Parameters and Considerations of Feets Footwear Company when Developing Employees Schedules

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Parameters and Considerations of Feets Footwear Company when Developing Employees Schedules at their Retail Stores

Developing an employee’s schedule for an organization is a time-consuming and strenuous activity as it requires the management to update it regularly or after a specific predetermined time frame. Most companies prefer to change their employees’ schedules weekly to facilitate their comfort and productivity. Schedule building activity is essential because it allows an organization to track their employees’ productivity, cut down on absenteeism, reduce labor costs, and determine employees’ availability. Feet’s company has employees at various stages of its supply chain, each performing different duties and cumulatively increasing sales and improving its performance. Feet’s retail stores have the most demanding task among the supply chain levels as they deal with the final consumers of the product. To smooth the Feets’ Retailer stores’ operations, they must establish an inclusive and considerable employees’ schedule. This initiative will reduce mistakes in various workstations and eliminate collisions among employees. This paper will break down some considerations the Feet’s company should pay attention to while building their employees’ schedules.

The Feet’s retail store should first evaluate its business to determine whether its objectives align with resources available, the number of employees and staff pay rates, and the periods where employees are needed the most (Porto et al., 2022). Since Feets is a fashion company, they have annual high and low sales seasons. It is paramount that Feet’s retail store understands its operations regarding inventory availability, peak and slow seasons in the market, and its budget for the different seasons. This information will determine the number of employees required during specific seasons and the consequent funds to channel to its payroll to ensure they are paid correctly and in time. These actions will ensure that Feet’s retail store has enough employees to deal with customer demands and push inventory altogether.

Additionally, it is necessary for Feet’s retail store to open a direct line and communication with its employees to ensure openness and transparency in business operations. This aspect implies that the company should communicate their concerns about working schedules and allow employees to speak their minds and contribute. Employees should be allowed to actively participate in schedule building. Employees should also have easy access to their working schedules to eliminate miscommunication and shift missing (Zhang et al., 2019). The schedules should be rolled out in advance to allow employees to adjust their personal issues to align with their work programs. In cases where the schedules are tight or unfavorable, the company should permit employees to change their shifts to better their performance.

Feet’s company should build and present predictable and flexible schedules for their employees. A stable and consistent schedule plays a vital role in improving the overall performance of employees and the business. With consistent weekly schedules, employees can plan and manage their time accordingly and strike a balance between their work plans and personal time (Williams et al., 2022). The flexibility of a schedule means that it can change anytime time to suit the needs of employees. Feet’s company needs to consider using modern computers to create their schedule because it is easier to access by many employees simultaneously and allows for easy and convenient changes along the way. Furthermore, the built-in functions in the computer systems will enable employees to post the shifts they can’t take and mark their coverage.

The company should also consider external factors beyond the business’s control that are likely to affect employees’ schedules when constructing it. Business challenges, especially in the fashion shoe industry, are inevitable. The company needs to be open-minded and ready to tackle challenges that affect their employees’ working programs and stabilize operations. Feet’s company should not shy off from testing new scheduling solutions. Instead, they need to consult with their employees and find out those willing to take long shifts as a measure against the adverse external factors. Moreover, the company should propose a split-shift to help deal with coverage issues. Feet’s company needs to consider investing in a complete HRIS system that comes with whistles and extra bells to monitor shifts and ensure its smooth running (Schneider & Harknett, 2019). Despite being costly, this system is very effective because it automates tasks and streamlines schedules, eliminating mixed-up shifts and confusion among employees.

Conclusion

It is undeniable that employees’ schedules are a critical part of an organization. A firm should develop an effective schedule that considers the outcomes to employees and the business by incorporating all the key factors in play for the company. A considerate and inclusive schedule motivates employees to focus on their jobs and work hard to meet their daily targets. It is an organization’s duty to create a schedule that benefits both the company and employees in the long run to maintain its reputation and relevance in the market. Since Feets is a big company with different levels of the supply chain, it would benefit from using advanced computers and software at their retail stores to smoothen operations. Suppose the company considers the suggested factors in building its employees’ schedules. In that case, it is likely to increase its sales profits, improve its performance, and experience growth in its retail stores.

References

Porto, A. F., Henao, C. A., Lusa, A., Mejía, O. P., & Solano, R. P. (2022). Solving a staffing problem with annualized hours, multiskilling with 2-chaining, and overtime: a retail industry case. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 107999.

Schneider, D., & Harknett, K. (2019). Consequences of routine work-schedule instability for worker health and well-being. American Sociological Review, 84(1), 82-114.

Williams, J., Lambert, S., Kesavan, S., Korn, R., Fugiel, P., Carreon, E. D., … & McCorkell, L. (2022). Stable Scheduling Study: health outcomes report. Available at SSRN.

Zhang, J., Ding, G., Zou, Y., Qin, S., & Fu, J. (2019). Review of job shop scheduling research and its new perspectives under Industry 4.0. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 30(4), 1809-1830.