to be involved.
However, everyone can agree upon one thing – the need and desire for “good” shift schedules. But what does that mean? Depending on who you talk to, there are different views on what a “good” plan is.
In short, the different views of a “good” plan among the employees reflect their concrete opportunities for success in everyday life.
If you talk to planners, they have the task of putting together a puzzle that forms a finished plan. Therefore, there is a focus on decision support, optimization options, control of laws and regulations. They emphasize search and filtering mechanisms so that data can be found quickly, they want an overview of resources and efficiency in routine tasks. Once the puzzle is solved, they have a “good” plan.
If you ask the management, the focus is mainly on finance. The plans must be easy to prepare – it must be cost-saving and possible to assess the cost of the plan and find out whether it complies with the budget. At the same time, there is a focus on the possibility of follow-up – i.e. what the coming period looks like and how we managed it in the past period both in terms of costs, sick days, replacements, holidays and more. A cheap plan is a “good” plan.
If you ask the payroll staff, it is a “good” plan when correct calculations of hours and allowances are forwarded to the payroll system.
For the individual employee, it is a “good” plan when he/she has influenced it. A plan that considers the balance between work and leisure. When the employee gets her/his wishes for leisure and shifts fulfilled and when the employee receives the correct salary, then it is a “good” plan.
Is it possible to meet everyone’s wishes for a “good” plan?
Yes, with PDC Plan. PDC Plan is a Danish, well-proven solution that for years has helped planners with the complex task of ensuring skilled, motivated staff, fixed and transparent procedures in shift planning, which stay within the given financial framework and legislation.
More than 200,000 people’s shift plans are prepared with PDC Plan, which contributes to our customers being able to deliver “quality at the agreed time”.