Why Paper Scheduling for Public Safety Doesn’t Work

Scheduling is a priority for public safety agencies. Whether it’s a police department, fire department, correctional facility, or a dispatch center, having enough employees in the right place and at the right time is key to operations. And, within this industry, schedules are naturally very fluid. Incidents occur that call for additional staff. If you’re still scheduling using a paper and pen, we’re here to argue why that’s detrimental to your operations and your agency.

It Takes Forever to Fill Overtime

What is the current process when an officer calls in sick? You probably have a list of your staff and you have to sit and call every person on that list until someone accepts the shift. This could be costing you thousands of dollars in unnecessary labor throughout the year.

With InTime’s scheduling software, you can post out an overtime shift to all of your employees. The employees are alerted immediately and can choose to pick it up. And the best part? If the shift has specific training requirements, our software can make sure the employee who picks up the shift is appropriately qualified to do so.

High-Risk of Non-Compliance

More likely than not, you have many union or state regulations you have to follow. This can apply to how you select people for shifts, who you give priority for overtime shifts to, and more. This can feel overwhelming to monitor over a spreadsheet or on paper. With our robust software, you can enter your compliance rules into the system. Do you need a female corrections officer on every shift? The system will alert you when you try to schedule a shift without a female officer. Or, take this example. An employee complains to the union that they’re being overlooked for overtime shifts. You can easily show that the system is making the decisions based on union-set rules and no personal feelings are taken into consideration.

Employees Can Access Their Schedule Anytime and Anywhere

InTime’s scheduling software includes an app that can be downloaded on iOS or Android devices. This app allows employees to access their schedules anytime and anywhere. They can submit vacation requests, pick up overtime shifts, see their future shifts, and more, all on their phone.

Extra-Duty Scheduling and Regular Scheduling All-in-One

For many departments, the extra duty schedule and regular schedule are kept separate. There may be union rules on how many extra-duty hours an officer can work on top of regular shifts, the gap between their extra-duty shifts and regular shifts, and more, but how is this being monitored? Often, it falls on the employee to monitor themselves. But, when money is on the line, that can be hard to do.

Employees that are overworked and overtired are more prone to make mistakes and put themselves or others in danger. InTime allows you to combine your regular schedule and your extra-duty schedule all in one. You can make sure officer safety is a top priority for your agency and no one is putting themselves in unnecessary risk.

Contact the InTime’s sales team for a demo or a free trial of our product. Email sales@intimesoft.com or call 1-877-603-2830.

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