How Shiftlab Solves Workforce Schedule Challenges: Insights from the Industry Address

A recent addition to the iQmetrix group of companies, Shiftlab is an intelligent, data-driven workforce management tool that solves retail workforce management challenges and focuses on maximizing staff efficiency and sales results. The company’s co-founder Devin Shrake recently spoke at the iQmetrix Telecom Industry Address to outline how some common retail pain points are solved with this platform.

Check out his key insights and, to see his full presentation, scroll to the video extract below.

Ditching calendar tools for data-driven dashboards

The pandemic exacerbated workforce challenges that were already beginning, with retail now struggling to attract and retain store associates like never before. Shiftlab was born to solve those challenges. A key issue was that, previously, stores would use a calendar-style tool that didn’t allow for any data or insights to help store managers schedule strategically. Moving away from the basic calendar was essential.

“We knew that we needed to infuse data and insights into our scheduling tool,” Shrake told Industry Address delegates. Shiftlab offers real-time point-of-sale data, time-clock and attendance data, and traffic and employee conversion data, which all feeds into its intelligent staff scheduling tool.

Placing the right employee in the right shifts 

When you’re running a lean retail operation with potentially only two or three employees at a time in any given store, there’s no room for error in staff scheduling. ​“The strategy you put behind your scheduling process is extremely important,” Shrake said. ​“If your employee misses their lunch break and goes home early instead, it can severely impact the guest experience.” It also matters who you have in certain shifts — ensuring you are putting your top-performing team member on at the times when you see the most sales.

With the data that is imported into Shiftlab, the system uses machine learning to build optimum sales-based shift schedules that put top performers into top shifts, regulates breaks, and automates around time-off preferences, budgets, and factors such as seasonality. This intelligent scheduling results in a reduction of downtime by an average of 10% and improves both sales and the customer experience.

Having integrated (instead of siloed) systems

“In systems I’d used while working at wireless stores, we have a time-clock over here, scheduling over here, and sales data over there,” Shrake said. ​“It was really hard to jump in and see if your strategy is being executed. You might want managers to work at certain times, your top sales associates to work on some shifts, but when you’re getting that information from payroll or other sources, that’s a month too late. And that includes seeing what’s going on with stores in terms of late openings and so on.”

Shiftlab, on the other hand, integrates all these elements so you can instantly see all you need on one dashboard. It’s also extremely fast to implement and integrates fully into iQmetrix’s retail management solutions and other iQmetrix partner platforms.

Check out Devin Shrake’s full six-minute video presentation, below.

Shiftlab is currently offering a free 30-day trial to iQmetrix customers. Click here for more information.