[thiefcrazy98]

Hi everyone! Need some advice on Shifton. We started using this system to automate shift scheduling at our company, but recently we've started having issues with time management between employees. The system seems to do everything automatically, but sometimes it doesn't take into account people's needs, such as their shift preferences or ability to work on specific days. I've tried adding it manually, but honestly, it's time-consuming. How are you doing with this? Has anyone found an optimal solution for combining automatic and manual scheduling? I'm interested in how to find this balance and how effective it is.

[EvanDuke]

I was just solving this problem at work the other day. When we first started using https://shifton.com/shift-scheduling, everything you described also arose - the system automatically distributed shifts, but there were still problems with the schedule, especially taking into account the personal preferences of employees. As soon as additional complications begin to be imposed on the company - for example, sick leave, weekend preferences, or someone cannot work on certain days - automatic scheduling does not always cope. I came to the conclusion that it is important not only to rely on algorithms, but also to correctly configure the system taking into account all factors. The first thing to do is to set as many parameters as possible in the schedule generator for employees for automatic shift arrangement. For example, you can set the maximum number of night shifts in a row, minimum rest between shifts, and many other things that will limit possible errors. But in terms of taking into account personal preferences, this is a real problem. The system can't always predict that one employee only needs to work in the morning, while another needs to work only at night, or that someone suddenly gets sick and can't go out. To solve these problems, I've developed a strategy for myself, which is a combined approach: we use automatic planning as a basis, and then, as needed, manually make adjustments. This is not always ideal, but it allows you to react faster to changes, without leaving everything to the mercy of the system. By the way, I sometimes use a special "grid" function to distribute people to certain shifts in advance, for example, if I know that on a certain day we will have especially a lot of work and we need more people at certain hours.

[tbes50203]

I see many people facing similar difficulties, and yes, I have been using Shifton for some time now. In fact, I think the main thing with this system is to set up all the parameters in advance and not rely only on automatic planning, especially if the company has many variables that the system cannot predict.