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HotSchedules

HotSchedules

Overview

What is HotSchedules?

HotSchedules is a cloud-based scheduling, labor and communication management software solution serving the restaurant and hospitality industry.According to the vendor, key benefits include:Build & Communicate SchedulesThe scheduling and labor management software reduces the time it takes managers to create and…

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

HotSchedules has become a reliable solution for businesses in various industries, including restaurants, amusement parks, resorts, and …
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HotSchedules

9 out of 10
January 27, 2020
Incentivized
HotSchedules is used across both our stores for scheduling and employee management. Employees are able to update when they want to work …
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HotSchedules review

7 out of 10
February 02, 2018
Incentivized
HotSchedules has given our company a chance to manage labor across the organization and the capability to compare labor strategies with …
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Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

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Pricing

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What is HotSchedules?

HotSchedules is a cloud-based scheduling, labor and communication management software solution serving the restaurant and hospitality industry. According to the vendor, key benefits include: Build & Communicate Schedules The scheduling and labor management…

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Alternatives Pricing

What is 7shifts?

7shifts is a restaurant workforce and scheduling management application, which also features collaboration features, from the Canadian company of the same name.

What is Lightspeed Restaurant?

The Lightspeed Restaurant POS, from Lightspeed in Montreal, is a restaurant POS and management system designed to enable users to sync the user's menu with major food delivery apps, manage all orders and and reach new customers.

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Product Demos

HotSchedules Demo: The Employee Experience

YouTube

HotSchedules Demo: Creating a New Schedule

YouTube

Demo of Red Book Keep

YouTube

HotSchedules Demo: Navigating the Schedule

YouTube

HotSchedules Demo: Employee Shift Release & Pick-Up

YouTube

HotSchedules Demo: Submitting Time-Off Requests

YouTube
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Product Details

What is HotSchedules?

HotSchedules is a cloud-based scheduling, labor and communication management software solution serving the restaurant and hospitality industry.

According to the vendor, key benefits include:

Build & Communicate Schedules

The scheduling and labor management software reduces the time it takes managers to create and communicate schedules. All scheduling and employee information is stored in one central location, so managers have access to time-off requests, availability, skill level, and certification compliance.

Work Schedule App

The HotSchedules mobile app lets employees check their schedule, request time off, swap shifts, manage availability, and send messages. All shift requests require a manager's approval.

Forecasting and Reporting

When integrated with the POS, the tool pulls time and attendance, sales and guest data into the system. The forecasting engine shows past sales trends, which makes it possible to build schedules with the right amount of labor. There are also over 40 reports.

Multi-Unit Store View

The Above Store Console provides reporting and visibility across stores, anywhere and at any time. It can be configured by region, state, country.

Bilingual App & Support

The mobile app is available in English & Spanish. Employees can call into the AVS or Customer Support Center to get their schedule in English or Spanish - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

HotSchedules Features

  • Supported: Online Scheduler
  • Supported: Time-Off and Availbility
  • Supported: Work Schedule Mobile App
  • Supported: Scheduling Templates
  • Supported: Employee/Staff Communication
  • Supported: Sales and Labor
  • Supported: Forecasting Engine
  • Supported: Reporting
  • Supported: Point-of-Sale Integration
  • Supported: Centralized Communication
  • Supported: SMS Messaging

HotSchedules Screenshots

Screenshot of Time-Off, Availability, Employee Hours, Sales Volume are all available in the scheduler.Screenshot of Employees are able to swap and pick-up shifts from the HotSchedules Mobile App. All shift changes or requests require a manager's approval.Screenshot of Managers and employees can communicate with each other from the mobile and web apps - from anywhere and at anytime.Screenshot of Employees can submit a time-off, request - paid, or unpaid - and can request to work or request off right from the mobile app.Screenshot of Managers can view sales and labor data from their phone.

HotSchedules Video

HotSchedules Competitors

HotSchedules Technical Details

Deployment TypesSoftware as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsUnspecified
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Mobile Web
Supported LanguagesEnglish, Spanish

Frequently Asked Questions

When I Work and ScheduleFly are common alternatives for HotSchedules.

Reviewers rate Usability and Support Rating highest, with a score of 8.9.

The most common users of HotSchedules are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(232)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

HotSchedules has become a reliable solution for businesses in various industries, including restaurants, amusement parks, resorts, and retail establishments. Users have reported significant time savings and improved efficiency in scheduling processes. For example, a restaurant manager praises HotSchedules for reducing their scheduling time from over 3 hours to just 30 minutes per week. This software enables employees to cover their own shifts with approval, allowing for better shift management and flexibility. It facilitates communication among team members, ensuring constant checking and trading of shifts in an amusement park setting. Multiple departments at a resort rely on the platform to handle last-minute schedule changes, call-offs, and requests for added shifts.

HotSchedules assists food and beverage departments by providing easy access to availability, time off requests, and labor forecasting. This improves communication between staff and management. The software's user-friendly interface allows for generating and posting weekly schedules effortlessly. It also serves as a means of communication with staff members across multiple locations within a restaurant group.

Moreover, HotSchedules Train formerly Schoox is utilized for employee orientation and training purposes. The software not only helps with controlling labor costs but also offers features like sales forecasting and labor cost analysis. Across organizations, HotSchedules proves valuable by assisting in proper staffing needs and managing labor expenses effectively. In retail settings, the product streamlines employee scheduling while enabling them to view their schedules easily and make shift swaps when necessary.

In conclusion, HotSchedules is highly regarded for its ability to save time, improve communication, increase flexibility in scheduling processes, and provide various features that benefit different departments within organizations. Its broad range of applications makes it suitable for businesses of all sizes across multiple industries.

Users highly recommend signing up for HotSchedules and getting familiar with the application. They also suggest using the convenient mobile app and setting up email notifications for easy access to schedules and efficient shift swapping. Additionally, users highly recommend HotSchedules as a reliable solution for scheduling needs in various work environments. Overall, they find HotSchedules to be a valuable tool for controlling expenses, allocating labor, improving communication, and making positive changes within the service industry.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 167)
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Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use this software to schedule all hourly employees at all locations, and manage labor expenses.
  • If someone worked for a restaurant before, they may already be familiar.
  • Fairly easy to use.
  • Customer support is terrible in terms of response... +1 month of cases to be resolved.
  • Impossible to get in touch with a live person.
HotSchedules will work for you if you use at as a very basic scheduling software. If you have any issues with the system, getting live support is near impossible. I would highly advise to avoid this software.
Penelope Brown | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
With HotSchedules it has been possible to maintain clear communication throughout the company since you can manage the available shifts without requesting it in a book and update the availability on paper. With this platform you can forget about the difficult paperwork since it allows you to do these things without having to manually update the availability of employees. HotSchedules has drastically reduced all the complications that arose in the company regarding the schedule that was received and the availability of each shift, allowing us to receive our schedules through the HotSchedules platform without having to go to a company board and check shift availability.
  • It is easy to maintain communication with the personnel and thus be able to carry out a correct shift programming.
  • It is very simple to be able to choose what time it is and to be able to change it whenever you want without the need to inform or fill out extensive paperwork.
  • I love the mobile application, it allows me to be aware of notifications of any schedule availability or when I have a message in my inbox.
  • Its platform is simple to use and you can manage shifts quickly or make a copy of existing schedules.
  • It is possible to be able to exchange shifts or release shifts without any problem, thus being able to have more freedom when deciding when to work.
  • It has a slightly high cost and you also have to pay additionally if you want to obtain certain necessary characteristics.
  • I still do not understand why the mobile application has a cost apart from the main HotSchedules, since if we are already paying for a product it should be complete. This is extremely annoying since not all employees can use the application as they refuse to overpay.
  • Sometimes the website tends to get slow no matter the speed of the internet connection, it is a bit annoying.
I recommend it because it drastically reduces the time it takes to be able to distribute a shift, it is better when employees can select and exchange them when they want without having to drag the staff to notify their work hours. Communication within this platform allows for a clearer and more organized environment since it allows all staff to be in communication and thus also be more flexible with schedules.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It was across the board. It was nice for the staff - they could pick up and give up their shifts on their phones so that they did not have to come into work. They also knew when there were shifts to be picked up for big parties. It stopped them from clocking in before their shift started.
  • Online/cell phone shift changes.
  • Automatic updates.
  • Linking schedule with POS system.
  • Printouts for daily schedules, older managers had difficulty reading who picked up for who, if the shifts were all picked up.
  • Could have more ease of use for the older generation.
It is well suited for the restaurant where schedules are always changing. It would not be useful with a business with mainly set schedules. It would also work well with people in different locations so that everyone could easily access it.
January 27, 2020

HotSchedules

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules is used across both our stores for scheduling and employee management. Employees are able to update when they want to work and hours etc. Management can then approve or deny those requests and schedule as needed. HotSchedules puts the employees in charge of their schedule and shifts so that management can focus on other things.
  • Scheduling.
  • Time off.
  • Labor management.
  • Pick-up shifts AI management.
HotSchedules is great for managing hours, shifts, employee schedules, time off, etc. Leaders at our stores have had options of moving to other tools, but have continued to stay with HotSchedules at it works the best it seems. It is hard sometimes with shift pick-up as leadership has to approve every drop and pick-up. I wish drops were automatically approved, and then there was an algorithm when picking up shifts was approved based on duration of employment and age (so minors can't).
Kate Knight | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The organization I used to work for utilized HotSchedules for scheduling servers and hosts. It was how we traded shifts, received weekly schedules, and called off shifts. It made it so we didn't have to come in weekly (even on our off days) to see our schedule for the following week.
  • Easy to read and easy access to schedules at any time.
  • Ability to quickly change availability.
  • Notification overload - Too many notifications.
  • Support response time is slow when problems do arise.
We did not like using the HotSchedules application for the pure reason that it allowed people to too easily switch schedules without approval and the schedule was in a constant state of change, causing confusion for those who were trying to figure out who was supposed to staff the building. I think there should be a limit of schedule switches per day.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules is the premier labor management and communication platform for the hospitality industry. There's no need to look further, competing platforms do not hold a candle to the restaurant-centric approach HotSchedules takes when designing the functionality and UI for their applications. They're one of the top paid apps in the App Store for a reason.
  • Mobile Application
  • Restaurant Centric Technology
  • Great UI
  • Intuitive Features
  • Customer Support
  • Lack of scheduled/automated reporting
  • POS integration version management
  • Limited ability to access own data
Well suited for multi-unit brands in the restaurant industry. Not well-suited for unit brands or non-hospitality related retail.
Nathan Miller | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is being utilized in my organization for scheduling and forecasting. It addresses any holes in scheduling and cost analysis.
  • Makes everything paperless.
  • Very user-friendly for back office and staff.
  • Can really dive deep into data and sales and what you are spending.
  • The schedule view was much better before it changed.
Well suited for any staff especially restaurants or larger than 20 staff members. Makes all digital- Notes, messages and goes right to their email or phone which ever they have set up.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Each of our full-service locations utilizes HotSchedules as a tool to minimize labor expense and a communication tool with our team.
  • Communication with team members
  • Enforce time and attendance with POS to control labor expense
  • Communication among managers
  • Tracking staff performance issues
  • Keeping up permits
  • Does not tie labor/schedule postings to budget; too easy for managers to override
  • Messages are not easily accessible
  • Above store reporting tools are outdated; should be able to schedule reports
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.
Abe Ruiz | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Being used across the whole organization. Helps us address scheduling, labor controls, and communication.
  • ABF reporting
  • Ease of use for all people for scheduling/swapping shifts
  • Tie-in to Schoox training platform
  • Would like to see quicker response times to issues that arise
  • Have had trouble with pre-formatted reports not coming through properly
Well suited for understanding and managing better your labor controls and schedules.
Shannon Scally | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules is used by our restaurant operators for scheduling forecasting, communication and training.
  • Communication
  • Integration
  • Support
  • The are many add ons it is hard to know what you're missing out on.
  • Support response time is at times long.
  • Activity based scheduling should be part of standard features.
Amazing communication tool for managers and team members.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules is used by our operations team department, including all of our part-time staff. Some of our business leaders have an account to simply utilize the messaging tools that HotSchedules offers, though it is not used for scheduling purposes or finance purposes seeing as they have a more gridline schedule. HotSchedules has helped our team remain connected through the messaging tool, updates, and changes to their schedules, and keeping track of their attendance. It has also streamlined the time keeping process as we utilize the time and attendance module of HotSchedules and utilize their time clock feature for our team to clock in and out. Given it's a webpage it gives the freedom to move the clock to where our team meetings to start the work day are.
  • 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.
  • Breaks and Meals: On the time clock we are limited with meals and breaks. If someone has a 4-7.99 hour shift we give them a 20 minute paid rest break. If the employee reaches an 8-hour shift they are given 2 15 minute rest breaks and a 30-minute meal. Meal and Break set up cannot understand changing the breaks. We had it set up to add a 10-minute break to equal 30 minutes when you reach the 8th hour, however, the time clock when they click "Start Break" still gives them 20 minutes on both breaks leaving confusion.
  • The Availability module has a few issues we have noticed. When a new employee is set to start a new availability it does not change in the scheduler. The Scheduler still holds the old staff members availability making it challenging for the scheduler to schedule appropriately.
  • We believe a late or missed schedule report should be available to print easier reports for time and attendance tracking. Currently having to go through each staff's punch is not as smooth as it could be. This seems to be a simple addition to a great arsenal of reports.
HotSchedules can be implemented in any organization that has to staff a store with varying hours. I have recommended this to my colleague who has 8 employees, yet he has seen great results with the shift swaps and availability tracking/time off requests. I do wish we could see some more attention to general staffing and training VS. the heavy emphasis on restaurant businesses. It feels HotSchedules has grown into many more areas and should work away from marketing so directly to restaurant businesses. Some training programs for other business would be a welcome sight.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules is currently being using across our whole organization. We use HotSchedules for our employee scheduling as well as our time cards. Before Hotschedules we were using Excel spreadsheets to schedule employees, this is by far a better system. It allows for employees to take the responsibility into their own hands. It allows for the employee to set their availability on their own without a drawn-out process of contacting a manager and sitting down with them. It allows the employee to find coverage for their shift, again without intervention from a manager beyond approving the shift change through HotSchedules. The employee can also use it to request time off before we were using a Google Form that the manager would have to check for new submissions and move the information over to their Excel spreadsheet schedule.
  • All the information needed for your employees can all be found in one place. From the availability of an employee to their pay rate to their phone number. It's all just a click away. Before HotSchedules all of this information was kept in different places and the managers would need to open several documents and contact lists to find what they were looking for about a single employee.
  • Control over how indepth you use the product. The possibilities of this service are seemingly endless. However if you are solely looking for a specific feature HotSchedules offers you have the ability to soley use that feature. HotSchedules can simply schedule, or it can automatically schedule, or you can assign a specific job to a specific person on a specific day. For us, we have employees who are doing a specific job/task one week and then they are needed for a different job/task the next week. HotSchedules allowed us to narrow down our options starting with department, moving to location, moving down to the job they would be preforming for that scheduled day.
  • The ease of changing/releasing shifts. If an employee wants more hours they can go in and select shifts that are up for grabs or request to work on a specific day at a specific time. The opposite is also true. If an employee is worried they will have too many hours that week, they can release their shift and put it up for grabs by a different employee. And of course, all of this is fairly customizable to what you want your employees to have the ability to do, with or without your intervention and approval. In our case, if a shift lead releases a shift we only want other shift leads to be able to pick up the shift. HotSchedules allows us to do just that.
  • 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.
It is very well suited for the restaurant industry, sometimes I think almost too much. If you are not in the restaurant industry it seems there are some features that you won't be able to/won't have a need to utilize. If HotSchedules can integrate into your point of sale it becomes even more useful and you can use it to analyze sales, etc.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Hot Schedules is used for all aspects of employee scheduling, and the managing of labor hours, clock punches, and shift forecasting. Hot Schedules is currently used throughout the company.
  • Copy & Paste shifts save time and help to eliminate errors when scheduling.
  • The ability to determine and calculate labor hours per employee and department
  • Easy user interface
  • I wish there was an ability to "clock-in" employees separately, As in when they arrive outside of their scheduled time. Currently, you either have to get the employee to clock-in, followed by a manager approval, or you must wait until their shift is over to adjust.
  • No ability to adjust clock-ins, while an employee is still on the clock. An employee starts a shift, manager is delayed in getting them clocked in when they arrive, requiring later adjustment.
  • Does not show reasons for managers allowing employees to clock in, when a shift isn't scheduled. I'd like to know why.
Ease of use, and ability to access from any location is best. Difficult to manage time, however, when the internet is down, or the service is interrupted.
February 02, 2018

HotSchedules review

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Scheduling
  • Builds templates well.
  • Easy drag and drop scheduling.
  • Allows online viewing and shift change management by team members.
  • Many labor strategy reports to help dial in schedule template efficiency.
  • Good integration with POS and time management systems.
  • Report printing can become an issue.
  • Building budgets can be hard and needs much tutoring to utilize for maximum efficiency.
Well suited for the restaurant environment. With so many part time employees and team members in college, quick changes in their schedules and needs happen often and Hotschedules handles that well.
February 02, 2018

HotSchedules review

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules has given our company a chance to manage labor across the organization and the capability to compare labor strategies with other leaders In the company. The internet based format allows leaders to complete task while away from the operations.
  • User friendly
  • Reporting
  • Customization
  • Terminated employees info
  • Request days off Mgr has overwrite ability
Great format for food beverages facilities with multiple stations
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Used for scheduling, labor reports, requests, and messaging between employees.
  • Easy to use, love the dashboard
  • User-friendly when making requests swaps or time off
  • Great tech support
  • Notes for specific employees on specific days
  • Turning off certain notifications
  • It seems to take a while to load
Messaging feature and mobile app is helpful also good for checking schedules.
Shannon Carpenter | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We previously used HotSchedules when implementing 4 shifts across our production and packaging groups. We went from 1 shift M-Th, to 2 shifts M-Th, then added 2 additional 30 hour F-Su shifts. We also used it for our warehousing and sanitation crews. We had a change in our business and started to fall away from its use. Now that we are growing again, we are reimplementing its use and will also use it for clocking in and out, as well as tracking employee training and certifications. Having the ability to print hours reports to do daily labor analysis by project as well as tracking training are both incredibly valuable and help us stay on top of costs by being able to do daily labor analysis.
  • HotSchedules tracks our labor hours and dollars. Being able to do quick labor analysis helps us make sure our pricing is in line with our estimates for clients.
  • HotSchedules tracks our employee trainings. Because we are a third party audited food manufacturing facility, we have both formal certifications (CA Food Handler Cards) and monthly trainings on subjects such as Food Safety, GMP's, Pest Control, Allergen Control, HACCP and Sanitation. Being able to have a record easily accessible for each employee to prove to our auditors and keep those employees up to date with training is invaluable as an organizational tool.
  • I find that the system of assigning jobs and rates is a little tedious, but understand the need for it.
  • I'm not familiar enough with the copy and setting the next week's schedule, but it's not necessarily hard to use.
  • The whole assigning welcome letter and with log in and password is difficult with the Spanish speakers even though you have a Spanish version.
  • Many of our employees do not have email or smart phones, so I find that HotSchedules is not as useful to them or us.
Absolutely appropriate for restaurant workers. Less so for manufacturing, but it does gather the labor data effectively when everyone logs in properly.
January 29, 2018

HotSchedules Review

Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use it to schedule retail staff, communicate, and try to forecast sales for weeks ahead.
  • Graphically intuitive
  • Updating through different forms of communication
  • Covers a wide array of aspects, not just scheduling
  • Editing punches through a shift
  • Sometimes there are glitches when I am dragging shifts to a staff member.
  • Cannot access multiple windows very well, if I want to double check someone's message or availability while making the schedule I have to exit the scheduling tab to access the availability.
Good if you need a "one stop shop" for business practices, not as advanced as the scheduling system at my previous job.
January 29, 2018

HotSchedules review

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use HotSchedules for scheduling, roster reports and messaging our staff and vice versa.
  • Scheduling
  • Roster reports
  • Messaging
  • Layout of site
  • Going back without having to repost
  • Deleting denied requests
Mobile app is great, sometimes it has loading issues but this may be due to internet provider
January 26, 2018

HotSchedules: Why?

Score 3 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HS is used across our entire company, by all who work here. I think that the program has good intentions behind it, but those ideas do not translate well into the actual product, in my opinion.
  • HS is useful for keeping track of hours
  • HS is probably the best platform for this type of service
  • Users are able to see their hours in an easy to read format
  • The most frustrating thing about this platform is how long it takes to clock in for the workday. I have to log in to the portal, which takes me to a second screen that I have to log in to, which takes me to a THIRD screen to select that I want to clock in / out. I then have to wait to make sure that it actually clocks me in before walking off, otherwise, I have issues with my hours at the end of the week. On top of these things, it takes a long time for the system to get through the four screens that you have to deal with to start or finish your workday. We've tried to streamline the process associated with this by moving to a pin number, but that has not been effective.
  • I cannot believe that you have to pay for the application. No other platform that I have seen makes the company pay for using the service AND THEN passes off the price of the app to either the company or the individual user. On top of the money aspect, all of your apps are named "HotSchedules," leaving a high probability that a user will buy a three dollar app that they have no use for. The app is also terribly created, often freezing or downright not working. I deleted it very quickly, almost as quickly as the buyers' remorse.
Takes forever to clock in, please see my detailed explanation on previous question.
January 26, 2018

Great Program!

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use HotScedules for employee schedules and maintaining time off throughout the business.
  • Well Organized
  • Easy Setup
  • A better layout for the employees to view their schedule
HotSchedules is perfect for contacting every employee through the inbox rather than searching their emails on a different site.
January 25, 2018

HotSchedules Review

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
HotSchedules is used by our whole organization. The primary reason we use it is to provide employees a reliable and effective way to see when they are scheduled to work. It also is useful in that it allows employees to add their availability as well as request days off. This is extremely useful when it comes to scheduling employees to suit there wants/needs.
  • Provides employees with an effective mobile application to view their schedule whenever they need to.
  • Allows employees to add availability and request days off.
  • Allows other employees to see other co-workers schedules so they know who they work with.
  • Allow companies to set up different departments within hotschedules, without constantly having to give employees different hotschedule logins.
Hotschedules is well suited when it comes to providing employees a reliable way to get their schedules. It also helps with holding employees accountable for coming to work.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The entire organization uses the product to manage ski area employees. I used it in my department. It addresses the employees ability to know their schedule as well as trade shifts and communicate with the manager. it did help keep folks accountable to their schedule and lets me deal with other issues that before we used the app, had to be addressed by me to find replacements for shifts.
  • It helps with schedule shift trades and publishes the entire schedule for each day so folks can tell who is on shift and when. It enables a staff of mostly teenagers to be able to contact me and help them with any issue regarding scheduling and HR issues they needed to approach me with from time to time.
  • It enables the manager to force the employee to be responsible for their attendance.
  • Saves time in dealing with shift exchanges and various requests dealing with time off and so on.
  • It is extremely difficult to use for my weekly set up. because our shift times differed from the other two resorts that used it, the time slots for when shifts started were different due to different operating hours. Because I had to put in different availability times I had to drag and drop each employee (73 of them) on to the shifts. Because they were not seen as available the program would not show them in the drop down to easily select them as being available for the highlighted shift box
  • If I was able to set up my own shift start times for a.m. and p.m and those parameters for myself versus having to have our rep be contacted to see if the change was possible. On our end, the call never was made and I had to spend a lot of time dragging and dropping each week. I did re-use schedules but with so many folks needing different days each week it ended up being less of a shift change and hey you forgot ..... fight that I dragged and dropped each week.
  • I think simplifying the system for availibilties and letting the user set them up themselves (like campground master reservation system) would have been great. the time I spent each week would have come from the initial set up phase and would have saved time down the road.
It seems well suited for the employee user end, so they can work with their manager and be accountable for their schedule. I think you can better adapt it to non-restaurant settings by increasing the ease of use for the scheduler with lots of employees. The difficulty is for the person making the schedule if it has been adapted to a different setting. Universal shift parameters which can be set up by each scheduler on their own, without having to have the app provider make the changes on their end to meet each need is what would make it really great to use. I did like it, it really helped me save time and put shift trades back on the person who was working the shift.
January 25, 2018

HotSchedules Review

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
My company uses HotSchedules for scheduling all of our staff at all of our locations. As well as tracking our revenue and labor percentages via integration with the micros system that we use in our stores.
  • Makes scheduling easy and simple
  • Integrates well with other systems
  • Can easily be used to set up sales forecasts based on previous weeks and or years
  • Deleting old employees is more complicated then it needs to be.
  • Often times it won't allow employees to log on, saying it has an error
It's great for scheduling large amounts of staff.
January 24, 2018

Amazing HotSchedules

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use HotSchedules to schedule employees; follow up with changes in schedules and SMS employees, and for payroll budget accordingly with sales forecasts.
  • Payroll Budget
  • Sales Forcast
  • Cash handling
  • Sales target
  • HotSchedules App
  • Missed punch alert to employees
  • Blocking employees for a full 30-min break
  • When employees clock in late the manager should be notified via SMS
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