Frequently Asked Questions

Overview/General

Q: What exactly is Schedule24?

A: Schedule24 is a software solution that provides a structured and integrated workflow for designing and creating staff schedules. In competitive markets successful team managers need to deliver flexible working strategies, monitor staff deployment costs and coordinate team action. Schedule24 is here to assist you in solving those challenges.

Q: Is it the number of staff that decides which version I need?

A: That and the complexity of the workplace will decide which version you need. For example if you have 20 people who are expensive to field and they all have different working arrangements you may need the Professional edition.

Q: What are the most difficult concepts to understand?

A: That is a good question. From customer feedback and training experience it is grasping which features of Schedule24 Professional are used to represent the structure of your organisation. This is because the professional edition is very flexible and capable of representing a wide range of organizations. You have more choices and this means you need to decide what is the best representation.It is worth spending time reading the documentation, which explains these concepts.

Q: I read a lot about simple and easy scheduling?

A: Scheduling is not easy. You will also read about one click solutions and optimized solutions, Ph.D research and algorithms even publishing how many lines of programming code have been implemented. It is misleading into believing all you need do is enter all the information hit a button and it automatically produces a scheduling solution always optimized just for you. Vendor presentations, or demonstrations where prompts and warning flags have to be switched off to complete are typical indicators. Moreover documentation that explains employees preferences can be ignored without their knowledge is not a solution, and hardly a feature.

You need to evaluate software to be sure it will be useful. If you are unable to to do this it may prove expensive. Schedule24 will speed up scheduling and automate it where it can do this sensibly, above all it allows the knowledge and experience of the user to do this. Schedule24 is a business tool and does not make a user a scheduling expert anymore than a spreadsheet user a financial or accounting expert - but both help to work smarter and faster.

Q: What is a realistic learning curve?

A: With Schedule24 Standard a user with basic computer skills will be navigating the product competently enough to enter information and produce schedules within two hours. Within two days the user can expect to be fully competent.

With Schedule24 Professional there is a great deal more functionality. Within a few hours a user with basic computer skills will have grasped all the main features and be able to navigate competently around the product. After two days the user will be able to create schedule designs and automate a significant part of the scheduling process. After one week they will be implementing flexible working strategies, monitoring their effects and be able to make changes to meet business goals.

Q: What is the advantage Schedule24 has over spreadsheets?

A: Integrated workflow. This takes a manager beyond simple shift scheduling and into workforce management. Good scheduling is not simple and, for many, simple schedules are not enough in today's competitive workplace.

Q: Who would use Schedule24 Standard?

A: A manager wanting to progress beyond simple manual or spreadsheet scheduling, who wants to manage and structure staff working hours and days-off up to at least two months or more in advance. Typical users include managers who simply want to organise and coordinate their day to day operation.

Q: Who would use Schedule24 Professional?

A: A manager who is responsible for large teams, or who magages a more demanding workplace. It allows automation of schedules over longer time ranges, with emphasis on managing staff deployment costs and providing management information which will influence business strategy. Typical users include owners of small businesses or team managers heading-up business units in the larger corporation.

Q: What do I really gain from using Schedule24?

A: Business managers operating without any system will almost certainly be less productive than managers using a system. Most studies demonstrate that if a system is used for planning and organizing information then significant savings in both time and effort will follow.
It is critical that you are able to obtain strategic information from your system. Schedule24 will benefit managers with teams as small as seven people, by making this strategic information available. However, the benefit is even greater for larger teams and business units.

Editions

Q: How many people can I manage in Schedule24 Standard?

A: Up to a maximum of 25 people per schedule and you can have as many schedules as you like. If you want to schedule unlimited people per schedule then you would need the Professional Edition which has more powerful tools for large team scheduling.

Q: How many people can I manage in Schedule24 Professional?

A: There is no limit to the number of people you can manage in each schedule and you can have multiple schedules. The largest number of people we have had a customer manage in one schedule is over 600 staff.

Q: I need to schedule people across different locations?

A: Schedule24 Professional would be the preferred edition for this kind of scheduling. It is designed to handle more complex structuring including departments, locations, job tiles and teams.

Q: What is the most difficult kind of schedule and which edition do I need?

A: It really does depend on a number of factors. What most people mean by this question is how much can I automate the schedule. For many vendors automation means cut and paste and while you can rapidly build up several weeks of schedule it is not automation. Schedule24 Standard is ideal for that kind of scheduling.

For others it is matching staff availability with a business requirement, the problem with that is deciding which has priority when there is conflict - this is a management problem and technology doesn't change that though sometimes can hide it. Clearly where there is a pattern of working automation should follow quite easily. Where there isn't a clear pattern of working, and individual staff work different times on different days with little or no notice then that kind of scheduling can only be completed when the information becomes available. Ultimately Schedule24 Professional will fully support both manual and automated scheduling.

Q: I like plenty of reports?

A: Schedule24 Professional would be your preferred choice. With over 30 different kinds of reports including dynamic reporting for researching management information about your workforce management you can practically cover all your management information needs. When required customized reporting can be provided where specified. More reports are being added all the time and can be downloaded for free from our support section.

Other Features

Q: I would like to book appointments. Can Schedule24 help me do that?

A: No. Booking appointments is different from employee scheduling.

Q: When I publish web schedules do I have to pay per employee?

A: No. Unlike some other scheduling companies we don't charge for web viewing.

Q: Can you explain what features Schedule24 has and what they do?

A: You can freely evaluate Schedule24 with our full support help files and documentation for a period of 30 days.