HotSchedules vs. When I Work

For small to medium-sized companies HotSchedules works great when business is very static. If you are simply using HotSchedules for a schedule writing tool, it is phenomenal. However, it does miss the mark as a labor control software. Needs more controls to keep managers aware of spending versus historical sales data.

Incentivized

I recommend When I Work to those companies that are looking for a way to manage work schedules and want to increase the productivity of all employees. This is an important platform that would bring excellent results to small, medium and large companies. This is a constant monitoring system which allows employees to complete their tasks in the indicated time, When I Work sends automated alerts when an employee is not complying with their tasks and this allows us to know exactly the productivity we are having in each one of the sectors. It is an excellent platform for planning and administration of working hours, it has a very easy-to-use UI that allows schedules to be easily managed. Without a doubt, When I Work would be a perfect implementation for any sector or company, since it has a lot of potential to collect exact data on compliance with working hours.

Incentivized

• Communication is so simple on HotSchedules. Whether it is communicating a new schedule release, or a quick note about tonight's shift we as managers are able to easily communicate and know that it will reach our team through text notifications, or email notifications.
• The Meal Break planning tool is very useful in being able to help our floor leaders clearly understand and plan for what breaks are needed throughout the shift. This allows them to come up with a strategic game plan quickly and spend more time with our guests.
• Shift Swaps and Releases are so seamless. This is our favorite tool as it makes helping our team cover shifts extremely easy and painless. On the flip side it also makes staff who want more hours be able to find what is available in real time.

Incentivized

• When I Work allowed me to color-code each employee's schedule.
• When I Work allowed me to show who was "off" during what time of day. This was essential for morale, as our event included 16-18 hour days, and I wanted to show that everyone had down time each day.

Incentivized

• Clocking In and out can be a little slow. It takes longer to clock in then our previous method. Before we just had a card you swiped and it would clock you in. Took 2 seconds. Now with the Hotschdules method we use it take 30 seconds or so. Not a huge issue but it can add up if you have one computer and a line of employees waiting to clock in.
• Time Cards. It does not allow you to view someones current time until the "punch" has ended. If the manager would like to check what time the employee clocked in/out from lunch they have to wait until the employee has clocked out for the day before the record is generated. As a shift lead you may send and employee to lunch but forget to note what time you sent them. Awhile passes and you feel like they should be back by now, so you want to go in and see what time they left for lunch but it does not show you that punch record because the employee is still "clocked in" they are just on their "Meal Break"
• The ability to customize the restrictions for Clocking in and out. You can set it up so that employees can only clock in from a specific location, however if you have a manager who is allowed to work from home they would not be able to clock in without being at the same location as set in the software. It would be nice to see it able to be customized per user.

Incentivized

• You cannot view inactive employees on the app.
• When pulling up the schedule on the app, it defaults to Tuesday when the screen is done loading.
• If you pull up an individual's schedule it removes your default settings. For example, I have mine set to just my store, but if I need to see an employee's schedule it resets those defaults. You're always looking at the last schedule you pulled up.

Incentivized

Ease of use, efficiently creating and posting staff schedules.

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It's a powerful tool for employee management and intuitive to use.

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6 Years of Experience provides me the insight on the upgrades and changes that HotSchedules has done to improve the experience of its users. There are so many features that we still have not started or used to the fullest, but we believe that we are currently getting a strong value out of the money that is paid for this product.

Incentivized

While it's one of the better apps, my only complaint is the icon layout of the dash; mouseover sometimes doesn't work for my system.

Incentivized

On rare occasions a phone call has been required to find the solution to a problem, the HotSchedules response staff have been helpful, courteous, and genuinely seem to care for their clients and take pride in what they do. The consistent development and fine tuning of the platform, interface, and mobile environment shows that this is not a program full of people who rest on their laurels.

Incentivized

Every time I contact When I Work staff with an issue, someone is there with a quick solution to my problem. I love the chat feature. I can continue to work on other things while the When I Work representative assists me.

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Make certain your team knows how to turn off alerts and utilise the system.

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I have not used any other Scheduling software for employees. As a campground manager in the summer season, we are using campground master for reservations. it is very similar in process to employee scheduling. the ability to the user of that program to set up their own parameters for time and reservations is something that would benefit the employee scheduling software.

Incentivized

When I Work seemed a bit easier to implement for our team and employees. When I Work had all the things we needed without a lot of the bells and whistles that we wouldn't really utilize. When I Work was also a bit more affordable for our budget. Overall, it was the better choice.

Incentivized

• Saving time on scheduling means our managers can focus more on guest experience, managing the floor and other areas that contribute to the success of our business.

Incentivized

• Has cut down on the time I spend scheduling.
• Makes estimating payroll simple.
• Is convenient for staff to use because they can utilize it on their own device.
• Allows for messaging as well, which helps get the word out about numerous things, not just scheduling issues.

Incentivized