WhenToWork vs ESO Scheduling

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Our analysts compared WhenToWork vs ESO Scheduling 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.

WhenToWork Software Tool

Product Basics

WhenToWork is a cloud-based solution that helps businesses create and manage schedules for hourly workers. It offers a free mobile app that supports time tracking, allowing employees to punch in and out of work remotely.

The platform’s standout feature is its one-click scheduling that uses a proprietary algorithm to generate optimal shift schedules, minimizing conflicts and reducing human error. With just a few clicks, you can create efficient work plans that ensure your team is adequately staffed at all times.

Employees can easily input their preferred, disliked and unavailable work times, allowing managers to make informed decisions when creating schedules. This feature enhances employee satisfaction and minimizes scheduling conflicts by ensuring that employees are working shifts that align with their availability and preferences.

This platform lets you prioritize clear communication and accountability within your team. It automatically sends notifications to employees when their shifts are created or updated, ensuring everyone stays informed. This enhances employee engagement and reduces the risk of missed shifts.

WhenToWork offers a 30-day trial period, allowing you to test the platform’s suitability for your scheduling needs. Its paid plans start from $38 per month, with pricing based on the number of employees and the subscription duration. Unlike other platforms, it doesn’t offer tiered plans based on features — every plan includes the full toolkit.

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ESO Scheduling is a robust software solution designed to streamline employee scheduling, particularly for emergency medical services, fire departments, and hospitals. It offers features like automated shift assignments, time-off management, and real-time schedule updates, making it ideal for organizations that require precise and flexible scheduling to ensure optimal staffing levels. Users appreciate its intuitive interface and the ability to integrate with other systems, enhancing overall operational efficiency. The software stands out for its ability to handle complex scheduling needs, such as accommodating varying shift patterns and managing certifications and training requirements. This ensures that only qualified personnel are scheduled for specific tasks, reducing the risk of errors. Pricing typically varies based on the size of the organization and the specific features required, with options for monthly or annual payments. Compared to similar products, ESO Scheduling is praised for its reliability and comprehensive support, making it a preferred choice for critical service providers.
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$40 Monthly
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$795 Annually
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Product Insights

  • Effortless Schedule Management: WhenToWork’s scheduling toolkit is its highest-rated module, with an 89 rating from our analysts. From ad-hoc adjustments to automated scheduling, the platform provides a flexible, efficient solution. It also offers features like break scheduling, color-coded schedules and configurable options that improve the overall scheduling process.
  • Efficient Reporting: Rated 81 by our analysts, the platform’s reporting toolkit is its second highest-rated module. It offers customizable dashboards and pre-built reports to meet your unique reporting requirements. With the ability to create custom reports, apply filters and generate visualizations, you can easily drill down into data, identify trends and make data-driven decisions. Additionally, WhenToWork's report scheduling and sharing capabilities streamline communication and collaboration.
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  • Improved Efficiency: Automate scheduling tasks to reduce manual errors and save time, allowing managers to focus on strategic activities.
  • Enhanced Employee Satisfaction: Provide employees with more predictable schedules and the ability to request time off or swap shifts easily, leading to higher job satisfaction.
  • Cost Savings: Optimize labor costs by ensuring the right number of staff are scheduled based on demand forecasts, reducing overtime and understaffing issues.
  • Compliance Management: Ensure adherence to labor laws and company policies by automatically tracking hours worked, breaks, and overtime.
  • Real-Time Updates: Instantly communicate schedule changes to employees via mobile notifications, reducing miscommunication and no-shows.
  • Data-Driven Decisions: Utilize analytics and reporting tools to gain insights into workforce trends, helping to make informed staffing decisions.
  • Scalability: Easily adjust to the needs of growing businesses by managing schedules for a small team or a large workforce with equal efficiency.
  • Integration Capabilities: Seamlessly integrate with payroll, HR, and other enterprise systems to streamline operations and ensure data consistency.
  • Employee Empowerment: Allow employees to view their schedules, request changes, and communicate availability through a user-friendly interface, fostering a sense of control and responsibility.
  • Reduced Administrative Burden: Minimize the time spent on scheduling-related administrative tasks, freeing up resources for other critical business functions.
  • Enhanced Communication: Facilitate better communication between managers and employees through built-in messaging and notification features.
  • Flexibility: Adapt to various scheduling needs, whether for part-time, full-time, or shift-based employees, ensuring all staffing requirements are met.
  • Improved Accountability: Track attendance and punctuality, helping to identify and address issues promptly, thereby improving overall workforce reliability.
  • Customizable Templates: Use pre-built or custom templates to quickly create schedules that meet specific business needs, reducing the time spent on repetitive tasks.
  • Conflict Resolution: Automatically detect and resolve scheduling conflicts, ensuring smooth operations and reducing the likelihood of staffing issues.
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  • Flexible Scheduling: You get multiple scheduling views, task templates and drag-and-drop tools to create different types of recurring schedules for multiple locations.
  • Import/Export: It lets you import shifts via Excel and .CSV files or export schedules in Excel format.
  • Automated Assignments: You can define rules to automatically assign shifts based on employee preferences and availability.
  • Employee Self-Service: Design unique portals for each team member based on their seniority, job roles and access requirements. Employees can log in via desktops or the mobile app to view and swap schedules, receive messages, and submit time off requests.
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  • Drag-and-Drop Interface: Easily create and adjust schedules by dragging and dropping shifts into place.
  • Real-Time Updates: Instant notifications for schedule changes, ensuring all team members are always informed.
  • Shift Swapping: Employees can request and approve shift swaps directly within the platform, streamlining the process.
  • Automated Scheduling: Generate schedules based on predefined rules and employee availability, reducing manual effort.
  • Mobile Access: Access and manage schedules from any device, providing flexibility for both managers and employees.
  • Compliance Tracking: Ensure schedules adhere to labor laws and company policies, minimizing legal risks.
  • Time-Off Management: Track and approve time-off requests, integrating them seamlessly into the scheduling process.
  • Reporting and Analytics: Generate detailed reports on scheduling metrics, helping to identify trends and optimize workforce management.
  • Integration with Payroll Systems: Sync scheduling data with payroll software to streamline payroll processing and reduce errors.
  • Employee Self-Service Portal: Allow employees to view their schedules, request changes, and communicate with managers directly through the platform.
  • Customizable Templates: Create and save schedule templates for recurring shifts, saving time on future scheduling tasks.
  • Overtime Management: Monitor and control overtime hours to manage labor costs effectively.
  • Shift Reminders: Automated reminders sent to employees before their shifts, reducing no-shows and tardiness.
  • Role-Based Permissions: Assign different access levels to users based on their roles, ensuring data security and appropriate access.
  • Historical Data Access: Access past schedules and employee attendance records for reference and compliance purposes.
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Product Ranking

#5

among all
Employee Scheduling Software

#58

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 52 62 79 55 67 81 89 37 82 27 0 25 50 75 100
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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 226 reviews
Excellent User Sentiment 31 reviews
89%
of users recommend this product

WhenToWork has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 89% when considering 226 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

90%
of users recommend this product

ESO Scheduling has a 'excellent' User Satisfaction Rating of 90% when considering 31 user reviews from 1 recognized software review sites.

4.7 (15)
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4.3 (93)
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4.48 (31)
4.5 (114)
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Awards

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ESO Scheduling stands above the rest by achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating as a User Favorite.

User Favorite Award

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Ease of Use: Users praised the platform’s user-friendly interface and ease of use across all user types. Its intuitive navigation simplifies shift management, schedule swaps and coworker communication. The platform also provides useful "how-to" videos, making it easier for users to understand the system without needing live support.
Better Customization and Flexibility: Users appreciated the ability to customize schedules, permissions and worker roles. It’s easy to switch shifts and see assigned shifts in one place.
Easy Reporting: The one-click report generation feature helps users manage budgets and track employee hours. This is especially helpful for administrators manually comparing scheduling costs with budgetary constraints.
Improved Remote Workability: Reviews highlight the benefit of accessing the software from any mobile device, making it convenient for teams to check schedules, receive notifications and streamline internal communications.
Simple Implementation Process: Users from small and medium businesses appreciated the software’s lightweight nature. It requires minimal IT involvement and can be deployed quickly across multiple departments.
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Easy to Use: Users find the interface intuitive and easy to navigate, making it simple to create and manage schedules.
Flexible Scheduling: The system allows for various scheduling options, including shift swaps, time-off requests, and different shift types, accommodating diverse employee needs.
Mobile Access: Employees can access and manage their schedules from their mobile devices, enhancing flexibility and communication.
Real-Time Updates: The system provides real-time updates on schedule changes, ensuring everyone is informed and on the same page.
Automated Reminders: The system sends automated reminders for shift changes, time-off requests, and other important events, reducing the risk of missed shifts.
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Lack of Live Support: Live representatives are unavailable, especially during troubleshooting. Instead, the platform relies on video tutorials, which may not be sufficient in urgent situations.
Complicated Staff Availability Settings: Some reviewers found the "date specific" availability options frustrating, as it often caused confusion when scheduling in advance. Also, the inability to fully turn off certain options, like the "dislike" function, can complicate determining worker availability.
Limited Enterprise Features: Users from larger businesses noted that the platform lacks advanced enterprise-level security settings and integration support, making it less ideal for organizations with complex needs.
Cluttered Interface: The schedule display can sometimes be confusing or cluttered, particularly when many shifts are on the board. This makes it harder to quickly view and understand schedules at times.
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Limited Customization: Some users find the scheduling options too rigid, making it difficult to accommodate unique employee needs or business requirements. For example, they may not be able to easily adjust shift lengths or create specific break schedules.
Complex Interface: The interface can be overwhelming for new users, with a steep learning curve and a lack of intuitive navigation. This can lead to frustration and wasted time trying to understand the system.
Poor Mobile Experience: The mobile app is often reported as clunky and difficult to use, making it challenging for employees to manage their schedules on the go. This can be a major inconvenience for employees who rely on their phones for scheduling information.
Lack of Integration: ESO Scheduling may not integrate well with other business systems, such as payroll or time tracking software. This can lead to data duplication and manual workarounds, increasing the risk of errors and inefficiencies.
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WhenToWork is a user-friendly online scheduling solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Its intuitive interface and straightforward features make it a viable option for businesses looking to ditch paper trails and digitize their scheduling operations.My experience with WhenToWork began with a simple sign-up process that required minimal information. The platform guided me through a brief onboarding process, where I provided details about my business and team members. While the onboarding process was straightforward, I noticed the business category list didn’t offer many options for construction-related industries.Upon accessing the web platform, I was greeted by a somewhat outdated design that felt reminiscent of an earlier era. While the layout was clean and easy to navigate, a modern update could benefit its overall aesthetic. The main menu has sections for schedules, employees, trades, time off, messaging, reports and current on-duty employees.The mobile app, however, offers a more streamlined experience with a user-friendly interface. It provides quick access to schedules, shift trades, time off, messaging, staff information and a link to the full web version. The app's dashboard offers a clear overview of assignments, time off, shift trades and messages.The messaging features are designed for efficient team communication. You can send and receive messages, create urgent alerts, and post on a bulletin board. The “Reports” section offers customizable reporting options, allowing you to generate reports based on various criteria and export them for further analysis.Overall, WhenToWork is a suitable option for businesses with basic scheduling needs. Its user-friendly interface, straightforward features and robust reporting capabilities make it a viable choice for organizations that prioritize simplicity and ease of use. However, businesses seeking a more modern and feature-rich platform may need to explore other options.

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User reviews from the past year on ESO Scheduling are largely positive, highlighting its suitability for EMS and fire departments. Users particularly appreciate its comprehensive suite of features, including employee scheduling, time and attendance tracking, payroll management, and certification tracking, all within a single platform. This integration simplifies administrative tasks and reduces the need for multiple software solutions, saving time and money. Users rave about the significant reduction in payroll processing time, citing a decrease from an entire workday to under 30 minutes. The ability for employees to access schedules and submit requests from anywhere is also frequently commended. However, some users find the software's navigation to be convoluted due to its extensive menu options, making it challenging to locate specific functions quickly. While acknowledging this drawback, ESO Solutions states that their development team is actively working on simplifying the user interface for improved ease of use. Overall, ESO Scheduling is best suited for EMS and fire departments seeking an all-in-one solution to streamline operations and reduce administrative burden, particularly those prioritizing efficient payroll processing and flexible employee access.

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