Effortless Shift Management with greytHR’s HR Software for Manufacturing

By greytHR

3 minute read ● May 08, 2025

Effortless Shift Management with greytHR’s HR Software for Manufacturing

If you are a manufacturer, it is most likely that you are dealing with two things right now. One–where you attempt to fast-forward digitalization and introduce technologies such as automation and AI to create ‘smart factories’. The other is where you must grapple with problems such as shift planning and staff management that affect productivity, operational effectiveness, and profitability.

Unlike traditional office environments, manufacturing businesses need to alter employees’ shift schedules continuously as per demand flows, production cycles, and employee availability. Often, factory owners and HR departments depend on manual or archaic systems for this, causing inconsistent employee scheduling, excessive turnover, compliance problems, and incorrect payroll payments. Using dedicated HR software for manufacturing can help automate shift scheduling and ensure greater productivity and efficiency.

Challenges with Manual Shift Management in Manufacturing

Time-consuming: Many small and mid-size manufacturers still rely on familiar tools like spreadsheets or calendars for shift scheduling. Managing multiple shifts using these methods can be tedious and time-consuming, leading to underworked or overworked staff, adversely impacting overall productivity.

Less responsive: Manual shift scheduling cannot adapt to last-minute employee absences or sudden production requirements, leading to unbalanced workload distribution, unnecessary overtime, and worker burnout.

Compliance issues: Poor shift management can lead to extended working hours and non-compliance with labour laws, resulting in legal complications for the companies.

Payroll errors: Manually tallying working hours with payroll data can lead to a higher administrative burden and a higher chance of discrepancies and errors, causing employee dissatisfaction.

Shift Scheduling Best Practices with HR Software for Manufacturing

Shift scheduling is more than a mere assignment of specific hours to workers. It involves achieving a balance between business requirements and employee well-being. Meticulously planned scheduling can increase productivity, reduce overtime, and prevent worker burnout. Manufacturers need to adopt a few best practices to achieve optimal shift scheduling. These are as outlined below:

Decide shifts according to business requirements: Manufacturers must make careful calculations of the skills required for every job and the number of workers needed for the same. This will help in deciding how many employees, with what types of skills, are needed per shift.
Choose flexible scheduling: Flexible shift scheduling can allow manufacturers to provide timing choices, which are highly effective in increasing employee satisfaction and motivation. Flexible shift scheduling, for instance, can help in switching day and night shifts for workers every few weeks. This results in fair workload distribution, accommodates worker preferences, and keeps workers satisfied.
Invest in AI-driven HR software for manufacturing: A full-suite HRMS solution such as the one from greytHR, can enable manufacturing businesses to seamlessly move forward from manual and legacy systems, automate scheduling, and generate optimized shift schedules based on production goals, availability of skilled labour, and labour regulations.
Ongoing monitoring: Regular monitoring of shift scheduling should be done by monitoring metrics such as overtime worked, absenteeism or output. This ensures that there are no gaps and adjustments can be made as needed.
Employee wellbeing: A recent survey by BCG of 11,000 desk-based and frontline employees spread over 8 countries revealed that, on average, 48% of employees are facing burnout. Shift management can prevent long hours or irregular shifts resulting in burnout, helping enhance employee wellbeing.

Leverage greytHR’s HR Software for Manufacturing for Automating Shift Management

greytHR offers comprehensive HRMS software for manufacturing companies and is designed to handle the unique complexities of shift management through automation, compliance support, and real-time tracking. Its features include:

1. Automated and intelligent shift scheduling

greytHR eliminates manual errors by automatically assigning shifts based on predefined rules, workforce availability, and workload balance.

The system also ensures fair distribution of shifts to prevent overburdening good employees while ensuring optimal productivity.

Using an easy-to-use drag-and-drop scheduling tool, managers can quickly adjust shifts, saving hours of manual work.

2. Attendance and compliance tracking in real-time

greytHR integrates seamlessly with biometric devices, GPS-based tracking, and mobile check-ins, ensuring accurate attendance records.

The system automatically tracks overtime, break durations, and shift adherence, reducing the risk of compliance violations.

Generates audit-ready reports that help HR teams ensure adherence to labour laws, shift policies, and overtime regulations.

3. Payroll and shift-based compensation integration

greytHR automatically calculates wages based on shift hours, overtime, and deductions, eliminating payroll errors.

Works seamlessly with different salary structures for hourly workers, full-time employees, and contract labourers.

Ensures compliance with overtime policies, preventing financial penalties and disputes.

Discover how greytHR helped Brandenburg overcome legacy HR challenges through HR automation.

Manufacturing Success Starts with Smarter Workforce Management

With greytHR, manufacturers can easily transition from manual to automated shift management systems, ensuring the right balance of employee well-being with productivity. Automated shift management can help to streamline workforce management, unlock the potential for innovation, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving market.

Want to know more about how greytHR can help? Book a personalized demo today.