The Cause and Cure for Employee Scheduling Headaches

Post-It Note Link to Employee Scheduling Headaches

Did you know that employee scheduling headaches could have very well originated when the Post-it Note was first launched in the mid-eighties? Back then, before employers started relying on this small, 3-inch yellow square for a majority of their scheduling needs, people used Post-it Notes for a variety of different reasons. Whether it was for simple tasks at work, or in the home, they were found in every drawer and in every office. They were considered so handy because they could stick to things so you wouldn’t lose them and they would remind you of tasks to be completed. But, shall we venture to say that those same individuals probably never thought that little piece of paper would eventually transform the daily life of users across all nations and eventually affect the task of employee scheduling with employers and employees in offices everywhere.

Fast forward to 2013 in a city near you, where company’s’ computer monitors are layered with multi-colored Post-it Notes, threatening to eat up every last inch of employee’s’ workspaces. Or desks, beautiful, natural oak wood desks lined with Post-it Notes, up and down or side to side, engulfing the very same desk of which schedulers are supposed to be able to clean off at the end of the day and say “job well done.” Its thirty years later and employee schedulers everywhere are seeking a cure for employee scheduling headaches like these and are desperate for a way to overcome misplaced messages and massive adhesive failure.

In a business world of busier than ever schedules, employees with high demands and a society where communication has evolved into something never seen before, what are we supposed to make of this mish-mash of yellow, orange, blue, purple and green squares? Employee schedulers have a hard enough time trying to finish their own daily work, much less worry about a Post-it Note falling into the garbage and a shift change not being communicated properly, therefore resulting in chaos at their local office or retail store.

If you are an employee scheduler caught up in the Post-it Note fight and can’t sit down and effectively decide which of your employees go where, who requested time off for next week, or how you’re going to cover a last-minute shift change just sprung on you, how do you expect your small business to run properly?

The good news, if employee scheduling is causing you headaches, is that once you declare you and your staff as “habitual Post-it Note users”, a correct diagnosis can be made as to what is bringing you this terrible pain and an effective employee scheduling treatment plan can be started, Post-it Note free.

Curing an Employee Scheduling Headache

The first step in curing a scheduling headache is to Google “how to improve employee satisfaction” and read about all of the ways of which you can improve upon your current workplace. Learn how one employer encouraged employees to customize their workstations with décor and equipment and managed to eliminate the Post-it Note congestion at his company. Read how certain colors and décor managed to improve happiness at another small business. And no, they didn’t run a string from wall to wall of multi-colored squares declaring the fresh, new colors of Post-it Notes as the cure for all workplace depression, just so you know.

The second step in curing employee scheduling headaches is to perform a complete physical examination and evaluation of the way you schedule your employees today. Make it a point to take a look at your methods of scheduling. Analyze where things go wrong, how many Post-it Notes accrue on your desk daily, how employees currently communicate with you for days off and trends that keep occurring week after week at your office resulting in mass confusion for you and your staff. After considering the results of your scheduling headache analysis, as well as admitting you may have permanent psychological damage from over usage of Post-it Notes with your current employee scheduling ways, you may get to the source of where your employee scheduling headaches are coming from and whether or not a serious problem is present in your place of business.

If you’re looking for a cure to alleviate your scheduling headache symptoms immediately, consider an online employee scheduling program to ease the pain. The decision whether to change or not to change your usage of Post-it Notes to schedule your employees rests on how bad your headaches really are. Making a change to the way you schedule your employees won’t necessarily alleviate all of your workplace headaches, as you still may have symptoms of other workplace pains from time to time. But it may improve several facets of everyday scheduling frustrations you endure.

About ScheduleBase

ScheduleBase is online employee scheduling software from Atlas Business Solutions, the leader in providing employee scheduling software. In little to no time, businesses can schedule employees online and communicate work schedules by email, text message and mobile device. Put your scheduling online and save time and money while offering your employees easier access to their schedules and an effective communication tool for you.

WARNING: Post-it Note Facts May Be Closer Than They Appear

For all of you die-hard Post-it Note users, here are a few facts found within the world of Google:

1. A Post-it Note weathered a flight from Las Vegas to Minneapolis on the nose of the plane. It endured speeds of 500 mph and temperatures as low as -56 degree Fahrenheit.

2. It would take approximately 506,880,000 Post-it Notes to circle the world once.

3. 1989 – A family left a Post-it Note on their front door during Hurricane Hugo and it was their 3 days later.

4. 2000 – Llze Vitolina created a line of avant-garde evening wear made from Post-it Notes. She made 11 dresses total, including a wedding gown, hats, and a bridal bouquet.

5. Today, the Post-it Brand now has over 4,000 products.