HotSchedules vs Shiftboard

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Our analysts compared HotSchedules vs Shiftboard based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Employee Scheduling Software, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

HotSchedules Software Tool

Product Basics

HotSchedules is a cloud-based shift scheduling tool within the Fourth HR ecosystem. It assists with a variety of core employee scheduling tasks, including assigning shifts, tracking time and managing labor.

It helps optimize time and labor costs by analyzing sales patterns, forecasting demand and optimizing workforce allocation through seasons. The built-in messaging portal improves communication and keeps the team on the same page.

Businesses can create custom dashboards to track business-specific KPIs, employee performances and attendance. Employees get unique portals to view assigned tasks, swap shifts and communicate with team members.

A built-in wage and labor compliance module helps maintain compliance with state and federal labor laws. The mobile app provides push notifications for scheduling conflicts and compliance issues to stay agile and compliant from anywhere.

Pros
  • Convenience and accessibility
  • Scheduling functionality
  • Efficient automation
  • Diverse integrations
Cons
  • Learning curve
  • Inconsistent support services
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Shiftboard is a cloud-based employee scheduling software designed to help businesses efficiently manage their workforce. It caters to businesses of all sizes, but it particularly shines when handling complex scheduling needs or a large number of employees. Shiftboard offers a variety of features including schedule creation and management, employee hour tracking, and communication tools. The software integrates with other business systems like payroll and HR software, streamlining operations.

Benefits of using Shiftboard include improved employee productivity, reduced labor costs, increased employee satisfaction, and better compliance with labor laws. Users appreciate its ease of use, comprehensive features, and positive impact on workforce management. Shiftboard's pricing structure is not publicly available, so interested businesses should contact Shiftboard directly for detailed pricing information. Keep in mind that pricing for software like this can vary based on factors such as the number of users and desired features.

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$40/Location, Monthly
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$3/User, Monthly
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Product Assistance

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24/7 Live Support
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Product Insights

  • Save Time: Build schedules and assign shifts more effectively and save time spent on these activities.
  • Improve Communication: Communicate with team members, update schedule changes, swap shifts and more directly through the platform to keep up with all critical and urgent scheduling revisions.
  • Reduce Labor Costs: Generate store reports on labor costs and sales and assess overall labor practices to help inform future budgets.
  • Encourage Employee Engagement: Managers can provide employees direct access to the schedule through the mobile app, allowing them to access and request changes to the schedule, which boosts engagement.
  • Ensure Compliance: Configure labor rules to document shift transactions, control labor costs, and comply with industry, state and federal legislation.
  • Accurate Forecasting: Ensure accurate forecasts using tools that help cut operational costs, boost revenue from sales and increase customer satisfaction and experiences.
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  • Efficiency: Helps HR managers build better schedules in less time. On average, implementing the system results in a 53% increase in schedule creation efficiency and a 55% increase in shift change management efficiency. 
  • Optimized Workforce: Save on business costs by reducing the number of unnecessary shifts. The average user can reduce scheduled hours by more than 7% and overtime costs by more than 50%. 
  • Employee Performance:: Managers can build better schedules that benefit employees as well as the business. As a result, the average user reports a more than 6% increase in employee productivity and a 40% decrease in turnover. 
  • Accuracy: It helps optimize scheduling processes, reducing the average number of scheduling errors by more than 50%. 
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  • Scheduling: Build schedules with customizable templates and intuitive drag-and-drop tools. Approve or deny shift change requests, define rules to limit overtime and manage employee availability from a dashboard.
  • Time and Attendance: Track clock-in and clock-out times, collect information on tip and break entries, and allow employees to access their timecards and payroll histories. Managers can set up alerts to notify employees when they miss a time punch. Set geo-fencing rules using the mobile WebClock to track employee locations.
  • Labor Forecasting: Access the following forecasting features:
    • Schedule Optimization: Standardize scheduling rules and automate recurring tasks using predictive scheduling across multiple branches and locations.
    • Scheduling Visibility: Manage labor analytics to measure critical KPIs like overall performance, cost per labor, sales patterns and labor cost to keep restaurants competitive.
    • Store-Level Forecasting: Analyze historical data to identify weekly sales patterns and help managers allocate workforces efficiently. Send alerts for overtime and other potential compliance issues.
  • Labor Management: Calculate minimum staffing requirements, plan shift breaks, and generate suggested headcounts to ensure that any given shift always has the proper number of staff members.
  • Scheduling and Wage Compliance: Adhere to local and federal regulations with:
    • Predictive Scheduling: Stay up to date with local laws and evolve as regulations shift. Prepare and adapt to compliance changes before they go into effect.
    • Break and Meal Management: Set up rules to automatically schedule meal and break times for staff members. Receive notifications of missed break times and automatically calculate break pay impacts.
    • Overtime Management: Track employees going into overtime and allow managers to swap overworked staff with other employees.
    • Certifications: Receive certificate expiry alerts and define automation to request updated documents from employees, managers and other team members.
  • POS Integration: Employees can track time and clock in and out of work from a POS system. Pull sales and operational data from POS to forecast weekly and seasonal sales patterns and workforce requirements.
  • Health Surveys: Generate digital health surveys to gain extra visibility into the business. Use CDC-tailored surveys and health screening tools to ensure employees are safe to come to work.
  • Manager Logbook: Manage physical and digital logbooks that help track tasks, maintenance objectives and food safety information, such as temperature.
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  • Profiles: Collect and store employee information such as contact information, credentials, skills and work history. This information can then be used to assign roles based on scheduling needs. 
  • Communication: View schedules online and notify staff on schedule changes. It sends messages and notifications automatically so that all team members have access to the most up-to-date information. 
  • Demand Planner: Forecast scheduling needs using historical data and patterns. Managers can build schedules and fill shifts based on predicted business needs. 
  • Tradeboard: Employees can utilize Tradeboard to switch shifts, while the system ensures that no shifts are double-booked. Managers can oversee shift-swapping and set rules to ensure compliance and that employees don’t pick up shifts that will put them into overtime. 
  • Reports and Analytics: The system can collect data on shifts, employees, budgets, forecasts, labor costs and more. Generate reports and analyze them at any time to help track spending. 
  • Mobile: Access the schedule at any time through any internet-connected device. Employees can view the schedule, update their availability, request time off and trade shifts, all through the mobile app. 
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Product Ranking

#7

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

#10

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

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Analyst Rating Summary

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Analyst Ratings for Functional Requirements Customize This Data Customize This Data

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Collaboration Employee Management Leave And Absence Management Mobile Capabilities Platform Capabilities Reporting And Analytics Schedule Management Security And Compliance Shift Management Time And Attendance Management 39 94 65 90 100 67 84 78 89 79 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 1149 reviews
Great User Sentiment 519 reviews
86%
of users recommend this product

HotSchedules has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 86% when considering 1149 user reviews from 5 recognized software review sites.

88%
of users recommend this product

Shiftboard has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 88% when considering 519 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

4.5 (14)
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4.2 (94)
4.6 (48)
4.37 (426)
4.39 (236)
4.4 (388)
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4.0 (227)
3.3 (5)

Awards

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SelectHub research analysts have evaluated Shiftboard and concluded it earns best-in-class honors for Platform Capabilities.

Platform Capabilities Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Convenience and Accessibility: Users appreciate the system’s remote accessibility, which saves time and enhances productivity for both employees and managers.
Scheduling Functionality: The platform offers a comprehensive package of scheduling tools, including shift swapping, time off, blackout dates and availability management.
Efficient Automation: Automation such as auto-scheduling, sick pay and holiday calculations simplifies administrative tasks for managers.
Diverse Integrations: Users report that integration with other modules like payroll systems, POS solutions and HR software enhances productivity and workforce management.
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Shift Management: Nearly 94% of reviewers liked the built-in Tradeboard for employees to exchange or transfer shifts, boosting accountability and efficiency.
Schedules: Around 90% of users who referred to schedules liked that it reduces time spent creating and managing schedules. It notifies of any errors and provides easy access for employees.
Tracking: It helps monitor the login / logout of individual workers, their interest in additional shifts and overtime status, as noted by 91% of users who specified tracking.
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Learning curve & complexity: The interface can be challenging for beginners, requiring significant time and effort to learn and navigate effectively.
Inconsistent customer support: Users report long wait times or difficulty resolving complex issues, leading to potential frustration and delays.
Pricing concerns: Additional fees beyond the monthly subscription can add up, making it more expensive than competitors.
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Reports: About 56% of reviewers who referred to reports said that custom reports require a great deal of trial and error, and some fields are not reportable.
Layout: The page layout style is quite clunky and difficult to navigate, especially when there are more teams and time slots, as mentioned by 80% of users who referred to layout.
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Let's dish on the good, the bad, and the ugly of HotSchedules based on what folks have been saying lately. HotSchedules seems to be a bit of a mixed bag. Users dig that it's pretty straightforward to use and can be a real time-saver, especially when it comes to wrangling schedules and keeping everyone in the loop. It's like having a personal assistant who's always on top of things. But, there's a catch – it can be a bit pricey, and some users feel like it's missing some bells and whistles that other scheduling software has. Think of it as a reliable car that gets you from point A to point B, but maybe doesn't have all the fancy features like a sunroof or heated seats. So, who's HotSchedules a good fit for? Well, if you're running a business in the hospitality industry, like a restaurant or hotel, and you need a solid scheduling tool that won't leave you scratching your head, HotSchedules could be your jam. It's especially handy if you've got a bunch of hourly employees and multiple locations to juggle. However, if you're on a tight budget or need a software with all the latest gadgets, you might want to shop around a bit. There are other options out there like Homebase or When I Work that might be more your style.

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Shiftboard provides robust scheduling tools that help reduce scheduling errors. Its online and mobile availability allows employees to access it from anywhere and stay updated on schedules and shifts. Staff in certain roles can trade shifts within Shiftboard without going through management. It helps to keep track of employee shift times and their clock in and out locations. Some reviewers said that creating custom reports requires a great deal of trial and error, while some fields are not reportable. Users have mentioned that they would like to see more viewer-friendly pages.

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Screenshots

Top Alternatives in Employee Scheduling Software


7shifts

Deputy

Findmyshift

Homebase

Humanity

OpenSimSim

Planday

Quinyx

ScheduleFlex

Shiftbase

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Sling

TimeForge

When I Work

WhenToWork

ZoomShift

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