Scheduling

Scheduling employees is vital for the smooth operation of a restaurant. It ensures there is enough staff to handle the varying demands of different shifts, from busy meal times to quieter periods. Our scheduling activity can automate the scheduling process, ensuring that shifts are adequately staffed while adhering to labor laws and regulations, including mandatory breaks. By optimizing shift assignments based on peak hours and employee availability, the program can help maintain high levels of customer service and operational efficiency. Additionally, it can track and enforce break times, ensuring that employees receive their required rest periods, which contributes to their overall well-being and job satisfaction. This not only helps in preventing burnout but also fosters a positive work environment, ultimately leading to better retention rates and a more motivated workforce.

Requirements:

In order to schedule an employee, a couple things must be completed first:

The employee must have an Employee Record within the Employees activity

The employee record must be visible

The employee status must be set to active

The employee must have the job to be scheduled with an approved pay rate

The employee must have a valid email entered into their employee record in the Employees activity to use the App

How do I create a schedule?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Address Availability and Time off requests (Note: This page only shows if there are requests to review)
3. Select Return to Schedule (Note: This button only shows if there are requests to review)
4. Select Schedule Start:
5. Select Date from the calendar Popup
6. Select Schedule Template
7. Select Create > Generate
8. Select Add To Existing to create the schedule leaving any existing shifts on the schedule OR Overwrite to create the schedule, deleting any existing shifts and overwriting the schedule with shifts as determined by the template selected
9. Drag an unassigned shift to an employee from the UNASSIGNED SHIFTS section
10. Select a <House Shift> and assign the proper employee
11. Select OK
12. If additional shifts are needed, select Add Shift OR select the appropriate cell based on employee and date
13. Enter shift details.
14. Select Ok
15. Select Save
16. Select Publish to deliver this schedule to your employees through the App

How do I copy a schedule from a previous week?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Address Availability and Time off requests (Note: This page only shows if there are requests to review)
3. Select Return to Schedule (Note: This button only shows if there are requests to review)
4. Select Schedule Start:
5. Select Date from the calendar Popup
6. Select Schedule Template
7. Select Create > Copy from a previous schedule
8. Select YES to create the schedule, deleting any existing shifts and overwriting the schedule with shifts from the copied schedule
9. Enter the details of the schedule to copy from
10. Select Copy with employees and shifts to assign the same employees to the shifts.  Leave the box unchecked if only shifts should be copied and not assigned to employees
11. Select Generate missing breaks to auto-assign breaks according to scheduling rules.  Leave the box unchecked if breaks will be assigned manually.
12. Select Copy
13. Select a <House Shift> and assign the proper employee
14. Select OK
15. If additional shifts are needed, select Add Shift OR select the appropriate cell based on employee and date
16. Enter shift details.
17. Select Ok
18. Select Save
19. Select Publish to deliver this schedule to your employees through the App

How do I copy a schedule using a Saved template?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Address Availability and Time off requests (Note: This page only shows if there are requests to review)
3. Select Return to Schedule (Note: This button only shows if there are requests to review)
4. Select Schedule Start:
5. Select Date from the calendar Popup
6. Select Schedule Template
7. Select Create > Copy form Saved to copy from a locally saved schedule.
8. Select YES to create the schedule, deleting any existing shifts and overwriting the schedule with shifts from the copied schedule
9. Choose the template to copy from
10. Select Copy
11. Select Generate missing breaks to auto assign breaks according to scheduling rules.  Leave the box unchecked if you will assign breaks manually.
12. Select each shift and assign the employee
13. If additional shifts are needed, select Add Shift OR select the appropriate cell based on employee and date
14. Enter shift details.
15. Select Ok
16. Select Save
17. Select Publish to deliver this schedule to your employees through the App

How do I create a shift in a previously generated schedule?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Schedule Start:
3. Select Date from the calendar Popup
4. Select Schedule Template
5. If additional shifts are needed, select Add Shift OR select the appropriate cell based on employee and date
6. Enter shift details.
7. Select Ok
8. Select Save
9. Select Publish to deliver this schedule to your employees through the App

How do I assign employees to shifts?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Schedule Start:
3. Select Date from the calendar Popup
4. Select Schedule Template
5. Select the shift to edit
6. Assign all details
7. Select Ok

How do I add breaks to existing shifts?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Schedule Start:
3. Select Date from the calendar Popup
4. Select Schedule Template
5. Select the shift to edit
6. Select Add a Break
7. Select Ok

How do I publish a schedule?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Schedule Start:
3. Select Date from the calendar Popup
4. Select Schedule Template
5. Review schedule for accuracy. Update as needed
6. Select Publish

How do I edit a published schedule?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Schedule Start:
3. Select Date from the calendar Popup
4. Select Schedule Template
5. Review schedule for accuracy. Update as needed
6. Select Publish Changes

How do I process employee drop, swap and pickup requests?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Schedule Start:
3. Select Date from the calendar Popup
4. Select Schedule Template
5. Navigate to the shift with the request.
6. Select Approve to approve and assign the shift to the new employee.  Select Reject to reject the request, the shift will remain assigned to the current employee.
7. Select Save

How do I view borrowed employees?

1. Go to Scheduling
2. Select Show Borrowed Employees: Yes

Adding Notes to a Schedule

There are two kinds of notes that can be added to a schedule:

• Shift notes can be added on the Scheduling Weekly View by selecting the chat bubble icon found beside the date. These can be optionally shared with employees by toggling the "Make Visible to Employee" option on. If a shift note is made visible to employees, it appears alongside any shifts scheduled on that day in the PAR OPS App.
• Employee notes are associated with individual employees. These can be added in two ways: either by selecting the employee's name on the left sidebar of the Scheduling activity, or by using the "Employee Notes" tab of the Employees activity. Employee notes are visible only to managers and stay visible across schedule weeks.

What’s Included in the Scheduling Summary Footer?

To open the summary footer, select the blue arrow at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Weekly View

Schedule Tab

• Target Hours: Hours that should be scheduled, based on the selected template
• Scheduled Hours: Total scheduled hours
• Variance: Difference between Target and Scheduled Hours
• Labor Cost: Refers to the total expenses occurred to pay employees
• Labor %: The percentage of sales used to pay employees. This helps you evaluate how much revenue is spent on labor costs. Defined as Total Labor Hours divided by Total Forecasted Sales
• Projected Sales: Daily sales forecast
• [Metric] Per Labor Hour: Sales or other metric per labor hour. Select the blue linking text to adjust the displayed metric

Customize which options to display by selecting the cog icon next to the footer tabs and toggling line items on or off

Coverage Tab

Lists the number of employees scheduled per time interval for each day.

Shifts Tab

• Displays all unassigned shifts, organized by date
• To assign a shift, drag it from the footer to an employee’s name. To unassign a shift, drag it back to the footer

Daily View

Daily Tab

• Projected: Projected value on which the schedule is based, determined by the Schedule Template (Sales, Guests, Table Count, Checks, Entree Count etc.)
• Service Over/Under: The number of employees currently scheduled over or under the staffing target for each time interval
• Scheduled Employees: The total number of employees scheduled per time interval
• Service, Non-Service, & Total: Labor data for the selected day, separated into Service stations, Non‑Service stations, and Total
• Over/Under Hours: Shows shift counts compared to the ideal counts from the selected template. Keep in mind these suggestions do not account for things like shift length or minimum station assignment and should be used as a guide
• Labor Cost: Refers to the total expenses occurred to pay employees
• Labor %: The percentage of sales used to pay employees. This helps you evaluate how much revenue is spent on labor costs. Defined as Total Labor Hours divided by Total Forecasted Sales
• Sales per Labor Hour: The revenue generated for every hour worked by employees. Defined as Total Forecasted Sales divided by Total Labor Hours

Stations Tab

• Displays all configured stations available for the location, categorized by General, Daily Requirements, and Breaks.
  • Select any magnifying glass icon to search for a station in that category
  • To assign a section, drag it from the footer to an employee’s name. To unassign a section, drag it back to the footer

Shifts Tab

• Displays all unassigned shifts, organized by date.

• To assign a shift, drag it from the footer to an employee’s name. To unassign a shift, drag it back to the footer

Chart Tab

• Displays a graph of targeted staffing needs for the schedule, flagging understaffed and overstaffed days. The panel also includes a summary of key metrics: projected sales, a letter grade for targets met, labor percentage, and total employees scheduled.

FAQ

Who cares about scheduling?

Scheduling is important to restaurant managers, employees, and customers. Managers rely on effective scheduling to ensure shifts are adequately staffed, employees benefit from fair and balanced work schedules, and customers enjoy consistent service quality.

What is the goal of scheduling?

The goal of scheduling is to ensure there is enough staff to handle varying demands, optimize shift assignments based on peak hours and employee availability, and adhere to labor laws and regulations. This helps maintain high levels of customer service and operational efficiency while supporting employee well-being and job satisfaction.

Where can this information be viewed?

Scheduling information can be viewed in scheduling software, employee portals, and management dashboards. These platforms allow managers to create and adjust schedules, and employees to view their assigned shifts and request changes.

What other reports or activities are impacted by an entry in scheduling?

Entries in scheduling impact labor cost analysis, payroll processing, and employee performance reports. Accurate scheduling data is crucial for managing labor costs, ensuring compliance with labor laws, and maintaining employee records.

Will the employee(s) be alerted to changes made to a published schedule?

The employee determines if and how they will receive schedule notifications through the App.  If notifications is turned on, they will receive a Push notification through the App.

Why is a transferred employee still appearing as a borrowed employee on the schedule?

Go to Employees

Navigate to the employee

Update the Approving Store

Select Save

Why can't I schedule this employee?

The Employee is possibly already scheduled for another during the date and time select at this store or another store.

Why am I receiving an intersection rule violation?

Follow the error directions to correct the violation.

How does the schedule calculate thresholds for Full-Time and Part-Time employee hours?

Admins can set Full‑Time and Part‑Time hour thresholds for employees. Based on configuration, these thresholds appear as either warnings that can be overridden or errors that block scheduling employees beyond the set hours. An employee must be designated as Full-Time or Part-Time in the Labor Options tab of the Employees activity for this setting to apply.

What is AI Schedule Generation?

Schedule generation in PAR OPS is powered by AI. It still builds on the store's existing schedule template, but adds an intelligent layer on top that balances coverage against forecasted demand, labor cost, overtime, and how hours are spread across employees, all while automatically respecting labor rules such as rest periods and minor restrictions. AI Schedule Generation produces a balanced schedule that the manager can review and adjust before it goes live.