A wise man once told me, the two most important documents for any employee are their schedule and their paycheck – you better make sure those two things are accurate each and every week. (Thank you, Matt Chriscoe, for that wisdom.)
Too often I see leaders fail to give schedule creation the proper time and energy it deserves. While both are equally important, I recommend creating a schedule with the needs of the business first, followed by the needs of the employee. The goal is to find a happy medium. Here’s how:
To Meet the Needs of the Business
Know your numbers. Guest arrivals, dining covers, special events—whatever drives your operation. This data should be front and center on your schedule so anyone looking at it can understand the staffing decisions you made.
Determine your staffing needs. There are two approaches here:
- The formula approach – If you have X arrivals, schedule Y staff. This is common in corporate hotels with strict SOPs. It’s consistent and easy to follow.
- The analytical approach – My preferred method. Look at each day individually and think about not just how many people you need, but who you need. Your staff aren’t interchangeable. Some excel during high-pressure days, others shine in different situations. Match your people to the demands of each day.
Of course, some staffing decisions are non-negotiable. If your front desk operates 24/7, someone needs to be there around the clock.
Watch your hours. Schedule part-time employees for part-time hours and full-time employees for full-time hours. Avoid overtime unless it’s truly necessary or you can justify the expense to your boss. Consistent scheduling patterns help your team plan their lives and keep labor costs predictable.
To Meet the Needs of the Employee
Honor time-off requests. Your goal should be to accommodate all of them. If you can’t, prioritize based on who submitted first. And if you have to deny a request, don’t just mark it denied and move on—have a conversation. Can they take a half day instead? Is there a compromise? Explain why it wasn’t possible this time. That conversation matters.
No brutal turnarounds. This is one of the most common scheduling mistakes I see—an employee closes at 11pm and then opens at 7am the next day. They get home exhausted, barely sleep, and drag themselves back to work running on fumes and caffeine. The result is poor service and a resentful employee. Unless someone specifically requests this arrangement, don’t do it.
Limit consecutive workdays. I try to keep it to five days in a row, six if absolutely necessary. The common mistake here is managers create a new schedule without looking at the current one. An employee works Saturday through Tuesday on one schedule, then Wednesday through Sunday on the next. The same burnout results from above apply here. Your team needs time to recharge the batteries.
Get the schedule out early. Your team has lives outside of work. They need to plan doctors’ appointments, childcare, social events—all of it requires knowing their schedule in advance. Sending out a Monday schedule on Sunday is disrespectful. I aim for at least four days in advance, but the earlier the better. Be sure the schedule is emailed to your team as opposed to simply posting on a department bulletin board.
Bonus tip: If your operation allows for it, create schedules with multiple weeks at a time. Consistent business levels make this possible, and it’s a win-win. Your team can plan further ahead, and you spend less time on scheduling every week.
Let’s put these principles into practice. Below are two schedules for the same front desk team operating 24 hours a day—one that follows these guidelines, and one that doesn’t.
The Bad Schedule
❌ Problem 1: Charles should not be off on Friday the 26th. Nick will be responsible for the departure of almost all of the hotel. Recipe for disaster. Charles is a better choice to schedule than Brittany because he has 3 days off whereas Brittany only has 2.
❌ Problem 2: Sunday the 4th there were too many requests off permitted (One could argue a manager could assist with departures and then save labor but one or two billing challenges/upset guests and suddenly it’s a log jam).
❌ Problem 3: Sunday July 28th – Danielle is here until 11pm on Sunday and arriving at 6:50am the next day. You can swap her Monday shift with either Alex or Brittany successfully; however, if you do that, Danielle is now on a turnaround shift Tuesday morning (the puzzle always changes!).
❌ Problem 4: Danielle is working 9 days in a row! Combined with the turnaround mentioned above, she is burnt out and ready to quit, all because of poor scheduling.
The Good Schedule
What changed:
✓ Charles is working Friday the 26th, so Nick isn’t handling all departures alone
✓ Danielle’s brutal Sunday-Monday turnaround is gone—Brittany takes the Monday morning shift
✓ Danielle now works a reasonable number of consecutive days with proper rest between shifts
✓ Mid-shifts on high-occupancy days ensure guests get excellent service when the house is fullest
Note: Some corporate hotels may be against mid-shifts. I would argue it’s a smart use of payroll to provide the best guest experience when the house is almost full.
[Bonus tip: If you have another manager on your team, have them take a look at the schedule prior to distribution. A second set of eyes is always a great idea.]
The schedule is one of the most underestimated tools in a leader’s arsenal. It is a major factor in employee morale and can often be the inflection point for an employee being happy with their job or considering other opportunities.
Creating a thoughtful schedule is one of the most meaningful ways a leader can spend their time each week. When you get it right, everyone wins: your boss sees well-managed labor costs, your guests receive excellent service, and your employees have lives outside of work. More fundamentally, your team learns to trust you because you’ve shown them that their wellbeing matters. Without that trust, nothing else works.
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