Shift work and workers have become increasingly prevalent in the United States, particularly in the retail sector. As the demand for 24/7 operations, flexible working hours, and shift workers rises, retailers face the challenge of effectively managing employee shifts. While many retailers use UKG solutions for workforce management, they can do even more and handle employee shifts with the CloudApper Solution Community for UKG. Let’s take a look at the importance of employee shift management for retailers and how CloudApper’s Shift Optimization solution for UKG empowers retailers to streamline and optimize their shift management processes.

Stats Show That Shift Worker Demand Is Increasing

Shift work has experienced a significant increase recently, with the retail industry being at the forefront of this trend. According to UKG, in May 2023, shift work saw a 1.0% increase compared to previous months. This surge in shift work follows a strong April. It marks the highest surge since late 2021, indicating the growing reliance on shift workers and the need for efficient shift management strategies in the retail industry – something both CloudApper and UKG help with. But what exactly is management?

What Is Employee Shift Management?

Employee shift management refers to the process of efficiently scheduling and assigning shifts to employees to ensure proper coverage and smooth operations. It involves determining shift requirements, allocating shifts, managing time-off requests, and handling shift swaps or replacements.

Effective shift management is crucial for retailers to meet customer demands, maintain productivity, minimize disruptions caused by understaffing or last-minute absences, and meet or even exceed customer satisfaction – something that all retailers want to achieve.

But why do retailers specifically require shift management? Let’s explore.

Why Do Retailers Need Employee Shift Management?

US-based retailers face unique challenges when it comes to managing employee shifts since they typically need to deal with a large number of shift workers at all times. Here are some key reasons why retailers need effective shift management.

Operational Efficiency

Proper shift management ensures that the correct number of employees are scheduled for each shift, optimizing productivity and customer service. By aligning workforce capacity with customer demand, retailers can efficiently allocate resources and minimize unnecessary costs.

Labor Cost Control

Accurate shift management helps retailers avoid overstaffing or understaffing situations, leading to better control over labor costs. By aligning staffing levels with customer footfall and sales trends, retailers can optimize labor expenses without compromising service quality.

Employee Satisfaction and Engagement

Effective shift management practices contribute to employee satisfaction and engagement. Fair scheduling practices, providing adequate notice of shifts, and considering employee preferences contribute to a positive work-life balance, fostering a motivated workforce.

How Do Retailers Handle Employee Shift Management?

Traditionally, retailers have relied on manual methods for shift management, such as spreadsheets or paper-based schedules. However, these approaches are time-consuming, prone to errors, and can lead to miscommunication or conflicts among employees.

However, even the retailers that use UKG software often struggle with last-minute shift changes, no-shows, and difficulties in finding replacements, which can disrupt operations and negatively impact customer experience. These issues are bound to increase as retailers hire more shift workers down the line.

Fortunately, the CloudApper Solution Community can help UKG users with shift management easily – let’s see how!

CloudApper Shift Optimization for UKG: Streamlining Employee Shift Management

CloudApper’s Shift Optimization for UKG offers a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to simplify and optimize employee shift management for retailers using software by UKG. By leveraging AI and automation, CloudApper empowers retailers to overcome the challenges of manual shift management by helping them simplify processes – something that is needed during these shift worker surges.

Here’s how Shift Optimization by CloudApper can help retailers (and any organization with shift workers) using UKG software.

Shift Confirmation

With CloudApper’s Shift Confirmation, retailers can automate the process of confirming employee shift attendance. Managers don’t need to call employees one by one to know whether they’ll be attending their shifts or not. Using AI-driven algorithms, the solution identifies employees with upcoming shifts and proactively sends notifications to confirm their availability before their shifts via SMS, email, or other means like Slack. Managers are instantly alerted of any potential unannounced absences, enabling them to take timely action and ensure adequate coverage – minimizing employee no-show effects.

Shift Bidding

Shift Bidding for UKG allows retailers to automate the process of shift allocation by notifying eligible employees about open shifts. Employees can submit their bids via SMS, email, Slack, or other methods, ensuring a fair, easy, and transparent bidding process. Using Shift Bidding not only streamlines shift allocation but also enhances employee engagement and empowers them to take an active role in managing their work schedules.

Shift Swapping

Shift Swapping for UKG simplifies the process of swapping shifts among employees. CloudApper enables employees to request shift swaps, and managers can review and approve the requests seamlessly. This functionality ensures efficient shift coverage, reduces scheduling conflicts, and allows employees to address their personal commitments without causing disruptions.

CloudApper Makes Managing Employee Shifts Easier for UKG Customers

As the demand for shift workers continues to rise after almost two years, effective shift management becomes paramount for retailers. With digitization all around us, manual processes and outdated methods are no longer sufficient to handle the complexities of managing shift workers.

With CloudApper’s Shift Optimization for UKG, retailers (and any organization with shift workers) have the necessary tools and capabilities to streamline shift management, optimize scheduling, and ensure adequate coverage. CloudApper’s AI-powered solutions help retailers easily mitigate shift management challenges as well as deal with these shift worker surges, enhance operational efficiency, and deliver exceptional customer experiences. Contact us now to learn how the CloudApper Solution Community can help your organization by seamlessly integrating with UKG and taking shift management to the next level.