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Preparing an annual budget is among the most important administrative tasks in law enforcement. Adequate funding is essential for successful operations. Agencies facing tight budgetary restrictions may find it difficult to justify adding or upgrading equipment or technology, such as online officer scheduling software. However, scheduling software doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, these tools can deliver time and labor savings that offset the initial investment and help communities reduce costs long term.
Many law enforcement agencies understand the benefits of staff scheduling software, but have trouble persuading those who control the purse strings. Highlighting these five key advantages can help you justify the cost when submitting your proposal.
1. Ensure Proper Coverage
Scheduling software such as ScheduleAnywhere enables managers to allocate resources properly to ensure officers are accurately scheduled by shift, position, or skill set. Simply enter your staffing requirements, and immediately see whether too few or too many officers are scheduled. This visibility allows you to address shortages and overages ahead of time, changing shift assignments in advance to ensure proper coverage without incurring unnecessary overtime.
2. Enable Anytime, Anywhere Access
Providing officers, administrators and staff with anytime, anywhere schedule access ensures every member of your agency can see accurate information in real time. With an online software system, anyone with the proper permission can develop, manage and view schedules remotely. Some systems allow employees to submit cover, swap and time-off requests. Managers can quickly check staffing levels and approve or deny requests to ensure shifts are adequately covered.
3. Fill Open Shifts Fast
After creating the initial schedule, administrators spend hours each week managing changes. Look for software with an integrated messaging system that allows you to instantly contact one or all employees, or a select group who are both qualified and available, to fill open shifts fast. This communication tool eliminates time-consuming phone calls, freeing managers to focus on core responsibilities.
4. Quickly & Easily Manage Schedules & Rotations
Creating officer and staff schedules each week can be time-consuming, regardless of the size of your agency or the type of shift rotation you use. A software system allows you to build schedules for every shift in minutes and easily schedule multiple employees. Create and view schedules weeks, months and even years in advance. With the ability to quickly copy schedule patterns and rotations, you can stop wasting time and resources on entering repeating information or schedules.
5. Share Schedules Across the Organization
Software that allows managers to share schedules with other sites or divisions in one centralized location equips the entire organization with real-time information to ensure every shift is properly staffed. Managers and supervisors can also see the total hours scheduled, safeguarding against conflicts, and helping reduce overtime costs.
Administrators researching scheduling software solutions should consider the initial investment, as well as monthly and annual expenses. Some software, such as ScheduleAnywhere, allows for flexible pricing that can be tailored to your specific personnel requirements, ensuring you avoid paying unnecessary costs. ScheduleAnywhere is designed around the unique scheduling needs of law enforcement, and trusted by hundreds of agencies. This software system saves law enforcement agencies across the country time and money, while improving communication and ensuring proper shift coverage.
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