PlanIt Police Blog

Many police departments print out the schedule and post it in a central hub for employees to see. 

But then someone takes a day off, and a shift is scribbled out. Then 2 people swap shifts, and another change is written on the schedule. Eventually you find your schedule is covered with written-in notes and changes, making it difficult for employees to understand what’s going on.

On top of that, how do people know that there have been changes to the schedule? Maybe you text a picture each time or email the specific change made. Either way, it will always require one step to make the change on the schedule and another step to let people know of the change.

Online scheduling software will allow each employee real-time access of the schedule. That way, they can always see the latest changes. On top of that, some systems include digital kiosks. Kiosks act as a digital staffing board. They can display your schedule in a central location and make sure the most up-to-date version is available. If your 24/7 workplace uses software to schedule different squads or shifts, each of them can display their own schedule somewhere their employees can easily view it.

1) Reduce Paper

This might seem like an obvious one but getting rid of paper is a huge advantage for your department.

Not only can making the switch to digital software reduce overall cost for your department, but it can help keep things more organized. Keeping everything in one place reduces clutter and makes your department more organized. No more lost files or paper forms. All the history will be kept right online in one easily accessible place.

Using a digital kiosk, you can display each squad’s or shift’s schedule in one place. Rather than printing out a schedule for each section, there is one posted in a central location.

2) Live Updates

The digital kiosks connect with your software, so the schedule is always up-to-date and accurate.

Any changes made to your schedule are immediately displayed on your kiosk. If someone takes time off, then employees can see that cleanly listed on the kiosk. If they have a new shift assignment, they can quickly check the kiosk to see where they are stationed on their shift.

Employees can clearly see what the schedule says or who is working.

This also decreases the work for direct supervisors. Instead of verbally informing employees about changes, the employees can be automatically notified about changes and then view the most current schedule on a kiosk.

3) Display Other Important Information

With kiosks you can choose to display additional information other than your schedules.

If you want to display a new page from your department’s website, you can customize the slides of your kiosk to display that.

Many digital kiosks can display a local CAD, so you will see a map of the area around your department with live updates about traffic and weather information.

If there are special events going on in your department, you can include a note on the kiosk to keep your employees up to date.

Keeping officers informed is so important in every department. Without the proper communication tools it is very difficult to keep everyone up to date with shift swaps, open shifts, court appearances, etc. Learn about some scheduling software communication tools here!

Ready to start using features like a digital kiosk?

Consider switching from paper or excel schedules to scheduling software built for public safety, like PlanIt Schedule. Learn more about PlanIt today at www.planitpolice.com or request a free live online demonstration of the system to get a full overview!

Read More:

• How to Fairly Manage & Schedule Police Overtime Hours
• 7 Different 12 Hour Shift Schedule Examples to Cover Round the Clock
• How to Access Your Schedule On-The-Go: Officer Scheduling Mobile App