#shiftlength

Marco Juarez

Money Doesn’t Make You Better Off

Having worked all over the country with workers from all walks of life, I can attest to the fact that not everyone – a large part of the American population – do not view the trappings of high-income, high-rent areas as amenities. And on top of that, money is not often the primary motivator for most people. You have only to look at the Millennial Generation to prove that point. I have interviewed and surveyed thousands of people over the past 20 years. I have had highly train

Marco Juarez

Daylight Savings on a Submarine

It’s been a number of years since I left submarine duty. What a lot of people may not realize is that every ship in the Navy, including submarines, are fully staffed by shift workers. Daylight Savings Time as a shift worker can be another day of getting the short end of the stick – even in the fall. While most people are comfortably getting an extra hour of sleep when the clock “falls back”, night shift workers often find themselves at work for an extra hour – or a half hou

Frank Pereira

How to create a better Workplace for Working Parents

Now more than ever, there needs to be an emphasis on flexibility for working parents. Not only are they a larger share of today’s workforce, they also demand more from employers. Decades ago, for at least one spouse, working long hours away from families was typical. This was even more true in the traditional two parent families, where often one parent stayed at home so the other could prioritize work over family time. Today that trend has shifted dramatically. Our survey da

Jim Mertz

The importance of helping your child learn real world solutions.

This past summer I had the opportunity to bring my 11 year old daughter Sasha on a work trip. We visited one of Coleman Consulting Group’s food manufacturing clients in Northern California. The management team at Blue Diamond was very hospitable to Sasha and even took the time to show her how the plant processes their delicious, world famous almonds. After Sasha’s tour of the plant, it was time for our management team meeting – the real reason for the trip. As the Coleman an

Marco Juarez

What is on the Mind of the VP of HR?

First, their organization, just like most across the country, is experiencing a retention problem. Second, the practice of ghosting (an empl

Marco Juarez

The best shift solutions for the best in tile

I’ve been designing and implementing shift schedules for over 20 years. I get excited every time I have the opportunity to design something from scratch for a place that hasn’t even hired its first employee. In 2014, leading ceramic tile manufacturer Dal-Tile broke ground on its newest ceramic tile production facility in Dickson, Tennessee, and I was asked to work with the new management team to design shift schedules for the facility. The biggest challenge in designing the r

Marco Juarez

Scheduling the Holidays

Every holiday season I see people villainize retailers, manufacturers, and many businesses for their holiday work practices. “They should let their employees enjoy time at home during the holidays!” That is generally the message people convey. I don’t have an opinion for or against the practice of working on holidays – there are already so many shift workers that are essential to the functioning of our society working on holidays that I see there are many ways to help employe

Rebecca Bugas

ER DOCTORS ARE SHIFT WORKERS, TOO

My daughter recently dislocated her kneecap during PE and the high school called frantically to let me know she was on her way to the emergency room. When I arrived at the hospital, my daughter’s knee had been popped back in place, but she was still in terrible pain, and the swelling was setting in. When the attending doctor came around to introduce himself, I asked if they had given her anything for the pain before I arrived. They had not (really???), so I asked for Advil an

Frank Pereira

The Power of the Right Schedule

We often say at Coleman Consulting Group that a schedule is not about your day on and day off pattern or your shift length. Schedules are about understanding the impact of the entire system on process and people. #shiftschedule #shiftlength #businessneeds #employeedesires #DisruptHR #HR #Workforce #HRonPurpose #Business #turnover #schedules

Marco Juarez

Holiday Work/Life Balance – A Non-Traditional, Traditional Thanksgiving

I have really had to learn to bring balance to my life. I admit that not so long ago I was a workaholic. I still am to some extent, but I have done a much better job of finding ways to step away and shut down work – especially when there is fun to be had with the family. Thanksgiving is no different. I typically enjoy being the cook for Thanksgiving day. With a family of eight children, and adding their friends as they have gotten older, means cooking for two or three dozen p

Frank Pereira

What do the "Three Circles" mean?

The "Three Circles" represent the three key elements required to design the best schedule successfully. These elements also reflect Coleman Consulting Groups definition of a schedule: Business Needs - "a system for deploying capital and personnel." Employee Desires - "with employee buy-in." Health & Safety - "specific work, pay, and coverage policies." Our consultants are experts in the field of scheduling and resource optimization. They work across multiple industries to ide

Rebecca Bugas

Don’t Fall Behind on Sleep while Falling Back on Sunday

This weekend we will "Fall Back" once again for Daylight Savings Time. Every year, we hear the arguments for and against, and the debate has even made it to the ballot this year in California. Where you live in the country, what time you go to work, and your personal habits and lifestyle can all affect your positive or negative view of DST. So what are the issues surrounding DST, and why should we be paying attention? The reasons typically given in support of DST are energy

Marco Juarez

Are You Underpaying Your Employees?

Do you know if your company is in compliance with the provisions FLSA? In the last two years, 100 percent of the clients we have consulted are at risk of back pay – and they had no idea. In some cases up to millions of dollars. #HRonPurpose #HR #shiftlength #overtime #Business #scheduling #shiftwork #flsa #Humanresorces

Frank Pereira

How Does Fatigue Affect Your Employees?

At Coleman Consulting Group, we have surveyed thousands of employees across the country and around the world. The health and safety portion of the survey asks about sleep and fatigue relative to employee schedules. Our senior partner Frank Pereira talks about the implications of overworking your employees and how it directly affects your business. #Sleep #HR #shiftschedule #shiftlength #employeescheduling #scheduling #Humanresorces #Business

Marco Juarez

More Capacity – More Days Off – Happy Employees – Win, Win Win!!!

I love it when we make a real difference for both the employee and the company! This story starts out like so many others in manufacturing plants all over the world. Demand for the product being produced grows, so a facility that might traditionally run Monday through Friday starts doing work on Saturdays. Demand grows further and suddenly production is happening seven days a week. This was the situation at Keystone Foods’ processing facility in Eufaula, Alabama. Growth was g

Frank Pereira

Employee Retention is Sometimes About Just Listening

This week I visited with managers from one of our multi-site customers. Spread across North America, this organization provides services from over twenty locations in three countries. Staffed to cover many non-standard hours, turnover had been a growing problem. Engagement surveys and exit interviews continue to point to employee schedules as one of the central themes causing dissatisfaction. Another issue has been upper management neglecting to listen to employees. Earlier

Marco Juarez

Giving Employees Rest and Lunch Breaks is Costing Millions

Before you jump to conclusions, the title of this blog post isn’t implying that employees shouldn’t be given rest and lunch breaks. Yes, providing rest and lunch breaks costs money. It is an investment. It is an investment that is made to ensure the welfare – the health and safety – of employees is maintained. Ultimately, the health of a company is directly related to the health of its employees. So, what am I talking about? The bottom line is that rest and lunch breaks are

Frank Pereira

Are Longer Shifts Better?

I am asked all the time, “Are longer shifts better?” More commonly, the question is, “Isn’t it true that 12-hour shifts are more dangerous (or less productive) than 8-Hour shifts?” It depends. Given a choice, most employees I encounter – and it doesn’t matter what their job is – would like a schedule that gives them more days off. The only way to get more days off with the same paycheck is to work more hours in fewer days. For example, if you work four 10-hour shifts, you wor

Frank Pereira and Marco Juarez

A Healthy and Safe Schedule is About More Than Just Work

Is scheduling having an impact on workplace fatigue and accident rates?

Marco Juarez

A Conversation with Our Managing Partner

#worklifebalance #shiftwork #businessneeds #threecircles #employeedesires #shiftlength

BEYOND YOUR TYPICAL SCHEDULING