Scheduling Overview Video
Take a quick (4 minute) tour through TimeForge, and see how easy TimeForge scheduling can be for you and your business.
Get the Flash Player to see this movie.
Entries Tagged as 'employee schedules'
How can I view my schedules and time card on Facebook?
TimeForge will allow you to view schedules, messages, time cards, and more using Facebook. Of course, you can always use a web browser, such as Mobile Safari or Opera Mini, to view the TimeForge website at www.TimeForge.com
Get to the Setup Tab
First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Setup tab, or click on the Change My Settings button.
Find the Facebook link
Locate the Access TimeForge on Facebook link. Click on this link.
Login to Facebook
Sign in to Facebook with your Facebook username and password.
Enter your TimeForge Username and Password
Sign in with your TimeForge username and password (just like you would on the www.TimeForge.com website)
View the TimeForge Facebook information
Facebook displays information about your account, including your schedules, time card, and messages. Managers / supervisors will see additional information, and can see whom is clocked in at the location, as well as sales information (if configured).
Visit our TimeForge Facebook page
At the bottom of the TimeForge application, you can click on the TimeForge Employee Scheduling link to go to the TimeForge Facebook page.
The TimeForge Facebook Page
Leave us a note about what you like, or want to see improved, and Become a Fan of TimeForge on Facebook.
How can I view my schedules and time card on my cell phone?
TimeForge will allow you to view schedules, messages, time cards, and more using any phone capable of reading an RSS feed. Of course, you can always use a web browser, such as Mobile Safari or Opera Mini, to view the TimeForge website at www.TimeForge.com
However, TimeForge schedules, messages, shift swaps, and much, much more can be viewed directly on your cell phone, iPhone, Blackberry, or other non-web browser reader by using RSS feeds.
TimeForge uses RSS feeds to deliver the information directly to your cell phone, and requires that your phone be able to read both encrypted RSS feeds (over an SSL connection), as well as secured RSS feeds (which require a username and password).
Please note: Not all RSS readers are capable of doing both SSL and security.
Get to the Setup Tab
First, navigate to the “Setup” tab. From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Setup tab, or click on the Change My Settings button.
Find the RSS URL (the RSS Feed)
Locate the personal information RSS feed URL, which is located on the right hand side, and starts with:
https://www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html
Managers may have several RSS feeds, which include information on different locations / stores within the business.
Add the TimeForge data to your RSS reader – Step 1
Each RSS program is slightly different in how it requires that you add a feed. In this example, we are using Sage, a popular RSS feed reader for the Firefox web browser.
Click on the Find icon. Other RSS readers may require that you enter the URL of the RSS feed. If that is the case, enter the RSS RSS URL directly into the software. This URL is most commonly:
https://www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html
Some RSS readers (such as Viigo for the Blackberry) do support encryption, but do not support username and passwords. In some cases, these RSS readers can be coerced to support username and passwords by using a URL with the format of:
https://username:password@www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html
For example, if your username is ‘abigail@timeforge.com‘ and your password is ‘testing123‘, the URL you would enter is:
https://abigail@timeforge.com:testing123@www.TimeForge.com/Scheduler/rss.html
Please note: This step only needs to be done one time.
Add the TimeForge data to your RSS reader – Step 2
Sage, like many mobile web browsers (such as Safari and Opera) will automatically find any relevant TimeForge RSS feeds. Click on the feed (“Timeforge’s Information“), and then choose Add Feed.
These feeds have a lot of information in them, and contain information such as:
- Upcoming schedules
- Shift Swaps and Open Shifts
- Time card information
- Approved, pending, and denied requests
- Messages from other staff members and management
- And other items …
View the TimeForge RSS Feed
Sage, or any RSS reader, will show the items relevant to your TimeForge account.
View Upcoming Work Schedules
Use the TimeForge RSS feed to get upcoming schedule information directly on your cell phone, at any time, without browsing the web.
View or Send Staff Member Messages using TimeForge
Using the TimeForge RSS feed, you can easily view and send TimeForge messages.
What is a Schedule Template?
To quickly build employee schedules, many TimeForge managers rely on the TimeForge AutoScheduler and schedule forecasts, or build schedules by hand (one shift at a time). Other managers pre-build days on the schedule using collections of shifts, called templates.
Each TimeForge template contains one or more shifts, and can be used to quickly generate schedules for staff members. Each location (or store) can have many different templates (as many as are needed), and templates can be used to build new schedules.
Some examples of templates:
- Friday server / waiter template
- Monday night football template
- Summer weekend lifeguard template
- Christmas retail template
Templates can be grouped together to create Weekly Templates, for one-click schedule creation.
Employee Schedule Templates
Employee schedule templates can be built one shift at a time, or can be copied from other templates. Additionally, a template can be created from a pre-existing schedule, and if departments are enabled, each department will have individual schedule templates.
There are no limits to the number of schedule templates that can be created at a location.
Weekly Templates can be created from Daily Templates
Several schedule templates can be combined together into weekly templates, and supervisors and managers can use weekly templates to build entire schedules with a single click.
Templates can be assembled in different orders to handle labor scheduling across different seasonalities, holidays, or business requirements.
What is a Schedule?
Accurate and correct employee scheduling is a powerful labor cost control measure. With TimeForge, supervisors and managers can quickly and accurately build labor schedules while considering the needs of their business, as well as the desires of other staff members.
Each TimeForge schedule is a collection of many shifts, and each shift is assigned a corresponding start and end time, as well as position (or job), and employee. Other information can be included with each shift, including whether the shift is for an “extra” staff member, the section or station being worked, and other pertinent information.
TimeForge schedules can be of any usable business length – some businesses prefer one-week, two-week, or one-month schedules. Other businesses prefer a mix of schedules, and may have differing schedules based on departments or store requirements. Don’t worry … TimeForge automatically notifies managers and supervisors responsible for creating the schedule of any conflicts!
Upcoming Employee Schedules
Upcoming (and historical) employee schedules are displayed on the Schedule List page. Each schedule can be copied, modified, deleted, analyzed, printed or used to print break reports.
Schedules on the Today Page
The schedule is easily viewed on the Today Page – including all scheduled and confirmed shifts, pending shift swaps, open shift swaps, pending requests, and other information.
What is the difference between a TimeForge Employee, Supervisor, and Manager?
TimeForge has 3 different security levels which determine what each staff member can do within the TimeForge labor management system.
Manager – A TimeForge Manager is able to do anything inside of the TimeForge system, including adding staff members, adding/editing employee schedules, changing sales forecasts, modifying the daily log, and running payroll reports.
Supervisor – A TimeForge Supervisor is directly in between a TimeForge Employee and a TimeForge Manager. Many aspects of the supervisor are able to be customized, on a location-by-location basis, to fit your business’s needs. By default, supervisors are able to perform every TimeForge function that a TimeForge Manager can – however, Supervisors cannot view the pay rates / salaries of other Supervisors or of any Manager.
Employee – A TimeForge Employee is the base security level for all staff members inside of the TimeForge system. Employee’s can clock in / out and view their time card (if enabled), view their own schedule, request time off, change availability, swap shifts, and set up text messaging and email notifications.
Employee security settings can be changed by editing the employee, and changing the Employee Type.
Employee Type Options
Changing the employee security level is simple. The Employee Type field is listed at the bottom of the Employee Information page.
Supervisor Options
TimeForge Supervisor capabilities can be configured on a per-site basis. Supervisors can be configured to have limited labor management capabilities, or can be configured with the same permission levels as a TimeForge Manager.
What is the TimeForge Location level?
TimeForge is a sophisticated labor management and employee scheduling system, and works well for both independently owned and operated businesses, as well as chain concepts with multiple locations.
TimeForge has two separate operating “levels” depending on the desired usage within your organization.
The “location” level of TimeForge is used when examining the labor or employee schedules at a single location, store, or unit.
The “corporate” level of TimeForge is used when multiple locations are being used.
When operated by a business with more than one location / store / unit, some of the functionality of TimeForge is moved to the corporate level to ensure consistent labor reports and employee schedules among all of the business locations.
The TimeForge Location Level – Multiple Locations
When operating a single location, the location drop-down (picture above) will not appear, nor will the Corporation Settings link.
When operating with multiple locations inside of TimeForge, a drop-down box will appear in the top right hand corner. This drop-down box allows the manager (or supervisor) to switch locations with a single click.
Locations in need of manager attention will be displayed with an asterisk next to their name (indicating shift swaps or employee requests that are pending).
When more than 10 locations are present, the drop-down box will become a search box, allowing you to quickly search through tens, hundreds, or thousands of store locations by name, store number, address, or zip code.
How can I view other employee’s schedules?
Using TimeForge, you can see when other staff members / coworkers are working, and can review the schedule for the entire location.
Get to the Other Employee Schedules Page on the Schedules Tab
First, navigate to the “Schedules” tab, and then the “Other Employee Schedules” sub-tab.
From the “Today” Tab, you can click on the Schedules tab, or click on the Other Employee Schedules button.
Navigate to Other Employee’s Schedules
TimeForge will allow you to view the schedules of other employees / staff members.
To view the schedule, enter a date range into the boxes, and click on Go.
View Other Employee’s Work Schedules
The planned work schedule for the selected time period can be seen on the Other Employee’s Schedules page. Employees are listed, along with the dates and their scheduled work shifts.
How Do I Use Sales Analytics?
The Sales Module includes a powerful Sales Analytics tool, designed to easily visualize the differences in labor costs, user sales types (such as gross labor, customer covers, customer counts, or inventory items), and other relevant numerical information. Watching for trends in the numbers will allow management to be proactive in creating business decisions.
Analyze a Schedule
Employee schedules can be analyzed and compared to Manager Projections, Actual Values, or System Generated Forecasts.
One way to access the Sales Analytics tool is by using the list of schedules, and clicking on Analyze. The Sales Analytics tool can also be accessed through the Sales tab directly.
Sales Analytics with Employee Schedules
Follow the instructions on the Sales Analytics page, choose the desired Sales Type, and any other applicable options from the left-hand column.
The software will build a visual chart, allowing you to graphically compare Manager Projections, System Generated Forecasts, and the Actual numbers against employee work schedules.
Analytics – Labor Costs
The above graph is a sample employee schedule from 10:00am – 5:00pm, and the Sales Analytics tool is displaying the cost of labor (in purple), as well as the Manager Projection (in blue) for the same time period. Schedules can be combined, or graphed separately, based on your requirements.
Tip: The labor costs purple line stay flat, while the blue Sales Type line (Gross Sales in this case) goes up and down. This may indicate that some staff should be sent home when the blue line goes down sharply, and staff members should be brought in when the line goes up sharply.
Analytics – Scheduled Shifts
The same graph as above is displayed, but this graph compares the Sales Type with the Scheduled Shifts during the time period, instead of Labor Costs.
Tip: Scheduled Shifts are indicative of the number of unique shifts scheduled during the time period. Just like the Labor Costs, sharply increasing or decreasing lines may indicate a need to change the schedule.
Analytics – Labor Hours
Similar to the Schedule Shifts comparison above, this graph compares the Sales Type to the Labor Hours during the time period.
How Do I Set Up Forecasting?
The Sales Module is a powerful and easy-to-use analytics tool to organize Manager Projections, Actual Numbers, and System Generated Forecasts. Sales numbers can be referenced and viewed on employee schedules, and analyzed using the Sale Analytics tool – a simple solution to ensure that complex schedule forecasts are kept in check.
Sales Module Tab
The Sales Module can be easily accessed by clicking on the “Sales” tab.
Create Sales Types for Your Business
Sales Types allow you to enter specific number sets to forecast and analyze as necessary. Sales Types can include:
- Gross Sales
- Net Sales
- Customer counts, plates, or covers
- Inventory Items, such as khaki pants sold, steaks to prepare, lobster sales, or booked hotel rooms
- Any other number that makes sense for your business …
You can create and maintain as many Sales Types as you would like – there are no limits.
To create your first Sales Type, Choose the “Sales Types” sub-tab from the “Sales” tab.
Sales Type Creation – Choose a Type
While creating a Sales Type, enter a Description for the Sales Type. This should be an easily identified name such as Gross Sales, Inbound Calls, Customer Count, Covers, or Takeouts and Deliveries. Choose an appropriate Type for your Sales Type:
- Currency for numeric values, such as Gross Sales, Net Sales, or Tips.
- Inventory for values pertaining to inventory or stocking, such as specific stock levels or item level inventories.
- Other for other types of values.
Sales Type Creation – What to Compare To?
The Sales Module can compare number values against Labor Hours, Labor Costs, or Scheduled Shifts, as needed for your business:
- Labor Costs are the total costs of the scheduled labor, and in the case of (2) employees for a (2) hour shift at $10 each, would be $40 in labor costs.
- Labor Hours are the total number of hours scheduled, and in the case of (2) employees for a (2) hour shift would be 4 labor hours.
- Scheduled Shifts are the number of unique shifts scheduled during the time frame, and in the case of (2) employees for a (2) hour shift would be 2 scheduled shifts.
Choose the “Comparison To” that is most appropriate to your business needs. You can change this later.
Sales Type Creation – Projection Level and Desired Ratio
The Projection Level controls the granularity of the sales numbers. For some businesses, sales numbers will be input and calculated at the department level. However, most businesses will calculate sales numbers per location (the default). Projection Level’s cannot be changed once the Sales Type has been used.
The Desired Ratio is the ratio of the labor comparison to the projections, forecasts, and actual numbers.
Example: If the “Comparison To” is set to “Labor Cost”, and the Desired Ratio is set to “20%”, the Sales Module will notify you when the ratios go above 20%. Assuming the labor cost goes above 20% of the Sales Type, the software will warn you that the ratio is too high. The Sales Module can, optionally, enforce the labor ratios, so that costly schedules are not posted for staff members.
What some of our clients have to say ...
We are one year into it now, well past being enamored with the newness. We are married to TimeForge. It's as essential to us now as any of our management tools today, and we very happy about that.
We really like the program so far. I know that it is geared towards restaurants, but we are a real estate company and we love it because it is inexpensive and it is so easy to use.
The Timeforge scheduling system has not only increased our efficiency tremendously; decreased the errors in what is normally an error prone environment; it has also saved us ten times what it costs us each month.
I would highly recommend TimeForge to anyone making work schedules. ... What used to take 1-2 hours, now takes 15 minutes. The reports section is comprehensive and useful.
I've been really pleased with this latest version of TimeForge. I'm really getting familiar with this program and its become a great time saver! Keep up the good work!
Before using TimeForge, creating a schedule took 2 hours. With TimeForge, it takes less than 10 minutes.
Quick Contact
3417 73rd Street
Suite G
Lubbock, TX 79423
Phone: 1 866 684 7191
Fax: 1 866 684 7191
E-Mail: info@timeforge.com
About TimeForge
The best tools available for managing labor in the restaurant, retail, food-service, and hospitality industries. Includes time management, employee scheduling, and other labor management tools.
© 2010 Labor Management – TimeForge Manual | All Rights Reserved