PlanIt Police Blog

Creating, posting, and managing schedules for 24/7 coverage is not a simple task.

It can become very time consuming and, if not done properly, create a lot of issues.

One huge issue we hear of frequently is visibility. 

When someone calls off and you have an open shift that needs to be filled, how can the department see that so the problem is quickly resolved?

With police software made to handle complex, round the clock, schedules.

Scheduling software will relieve some major pain points that come along with law enforcement personnel scheduling.

6 features or tools that add more time to your day include:

• Web Accessibility... [Visibility & Communication of the Schedule]
• Detailed Reports... [Calculating Hours for Payroll]
• Mass Notifications... [Auto and Manual]
• Time-off Form... [Submitting & Approving]
• Overtime Function... [Posting and Approving Open Shifts/Extra Duty]
• Audit Trail... [Tracking All Changes made to the Schedule]

Web Accessibility

Visibility & communication are key in any organization.

... Especially when incidents and emergencies occur on a regular basis.

Almost all the scheduling systems today are accessible through the internet. 

Which of course, means that you can access them from any device with internet.

Before scheduling software, many departments used paper & pen or Excel spreadsheets.

With changes happening so often, it was almost impossible to keep everyone informed.

Detailed Reports

Calculating hours for payroll & easily exporting the files.

Manually entering scheduled hours, time off and overtime?

Now you can enter it online so not only is it more visible, but it also automatically calculated.

Each time off code and overtime code is customizable and will be split out when exporting the file.

Mass Notifications

Automatic and manual notifications can go out to employees.

When an open shift has been approved or time off has been declined, notifications will go out automatically.

But there are also notifications you can send out manually.

If there is an open shift that needs to be filled, you can send out an email, a text or a phone call to any person or group of people.

Or you could use mass notifications for emergency announcements as a quick way to get information out.

Watch a video of how these notifications work in PlanIt Police

Time-Off Form

Submitting and approving time off and adjusting bank balances.

When someone needs to take time off, they can submit the time right online... from wherever they are.

The form will go to a supervisor for them to review and approve.

Once it is approved, the hours will get deducted from their time off bank.

Each hour is listed separately in the payroll export by code.

Watch a video of how time off works here

Overtime Function

Posting and approving open shifts & extra duty.

This is for whenever someone stays late for paperwork, has court, or works any extra duty assignment

You should be able to track that in your scheduling software.

You simply post the open shift and optionally notify people of the open shift if you need someone to fill it.

When someone works overtime, they can submit their overtime through the software.

They fill out all the details about the overtime and submit it to the administrator.

The administrator will evaluate the OT and if they approve it, the hours will automatically go into the payroll export.

If they chose to get comp time the hours go right into their comp bank for them to use later.

Managing overtime online means no more paper forms or tracking hours by hand.

Watch video about overtime forms here or open shift posting here

Audit Trail

Tracking all the changes made to the schedule.

There is an audit trail attached to just about everything in the system.

Instead of guessing who made the changes, you will have concrete proof of who made the change. 

Need assistance making schedules?

We are not scheduling consultants but we do want to make things easier for you. 

And we have experience with a lot of scheduling data.

So we went through and found the most common trends. 

Feel free to download our 8-hour, 10-hour or 12-hour schedule examples to evaluate for your department.

Interested in finding out more about police scheduling software?

Request a free live demonstration today to get all your questions answered!

Read More:

• What to Avoid When Implementing Law Enforcement Scheduling Software
• Idaho Schedule: 12 Hour Shifts for 24x7 Coverage
• 5 Free Officer Scheduling Options for Your Department