BY DONNA ROGERS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
SHIFT SCHEDULING
MADE EASY Software that automates corrections workforce scheduling and payroll operations.
SCHEDULING
a corrections workforce can be a challenging and time-consuming task. Overtime, staff vacancies and labor laws are part of the myriad considerations schedulers, administrators and staff must reconcile when scheduling shifts for all employees. Because of these complexities, employing a manual scheduling system can be detrimental to both employees and employers. Staffing vacant positions daily with well people and who have seniority—especially as a pan24 CORRECTIONS FORUM • MARCH/APRIL 2020
demic is occurring—can be daunting to supervisors. Taking leave time while using a manual system could often leave employees in the dark regarding how much time that had left or if they had no time available, and causing instances of docked pay. In contrast, automated scheduling software can reduce these inconsistencies, cut back on heavy manual administrative tasks and fill open positions with senior people while reducing overtime. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
for example, in the past had been using standalone legacy and manual systems to staff 2,000 vacant custody and nursing positions daily as a result of sick calls, vacations, etc. Ensuring that overtime was allotted fairly and applied consistently based on seniority and the organization’s four collective bargaining agreements was challenging. With 34 adult institutions and two juvenile centers, each with a medical unit spread around the state, and 56,000 employees from correctional officers to medical staff, it was time consuming to get an
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