A shorter version of this article first appeared in the April/May issue of Hotel Management magazine.

If you were to look through 1,000 recruiting ads for frontline hotel and restaurant positions, at least 990 of them would likely include “flexible schedules” among the listed benefits. It has long been a hallmark of hospitality workplaces, in large part because of the realities of our industry and the operational demands we manage every day.

Hotels and restaurants are typically open longer hours per day, and more days per week, than employers in office-based settings, which creates staffing demands that are fundamentally different. The ebb and flow of business, whether driven by daily patterns, seasonality, or special events such as banquets and conventions, require organizations to staff a wide range of shifts across varying timeframes. Building flexibility into schedules makes it far easier to manage these fluctuations, while also supporting compliance with labor laws related to working hours, breaks, and minor restrictions, and reducing the risk of disputes or penalties resulting from violations. When used thoughtfully, flexible scheduling can also help control labor costs by limiting overtime and reducing reliance on temporary staffing.

Just as importantly, flexible scheduling has proven to matter deeply to the people who work for us. In practical terms, it allows team members to accumulate enough shifts to meet their financial needs while maintaining commitments outside of work, such as caring for children, supporting family members, or pursuing an education. Multiple workforce studies over the past several years have shown that schedule flexibility is one of the strongest drivers of retention for hourly hospitality employees, often ranking above pay adjustments or other traditional incentives. At the same time, those same studies consistently highlight another scheduling-related factor that employees care about nearly as much: predictability. Workers want the ability to adjust schedules when life requires it, but they also want schedules they can plan around with confidence. Flexibility without predictability often feels chaotic, while predictability without flexibility feels rigid, and employees are increasingly clear that they are looking for both.

Given the prominence this aspect of our industry has taken on in hiring and retention discussions, it is no longer enough for hospitality leaders to simply pay lip service to it. Competitors such as Uber, DoorDash, and Instacart have reshaped expectations around scheduling by offering models in which individuals perceive themselves as having significant control over when they work, how often they work, and whether they work at all on a given day.

While the gig model is not without its tradeoffs, it has nonetheless raised the bar for what flexibility and predictability are assumed to look like, especially for hourly workers who value control over their time. The ability to decide when to log in and when to log out, without having to negotiate availability or request approval, has created a point of comparison that traditional hospitality operations cannot ignore, even if they cannot, and should not, attempt to replicate it exactly.

What hospitality organizations can do is commit to delivering a version that will work within the realities of a team-based, service-driven operation, but doing so will require more than good intentions or informal accommodations. It will need sustained effort and deliberate choices about how schedules are built, communicated, and managed so that flexibility is demonstrated and predictability is preserved in daily practice.

If your business has decided that it is time to take scheduling seriously as a lived experience rather than a talking point that exists only in recruiting language, the following actions outline what that commitment looks like.

Listen to employees

Many companies, and certainly many old-school command-and-control bosses who wax nostalgic for the days when schedules were handed down without discussion, will be tempted to skip this step. They shouldn’t, however, because listening to employees generally determines whether everything else will work. Involving hourly crew members in the scheduling process is essential because part of the appeal of flexibility lies in the sense of autonomy it provides. Having some degree of control over decisions that affect daily life matters to adults, and scheduling is one of the most direct ways the staff experience that control, or the lack of it, at work.

Feedback on scheduling can be gathered in a variety of ways, including surveys or informal conversations during site visits, and it should include questions about the way the practice feels to those living with it day to day. How early are schedules usually posted, and does that give people enough time to swap shifts or plan around things outside of work? How do managers and team members talk about scheduling needs, and what happens when something unexpected comes up? What is it like for employees to ask for time off, and are there times when they hesitate because they worry how it will be received?

Information from the frontline is valuable because it highlights gaps between how scheduling is intended to work and how it is truly experienced. When leaders use that input to adjust practices, they move closer to creating a system that functions as a genuine benefit rather than a theoretical one, while at the same time reinforcing trust and transparency.

Set standards

With a better understanding of what is working and what is not, organizations will be better positioned to formalize scheduling decision processes. Predictability does not emerge from good intentions alone; it is created when expectations are defined and applied consistently. At a minimum, this means establishing weekly timelines for when schedules are posted and how far in advance requests for time off or availability changes are expected. It also means spelling out how adjustments are handled once a schedule is published using shared guidelines rather than leaving those decisions entirely to individual discretion.

Practices such as requiring crew member consent before last-minute changes, or prioritizing time-off requests based on when they are submitted rather than tenure, will also help reduce uncertainty and reinforce fairness. When these expectations are applied consistently, employees are less likely to feel that flexibility depends on who is asking, or which manager happens to be overseeing the operation that week. That same structure also supports managers by providing a shared reference point for decision-making, which allows scheduling conversations to be more straightforward and less personal, and it can reduce stress and friction for everyone involved.

If it has been a while since your organization last revisited how these decisions are made, that alone should be a sign it is time to do so. Operations evolve, workforces change, and practices that are not periodically examined tend to drift from intention to habit, often without anyone realizing it has happened.

Research technology

If your managers are still writing their schedules on paper or creating them with Microsoft Excel, it’s time to recognize that it’s no longer 2006 and that processes such as these make it far more difficult to deliver flexible scheduling in a consistent and transparent way.

Scheduling technology has evolved significantly, and there are now tools available designed specifically to support the realities of hospitality operations. Many platforms allow employees to electronically set and update their availability, limits, and restrictions, while simultaneously enabling managers to generate weekly schedules that account for those inputs alongside operational requirements such as coverage needs, meal periods, and mandatory breaks.

These systems also make flexibility more accessible to employees by allowing them to request time off, swap shifts with coworkers, and view their schedules at any time and from any location, rather than relying on a printed schedule posted on a break room bulletin board. That accessibility matters, particularly for employees who are balancing work with other responsibilities and need timely information to plan effectively.

And where do you find the best scheduling tool for your operation? One of the simplest places to start is by asking your team what scheduling programs they have used in previous jobs and which ones they found helpful, since they are often the ones interacting with these systems most frequently and can offer practical insight into what actually works best for them.

It can also be useful to talk with colleagues at other hospitality organizations to learn what tools they are using and how well those systems support their scheduling needs, particularly if they operate in a similar segment or scale. Peer conversations often bring about considerations that do not appear in marketing materials, such as ease of adoption, manager training requirements, and employee response.

Industry associations can be another valuable resource. Local or state hospitality associations often have recommendations based on member feedback or formal partnerships (sometimes with discounted costs) with vendors that understand industry-specific requirements, and those relationships can provide a helpful starting point for narrowing the field.

Finally, professional networks such as CHART can be one of the most effective places to start by asking other members what scheduling tools they are using, what they like about them, and what challenges they have encountered. And if you haven’t met anyone in our association yet, I would encourage you to consider attending our training conference this summer in Boston – not only will you have the opportunity to get to know the best and brightest minds in the hospitality industry, but also you can connect with various tech vendors in the Resource Gallery and compare solutions side by side.

Test the process

Once scheduling practices have been updated or new scheduling software has been implemented, it is not enough to assume the process works as intended. Leaders should spend time in the field and go through the scheduling experience themselves, using the same tools and following the same steps employees are expected to use.

Visiting your hotels or restaurants and attempting to drop or swap a shift as if you are an employee quickly will reveal whether flexible scheduling functions smoothly or only looks good on paper. Is the process intuitive, or does it require explanation? Does it work the same way across locations, or does it depend on who is managing the schedule? Are requests handled efficiently, or do obstacles, delays, or unnecessary administrative steps appear along the way? It is also important to observe who is expected to take responsibility for finding coverage when a shift cannot be worked, and whether managers are actively involved or leaving that burden entirely on employees.

When problems surface during this kind of testing, they should be viewed as signals rather than exceptions. Difficulty swapping shifts, inconsistent expectations between locations, or confusion about roles and responsibilities often point back to earlier decisions about standards, communication, or technology. Addressing those issues at this stage by clarifying expectations, reinforcing consistency, or adjusting tools will help prevent small breakdowns from becoming routine frustrations that quietly undermine the benefit over time.

Track the results

To understand whether flexible and predictable scheduling is working as intended, it is necessary to track how it is being used across your operations. One practical place to start is by monitoring indicators such as the percentage of employee time-off requests that are approved or the percentage of shift swaps that are supported by managers. Those figures can generally be pulled from scheduling software or tracked manually by the management team, depending on the tools available, and they provide a clearer picture of how scheduling expectations are being applied in practice. While numbers alone do not tell the full story, they offer a useful starting point for identifying where follow-up conversations may be needed.

Having access to this information over time makes it possible to see patterns and trends rather than isolated moments. When approval rates improve or remain consistently strong, it suggests that scheduling practices are becoming more reliable and consistently applied, while declining numbers can signal the need for closer review. Tracking these results allows leaders to identify whether scheduling practices are improving or slipping, and to revisit expectations with managers before employees begin to feel the impact.

By approaching scheduling with this level of intention, hospitality organizations can move beyond surface-level promises. When flexibility is paired with predictability and supported through clear expectations, thoughtful tools, and consistent follow-through, it becomes a benefit team members can actually rely on and contributes to healthier, longer-lasting employment tenures.