Due to recent economic challenges, most managers are searching for any and all opportunities to reduce costs. With companies continually streamlining their operations to squeeze out every bit of efficiency and productivity, it is increasingly important to minimize employee idle time as well as more efficiently regulate overtime. The simple scheduling used in many operations, with its balanced crews and equalized staffing, is no longer acceptable in many cases because of its inherent inefficiencies. With a balanced staffing level, there are likely times when there is simply not enough work for all the employees that are scheduled - and also times when there is just too much work for the number of scheduled employees. The solution to both of these scenarios is the development and implementation of schedules that more efficiently match employees to work - or to simply put people where the work is.

This study is the first to look specifically at concrete options for implementing flexible scheduling solutions for employees working in extended hours operations. Extended hours operations are environments where companies operate outside the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., causing employees to work irregular schedules, that can include working nights, evenings, on-call shifts or long hours, on a regular basis.

Author: Todd Dawson, Director of Research and Udo Trutschel, Ph.D., Senior Research Consultant