Creating a great fan experience

HOW TO MANAGE THE TEAMS BEHIND THE TEAM FOR A GREAT FAN EXPERIENCE

Parking. Ticketing. Security. Concessions. There are so many people that can make or break a gameday experience for your fans—all before the players even leave the locker room.

So how do you get the game plan right? How do you make sure you have enough people on the schedule? Especially these days when it feels like hiring and managing workers is an uphill battle.

THE EASIEST WAY TO MANAGE GAMEDAY COVERAGE

There’s so much that can affect your employee schedule on any given day. Changing vaccination mandates. Health and safety concerns. The labor shortage. But the good news is there’s a way to make it much easier for your staff to manage.

The answer is workforce management— an integrated set of tools and processes that help you ensure the right people are in the right role, at the right time. This concept originally got its start in call centers, with the goal of helping managers identify the best number of hourly workers to keep up with call demand.

Using a workforce management approach allows you to increase efficiency both across your venue and at the individual employee level. It’s about finding balance with all your moving, human variables and combining them in a way that produces the best result. Essentially, you’re aligning all the right factors in place for the most optimal outcome.

How are you set up to manage the labour shortage?

In today’s tight labor market, just hiring more workers isn’t enough. Once they’re in the door, you have to convince them to stay. How can you make scheduling a competitive advantage to attract and retain great workers? The best way to make sure you have enough workers is to offer them the benefits they want. And flexible scheduling is at the top of their list right now.

Fortunately, the bulk of workforce management comes down to scheduling. It helps you set up shifts to be fair to employees while maintaining the right staffing levels, all while keeping your workers informed and engaged.

For anyone who’s ever built a schedule from the ground up, you know how time-consuming it can be. Workforce management can automate the scheduling process to take all variables into account (vacations, availability, demand) and produce an optimal schedule that employees can also weigh in on. Ideally, using workforce management will help keep things from falling into the cracks and make it easier to cover sick days or no-shows, so that you aren’t ever left without enough resources.

HANDLE LAST-MINUTE EMPLOYEE SCHEDULING CHANGES LIKE A PRO]

Reduce operational headache with flexible scheduling

Flexible scheduling has the amazing ability to improve employee engagement and make dealing with a constantly fluctuating season much less stressful. The best part about flexible selfscheduling is that it’s a win-win for management and workers.

Instead of having your staff spend hours hammering out a schedule down to every detail, they’ll save time (and frustration) by only building a framework. Flexible scheduling lets employees choose the shifts they want on that framework.

Employees can request shifts, and they can swap shifts with each other. This means they have control over their worklife balance, you have fewer no-shows, and employees are more engaged because they know they have some ownership in their work schedule.

So how can you get started with selfscheduling?

First, choose the tools you will use. In the past, paper sign-up sheets were used,

but if someone wasn’t working the day the shifts were posted, they either had to come in on your day off or get stuck with shifts no one wanted. Apps like When I Work make it simple for you to notify employees the shifts are available. Employees can view, claim, swap shifts, and talk to each other regarding the schedule from their mobile device.

Next, determine any rules or guidelines necessary to deal with unfilled shifts, employees who request back-to-back shifts, or even rewards that might incentivize unpopular shifts.

If you’re not ready to dive completely into self schedule, you can start small. Offer a flexible schedule on Fridays, maybe, and see how that works.

And most importantly, pay attention to what’s happening near and far. Talk to your team. Ask them how it’s working. Look for any trouble spots, like employees gaming the system or shifts that no one wants.

The impacts of workforce management in the sports industry

When all of the variables of your venue work together, not against each other, you’ll be able to create an efficient provision of labor that matches labor demand. This can be tricky to do manually, which is why workforce management often comes in the form of software or a suite of tools that combine data from multiple sources within your business.

Using a workforce management solution, you’ll be able to automatically integrate patterns from your employee schedule and time clock to match your budget and forecast. Finding the right solution can feel overwhelming, but don’t worry. When I Work has you covered with a fast, flexible solution. You can even be up and running in days, not weeks. Our workforce management solutions are field proven to help you overcome your scheduling challenges:

• 45% of workplaces use self-scheduling weekly • 61% of shifts are covered or confirmed in 24 hours • 85% weekly engagement by employees and employer

When I Work is the elite sport industry’s Official Workforce Management Partner and the leading employee scheduling and time tracking system that supports the best-known sports teams in the USA. In partnership with Premier Sports Network, When I Work helps the teams behind the team, so you know the fans are enjoying a great experience watching their favorite players in action. concessions, parking, COVID testing, ticketing, and more—When I Work is the system that has everything you need to schedule more efficiently, track employee time, and communicate with your team. Plus, When I Work is perfect for both your team and your facility partners who manage concerts and events all year round.

Don’t wait until you’re scrambling to get the schedule made for the next home game. Join more than 200,000 shift-based workplaces running on When I Work.

Getting started is easy! Just drop us a line at partnersales@wheniwork.com and we’ll be happy to show you how When I Work can help your team save time, reduce no-shows, and increase employee engagement.

Teams and businesses that use When I Work see great results, including:

• 20% decrease in labor costs • 8X time saved on scheduling • 3X reduction in employee no-shows

Choose When I Work to:

• Increase operational agility, even with changing restrictions • Plan staffing and pivot quickly on demand • Facilitate communication between different departments and team members • Give employees a reason to engage with the schedule and be more accountable • Manage COVID concerns and staff eligibility

No matter what departments you need covered—security,

About When I Work

When I Work is a market leader in hourly workforce management that provides businesses a fully integrated scheduling, time tracking, and team messaging solution. Trusted by over 200,000 workplaces worldwide, When I Work ensures reliable shift coverage, engaged employees, and faster decisions— giving everybody what they need to be successful at work. ◆

For more information, visit www.wheniwork.com