.svg)
Missed shifts can mean financial trouble for your hourly workers. A 2019 study of more than 1,000 U.S.-based hourly employees and employers found that missing a single scheduled shift meant up to 49% of employees not being able to afford basic living expenses like utilities, groceries and rent.
In addition to missed shifts, scheduling problems also lead hourly workers to feel dissatisfaction with their jobs. The same survey reported that 71% of hourly workers are dissatisfied with their jobs and cite unstable schedules and trouble reaching their managers as reasons for wanting to leave their jobs.
The security industry already faces high turnover, so these feelings could mean disaster for your employee retention and bottom line. So how do you ensure employees feel in control of their shifts and find stability with their scheduling? By providing your hourly employees with a self-scheduling option within your security guard scheduling tools.
How Do Security Guard Companies Prevent Missed Shifts and No-Shows?
Security guard companies prevent missed shifts and no-shows by publishing stable schedules well in advance, confirming shifts with officers ahead of time, letting guards claim, post or swap shifts through a self-scheduling tool instead of skipping them and using real-time attendance alerts so supervisors know right away when a post is uncovered. Pairing these steps with backup coverage plans keeps every post staffed.
What is Self-Scheduling?
Self-scheduling allows your employees to do things like claim open shifts, post shifts for others to claim or swap shifts with other employees. For example, when one of your guards has a shift they need to change because of an outside conflict, they can take care of it without waiting on a manager to reschedule the shift, or potentially miss the shift because they don’t feel they have any other options. In turn, this also saves your management time and money when they don't have to handle one-off and individual schedule changes.
Empower Your Employees
Employees feel empowered when they can not only take control of their own schedules but are encouraged to do so by their managers.
Remember the 71% of hourly workers are dissatisfied with their jobs stat? Well, studies also show when an employee feels empowered by management, their routine job-task performance improves and their participation in non-mandatory work functions increases.
With security companies competing for smaller pools of qualified applicants, keeping your already-trained workforce engaged and satisfied is important to your business success. Learn more about security guard software built for contract security.
Find the Right Self-Service Technology
There are plenty of technology platforms on the market that handle employee self-scheduling, but for a specialized industry like security, look for an option built to meet your business’s unique security guard scheduling challenges.
Industry-specific software built for security businesses will have additional features like execution on necessary compliance items and automatic notifications when schedule changes occur. It should also offer exception testing for all actions, so employees are prevented from claiming or swapping shifts that would cause compliance issues or overtime requirements, ensuring schedule coverage is accurate and profitable for your business.
While it may seem impossible to keep 100% of your security workforce happy all the time, improving your overall workforce satisfaction is possible with the right tools and processes. To read more on streamlining processes with security guard scheduling tools, download our quick guide to reducing overtime in the security industry.
What Is the Best Way to Fill Open Security Shifts Quickly?
The fastest way to fill an open security shift is to post it to qualified officers right away and let them claim it from their phones. Filter the open shift so only officers with the right licenses, site training and available hours can see it. Then check that the assignment will not trigger overtime before you confirm it. Keep a backup list for each site so supervisors know who to call first when a guard calls off.
How Should You Schedule Rotating Shifts and Last-Minute Coverage?
Rotating shifts work best when the pattern is set weeks ahead, so officers can plan around it and managers can spot coverage gaps early. For last-minute coverage, combine open-shift posting with instant schedule-change notifications and overtime checks so a quick fix does not create a compliance or payroll problem. For a side-by-side look at tools, see our guide to the best security guard management software.
Frequently Asked Questions About Security Guard Scheduling
How do security guard companies prevent no-shows?
Publish schedules early, confirm shifts ahead of time, give guards a self-scheduling option to swap or post shifts and use real-time attendance alerts to flag uncovered posts right away.
What is self-scheduling for security guards?
Self-scheduling lets officers claim open shifts, post shifts for others to claim and swap shifts with coworkers without waiting on a manager, within rules set by the company.
How can you fill an open security shift quickly?
Post it to officers who are qualified for the site and have available hours, let them claim it from a mobile app and confirm the assignment will not cause overtime.
Can self-scheduling cause overtime or compliance issues?
It can without guardrails. Security-specific scheduling software should test every claim or swap and block any that would create compliance issues or overtime.
