Does your department struggle with scheduling of EMT’s, Paramedics and Firefighters? Is overtime a problem or even a concern? Does it take too much time to create and manage your schedules, such as filling open shifts, reviewing time off requests or handling shift trades?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above then the good new is… you're not alone! VAIRKKO has been assisting Fire Departments and EMS Agencies with their scheduling and workforce management needs for years. Within this article we will discuss some of the benefits of using an online scheduling system as well as some of the benefits of VAIRKKO's Enterprise Scheduling software.
The Problem:
Managing EMT, Paramedic and Firefighter's schedules is time consuming and is typically handled by several different managers/shift supervisors within a department. This is difficult when done using a single excel spreadsheet or even within multiple excel spreadsheets. While spreadsheets are great for knowing who is scheduled to work, they often fall short when it comes to tracking historical schedule changes such as approved time off or approved shift trades. Additional problems exist with spreadsheets as there is little accountability as to who is making changes to the Fire or EMS Department schedules, what those changes where, when they were made and who was affected by the change. This leads to employees not being aware of changes and managers fighting each other when filling open shifts and moving employees around the schedule.
The Solution:
Online Scheduling for Fire Departments and EMS Agencies will fix many of the issues and even resolve some of the issues you may not even be aware that you have. With web-based software your EMTs, Paramedics and Firefighters will have 24/7 access to their work schedules. With staff able to access their schedules from their cell phone and tablets, this aids in the convenience of staff always knowing where and when they are scheduled to work. Web-based Scheduling also does a great job in tracking schedule changes with detailed audit logs as well as allows many shift supervisors or agency/department schedulers to work on the schedule at the same time without the worry of over-writing each other's changes.
Some of the Key Benefits and Features of VAIRKKO's Enterprise Scheduling System:
VAIRKKO's Scheduling Software is specifically tailored to meet the unique needs of their industries. Built into the platform, you will find enterprise level features, tools and settings to streamline your Fire Department and EMS Agency scheduling.
- Online Schedules: Allows your staff to view their own schedules as well as a company roster online from any device connected to the internet. Built for mobile devices, your staff may request time off, initiate shift trades, bid on open shifts and much more from their iPhone, Android or any other small screen device.
- Time Off/Leave Requests: Easily allows staff to submit their time off request for review and approval. With the ability to request partial shifts along with custom time off types such as Paid Time Off, Vacation Time, Sick Time, Personal Leave or anything else your department may allow the staff to request. Once the request is approved, our software will automatically deduct the employee's time off from their bank, remove the employee from the schedule and "page out" the open shift to other candidates.
- Time Off Accruals/Banks: All of our Toolkits include the ability to manage your employees' time off bank hours quickly and easily. No more having to upload excel documents to reconcile bank hours, just simply set the employees earning per pay period, month or year and let the system do the math and keep the bank current.
- Availability: Easily fill the holes in your schedule with the submitted availability of your part time staff. With system reminders which will notify staff it's time to submit their availability and online access to submit their availability, you'll never be short a person to work again.
- Shift Trades/Swaps: Easily allow employees to trade or swap their shifts online 24/7. With the ability to AUTO APPROVE shift trades and restrict trade requests to same pay week and/or pay period you will be in control at all times. If you prefer to manually approve your trades, once a trade is approved the system automatically sends out notifications to each employee and the system then swaps the employees on the schedule.
- Shift Bidding: One of our most popular features. The Shift Bidding system allows your staff members to view all open EMT, Paramedic and Firefighter shifts as well as any other type of open shifts on the schedule. With the Instant Fill feature, your employees can "self-schedule" by picking and choosing which shifts they want to work. Lastly, with an easy configuration wizard you may configure the system to "Auto Award" shifts to bidders based on your own pre-defined rules.
- Schedule Sync: Employees may elect to sync their EMS Toolkit, Fire Toolkit or Police Toolkit schedules to their personal calendars such as GMail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Outlook, Apple or any other online calendar system.
- Shift Confirmations: Receive a confirmation from your staff anytime their shifts change. Confirmations can be made via text message and email. This confirms the employee is aware of their schedule change, and logs the confirmation for later review.
- Third Party Riders: Track unlimited student ride-alongs on the department schedules
- Eligibility Checks: Ensure that your staff are eligible to work each one of their shifts through the following eligibility rules:
- Over Time Hours: Set the limit on overtime your employees can work
- Maximum Consecutive Work Hours: Ensures your staff members do not work too many hours in a row without a break in between
- Valid Certifications: Checks your employees certifications against the required certifications to work their shifts
- Double Booking: Ensures that employees are not added to the schedule twice for the same time
- Scheduling Probation: Ensures employees are allowed to perform certain schedule options such as bidding, trading, etc.
- Weekly/Monthly Work Limits: Ensures the employee has not exceeded their set amount of work hours by week or by month
- Rank Verification: Ensures EMTs aren't bidding on Paramedic shifts, etc.
Related features include our Payroll/Time and Attendance feature, which incorporates Time Clocks, Time Cards and Payroll Export capabilities.
Most importantly, when you combine all of these innovative and powerful tools within a single online schedule system, you will absolutely reduce labor cost, increase efficiency and improve staff moral!
For more information on VAIRKKO's Enterprise Scheduling System contact us today at 888-290-0671.