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PlanIt Police Blog

How to be Efficient When Scheduling Extra Duty Assignments

Extra duty, special assignments, off-duty... whatever you refer to them as in your department, they can be a pain to manage. You have to get your officers to fill the shifts, get them to submit their overtime, record it for payroll separately, etc.

To solve this issue and save you hundreds of hours a year, you could look into police officer scheduling systems that handle special assignments and extra duty. Why?

 


 3 reasons to manage your extra duty assignments with a police officer scheduling system:

  1. Efficiency
  2. Organization
  3. Communication

Extra Duty Scheduling for Police


 How many times a month are you having to schedule extra duty assignments? Once? Five times? Twenty? Whether it's everyday or a few times a month, police scheduling software can help you with efficiency, organization, and communication.

 

1. Efficiency

You may think: Police scheduling software? That will take months to set up and put into place! 

Well, I have good news for you... it may take a week or two, but certainly not months. You have to find the right software for your department to make sure it will, in fact, save you time. But, once you find it, it will save you SO much time and money.

See the real effects here!

For a special assignment, all you have to do is come into the system, and post the open shift. The system will notify your officers so that they can sign up for the shift, and then you simply approve who you would like to cover.

After this process is complete, the hours worked on the extra duty will be separated out into a different code for payroll. That way, if you have different rates, payroll will be able to determine what they get paid. 

 

2. Organization

If there is more than one assignment you need to get covered, you want to be able to keep track of each of them. Make sure you know exactly which ones are filled and by who. Also, know what exactly is still open and when it needs to be filled by.

With police scheduling software, it is easy to post the openings. Your officers will see the shift opening on the schedule and have the option of offering to work it.

On the other side of that, you can simply drop someone into the shift and the system will let that person know they just got scheduled another shift. 

Storing this in one system will allow you to keep things organized.

 

3. Communication

Communication is very important in any organization. Did you know that The Mckinsey Global Institute found that productivity improves by 20-25% in organizations with connected employees?

Communication of special assignments can be difficult without scheduling software. Maybe you use texting and calling currently to figure out who will fill the open shift.

But how does everyone else in the department know what is going on?

If the shift got filled?

Who is covering it? 

When you post a special assignment into scheduling software it can be visible for the whole organization. That way, everyone is on the same page.

If there is an open shift that still needs to be filled, officers can see that and apply for the shift. If all the shifts are covered, officers will know they have to wait for the next posting of an extra duty.

Keep the communication flowing by posting your special assignment shifts in your scheduling software.

 

Watch how it works in PlanIt Police scheduling software here:

 

Don't let your special assignments stress you out. Manage extra duty police assignments easily with police scheduling software to enhance efficiency, organization, and communication. See more features here for PlanIt Police Scheduling Software.


 

Have more questions about special assignments and extra duty scheduling with PlanIt Police? Contact us today or download our extended FAQ to get all of your questions answered! 

 

Download Extended FAQ Now

 


 

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About Us

PlanIt Police scheduling software is extremely powerful yet easy-to-use. It is meant to simplify scheduling and enhance communication for law enforcement agencies. PlanIt was developed by Ragnasoft, Inc who have specialized in public safety scheduling solutions for over 10 years.

Contact Us

PO BOX 4903
Lancaster PA 17604
sales@planitschedule.com
1-866-471-2001
717-925-3908 (fax)
Contact Us
PlanIt Police

PlanIt Police is an online scheduling system for police departments. PlanIt is developed by Ragnasoft, Inc which has specialized in public safety scheduling solutions for over 10 years.

Our Contacts

PO BOX 4903
Lancaster, PA 17604
Phone: 1-866-471-2001
Fax: 1-717-925-3908
Email: sales@planitschedule.com