Scheduling software
Scheduling software for temporary staffing: the checklist.
Excel, Outlook and a lot of phone calls: that is what scheduling looks like in many staffing agencies today. Before you pick a scheduling program, look at the questions it passes or fails on in daily work. Here they are, with the answers alluvo gives. The working time and assignment rule checks described here follow German law (ArbZG, AÜG) today; other countries are planned.
Scheduling software
- Shift plan
- checks the working time act (German law)
- Maximum duration
- notice two months ahead (German law)
- Temporary staffing contract
- created while planning
- Sick leave
- replacement in one click
- Client
- books in the portal
Checklist
Seven questions for any scheduling software.
Ask them in the demo, with every vendor. Whoever answers one of them only with a training course or an add-on module shows you where the manual work stays later.
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Does the shift plan check the working time act?
Even when two schedulers plan the same employee at two clients. alluvo adds up the shifts of an employee, and, under German law, does not allow more than ten hours a day or fewer than ten hours of rest between two shifts in the first place. Under the German working time act (ArbZG) the daily limit is eight hours, extendable to ten, and the rest period is eleven hours, shortened to ten only in exceptions (sections 3, 5 and 7); rules for other countries are planned.
The German working time act in the shift plan -
Does the planning know the maximum assignment duration?
Under German law (AÜG), the 18 months count per employee and client, earlier assignments included. alluvo counts across all assignments with the same client, does not plan beyond the limit and notifies you two months ahead. Other countries have other limits; those are planned.
How the 18 months count (German law) -
Does the contract come into being while planning?
The assignment is promised, the contract is not yet written: scheduling software closes that gap when it creates the temporary staffing contract and assignment contract from the assignment. Under German law, alluvo also sends the assignment notice required by section 11 AÜG to the employee when the contract is concluded.
The temporary staffing contract in alluvo (German law) -
Can you find a replacement when someone calls in sick?
The sick note arrives before the shift starts. In alluvo the employee uploads the certificate in the app, the shift plan is up to date the same day, and for the open shift alluvo suggests a replacement that you assign with a click or a voice message.
Shift planning -
Can you see who is about to be on the bench?
Every day on the bench costs wages without revenue. alluvo shows expiring assignments, open staffing demands and gaps in the shift plan in one overview, and to the question "Who is on the bench right now?" the operator answers with a list ordered by urgency.
What the bench costs -
Do clients book themselves?
In the client portal your client sees who is free and books without a call. That way bench time fills up without your sales team phoning every time.
The client portal -
Do the hours come back?
Planned is not worked. Your employees record their time in the app, the client approves it with a deadline and reminder, and the approved hours flow into the working time account and the invoice.
Digital timesheets
From everyday work
Three scenes from scheduling, all on an ordinary Tuesday.
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Mit alluvo 01
The replacement is a suggestion.
The employee uploads the certificate in the app, and the shift plan is correct the same day. For the open shift alluvo immediately suggests a suitable replacement, and you assign it with a click or a voice message.
A thing of the past
The shift is open. The phone list is long.
At six an employee calls in sick, the shift starts at seven. Scheduling works through the list by phone: who is free, who has the qualification, who lives nearby.
The consequenceUntil someone says yes, the ward runs a shift understaffed. Your client remembers who could not deliver.
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Mit alluvo 02
The bench is in the overview.
alluvo shows expiring assignments, open staffing demands and employees on the bench in one place. Your client books free employees in the portal on their own, and the operator compiles the list on request.
A thing of the past
Who is free next week is known by the scheduler. She is on vacation.
Which assignment ends on Friday is in no system, but in the head of the scheduler and in a spreadsheet with color codes.
The consequenceOn Monday your employee sits on the bench. You pay the wages anyway, and the revenue is missing.
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Mit alluvo 03
The shift plan calculates across all clients.
alluvo adds up the shifts of an employee across all assignments. Under German law, more than ten hours a day or fewer than ten hours of rest between two shifts cannot be planned. Those are the outer limits of the German working time act; other countries are planned.
A thing of the past
Two schedulers plan the same employee. Each plan is correct on its own.
One plans them early at the hospital, the other late at the care home. Neither sees the other's plan.
The consequenceTogether it is twelve hours a day and eight hours of rest until the next shift. Both violate the German working time act, and the fine hits you as the employer. Other countries have comparable limits with different values.1
From daily operations
„The moment it was clear that working without alluvo no longer made sense: when I got hours of work done from the car with a single voice message.“
The modules
Everything on the same record.
- Staffing & Contracts Shift plan, framework contract, temporary staffing contract and client portal in one module.
- People & Time The hours that arise on the assignment, and the employee app.
- Invoicing Approved hours become the invoice.
- Recruiting Whoever is hired is ready in the shift plan with their qualifications.
Keep reading
The rules behind it.
Free calculators
Work it out yourself.
Questions
Questions about scheduling software.
What is scheduling software?
The software with which a staffing agency plans who works for which client and when. It includes the shift plan and assignments, the contracts under temporary staffing law and the overview of free employees and open staffing demands.
Is a dispatch program the same as scheduling software?
Yes, both terms mean the same. More important than the name is whether planning, contracts and hours run on the same data, or whether your team retypes between three programs.
How does scheduling connect to time tracking and invoicing?
In alluvo your employees record their time in the app, the client approves it in the portal, and the approved hours flow into the billing run with the rate from the framework contract.
Does alluvo check the maximum assignment duration and equal pay?
For agencies operating under German law, yes. Both deadlines hang on the assignment and count earlier assignments with the same client. alluvo neither plans nor concludes an assignment beyond the maximum duration, and notifies you two months ahead. Checks for other countries are planned.
Do I have to book modules separately?
No. All modules are included in the price per employee on assignment. What they cover is on the pricing page.
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