"We have a shortage of 250,000 skilled workers in the skilled trades," explains Hans Peter Wollseifer, President of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts, in an interview with the Tagesspiegel. The shortage of skilled workers means that companies are desperately looking for qualified employees. This makes both the personnel requirements planning as well as deployment planning in the skilled trades. This is because companies in many sectors are not lacking in orders.
This puts trades businesses in a tricky situation: too many orders, too few tradespeople. In terms of resource planning, this often means having to cope with too few resources. Shift planning in the skilled trades must therefore be as efficient and precise as possible. For this reason, it is worthwhile for trades businesses to scrutinize their current processes.
Read more: Personnel planning in HVAC companies: How to make it easier
It is not only the shortage of skilled workers that is causing problems, but also the increasing administrative burden. Authorities and institutions are demanding more documentation . This affects not only planning, but the entire work process. In addition, craft businesses are receiving more and more inquiries on their digital channels, especially by email. Customers tend to obtain several written offers and compare prices before deciding on a tradesperson.
They also expect companies to respond quickly and send out offers quickly. These increased demands have an impact on workforce scheduling in trade businesses. After all, it is the office staff who are responsible for scheduling the tradespeople. At the same time, they have to deal with the increased number of inquiries and the higher administrative workload.
The consequences of these challenges can be mitigated with digitalization and good deployment planning.
Many craft businesses still work with planning boards and paper order slips. This makes it difficult to maintain an overview. Especially in times of high capacity utilization.
Here is a customer who needs help immediately. Preferably yesterday! An employee who has fallen ill: it's easy to create chaos when you have to constantly search for and update paperwork as soon as changes come in.
Personnel and deployment planning is quicker and more efficient with handyman apps or sophisticated Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheets .
Digital scheduling makes your job as a tradesperson easier on many levels. From increased efficiency to satisfied customers. Here are six reasons why tradespeople benefit from digital scheduling.
- Making optimum use of the resources available
Whether it's manpower, machines, tools or materials: with digital resource planning, trade businesses use their resources more efficiently. This means they have less idle time and improve their capacity utilization.
- Receive real-time information via craftsman apps
In contrast to the planning board, digital programs offer important real-time information. You can see the current status of orders and the availability of employees at any time. Even when you are not in front of the planning board. This allows you to react more quickly to changes, requests and unforeseen events.
- Your customers also like good planning
You process inquiries more quickly and meet your deadlines more accurately. You respond more quickly and flexibly to queries or change requests. This increases confidence in your work and the satisfaction of your customers.
- Good scheduling improves the mood among employees
The planning can be viewed at any time, is comprehensible and clearer. This means your employees always know what they have to do and can plan their working day more efficiently. This increases the satisfaction of the entire workforce.
- Efficient resource planning saves money
Because if you plan your workforce more efficiently and reduce idle times, you will also reduce your operating costs.
- Digital deployment planning helps with seamless documentation
Where was that order slip again...? Digital resource planning reduces paper chaos: you document agreements, working times and orders more completely. All important information can be viewed in just a few clicks.
Excel spreadsheets are often the first port of call when tradespeople want to make their scheduling paperless. This is also obvious, as the program is already used in many tradesmen's offices anyway. This makes it easy to switch from paper to Excel spreadsheets.
Although the employees in the office have to enter the changes manually here too , they can keep a good overview of the scheduling of their craft business. They also have the option of sharing the work schedules with their colleagues.
So that you can start right away with efficient resource planning in the skilled trades: Download our free Excel template here:
If you want more functions, you should take a closer look at handyman apps for organizing jobs. This is because they make job planning particularly efficient and clear. There are also documentation functions in most apps. This makes the remaining administrative work easier. If information is updated, for example in personnel planning, the employees concerned receive a direct notification.
Good resource planning means maintaining an overview. When choosing a tradesman app, small trades businesses should therefore make sure that the application is easy to understand and user-oriented at first glance. And that it only offers the functions that you really need. A comprehensive program will not make your work any easier if you only use a third of the functions and constantly lose track of things.
Rely on apps that have been specially developed for the requirements of trade businesses, such as the Meisterwerk app.
"Since we started using the Meisterwerk app, we have saved several hours of working time every week. Not only because of the efficient personnel planning for the electrical installation, but also because information and photos are stored centrally ." This is the feedback from Michael Lima Sa from Elektrotechnik SA & Söhne GmbH. And the Meisterwerk app can do even more - from mobile time recording to digital forms.
Try out the Meisterwerk app and make your scheduling simple and time-saving - naturally adapted to existing processes in your trade business.
- Train your employees when you introduce a new scheduling program. Show them the benefits right from the start and how the program will make everyone's job easier. This will improve acceptance of the new program.
- Check at regular intervals how effective the new processes are. See what you need to change if things are still not working. Also ask your staff for feedback on what works well and what could work better.
Good digital resource planning is essential in the skilled trades. It helps to meet current challenges and saves trades businesses both time and money. Sophisticated Excel spreadsheets are a good place to start. Those who want more functions are well advised to use tradesman apps.
