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New franchises all have something in common—a bit of controlled chaos.
Truly, everything is new and feels strange. There is little pattern to each day, yet, and no consistency.
Scheduling employees is similar, especially in the early days of opening a franchise. One day, an employee does well, but another employee is sick. Or an otherwise normal day ramps way up (or down) without anticipating employee resources accurately.
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The early days will regularly present you with new situations to manage, and appropriate staffing is fundamental to keeping things balanced. It unquestionably takes some flexibility when setting employee schedules in a new franchise
Find Your Best Employee
When employees are efficient, they accomplish tasks while minimizing their labor cost (fewer hours) while contributing to greater revenue through enhanced sales or processes. The chances are that you have an employee whose style is like this.
Use that person as the hub of your scheduling patterns and create work schedules around that best-performing employee. It will help ensure strategic, capable coverage throughout various shifts and provide an example of expected behavior for other staff.
Automate and Empower Employees
Franchisors provide all kinds of technology to streamline your operation. That can include employee management software that manages key positions, hours, and shift preferences.
Changing a handwritten chart or a document sheet takes time away from running your operation, so find a simple way to make automated adjustments. Employees can also use it to cover shifts on their own, and it reduces your workload as well.
Foster Communication
When an employee does not show up for a shift, the reason is usually a misunderstanding.
No matter what system you use for scheduling, it needs to be well-communicated and readily available to access. As the franchisee, be consistent with how you communicate. Clarity goes away when messages come in voice mail one day, text another, and email another.
Choose a system that is consistent and allows employees time to plan. Then, they will be ready to work on time without any miscommunication.
Stay Nimble
Keep employees happy and productive by striving to accommodate their preferred hours and days off.
We all need flexibility at times, and they will appreciate it if you understand their situations. If you are collaborative with employees in practice, they will also flex to accommodate surges in work demands for your franchise's high-season activities or events.
Staying nimble is more than being accommodating—it means staffing appropriately to ensure readiness for unexpected situations. Whether an employee becomes ill or you have a happy acceleration in volume, you will want extra human resources to fill in as needed.
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Creating employee schedules that work for your new franchise can be stressful. It will take some time to find your groove and understand when and how scheduling needs fluctuate. With good staff system in place, you can remain flexible for employees and your new franchise’s staffing needs.
Anne Daniells is a co-owner of Enterprising Solutions, a professional services firm specializing in corporate communication and financial improvement for businesses where she shares decades of corporate and entrepreneurial experience—including franchise ownership—in her writings on business culture. She has authored hundreds of articles for publications including AllBusiness.com, TweakYourBiz.com, and MSN.com. Reach out via her website for more on where corporate culture, communication, and human architecture collide.