Monthly Schedule Verification Automation
The Problem
Most employees could be contacted directly about timecard issues, but one line of business was different. The timecard team had to go through supervisors instead of talking to employees. This group also didn't use IEX, so their schedules lived in an Excel workbook that supervisors were supposed to keep updated.
When timecards didn't match schedules, the resolution process was painful. Team sees mismatch in workbook, contacts supervisor, supervisor contacts employee to investigate, supervisor updates workbook and reports back. What should take one conversation took several days. The whole problem stemmed from the workbook getting outdated when supervisors changed schedules but forgot to update it or notify the timecard team.
The Solution
Built Power Automate scheduled workflow sending monthly reminders to supervisors asking them to verify the Excel workbook had current schedules for their teams. Simple automated email asked supervisors to review the workbook and update any outdated schedule information. Monthly timing gave supervisors a regular nudge to keep the workbook current without being intrusive.
Proactive reminders prevented the painful multi-day resolution process. Instead of discovering outdated schedules when timecard issues surfaced, supervisors caught schedule changes before they caused problems. Simple monthly email eliminated the bottleneck of supervisors forgetting to update the workbook.
Architecture
Power Automate scheduled workflow with monthly recurrence trigger. Email automation sends reminder to supervisors for the non-IEX line of business. Message asks supervisors to verify Excel workbook has current schedules for their direct reports and update if needed. Single-flow architecture with minimal complexity. Monthly timing chosen to balance keeping schedules current without overwhelming supervisors with frequent requests.
Key Implementation Decisions
- •Monthly cadence vs weekly or quarterly: Frequent enough to catch changes but not annoying for supervisors
- •Automated reminder vs relying on supervisors to remember: Removed human memory as failure point
- •Target supervisors directly: They owned schedule updates and had authority to change the workbook
- •Preventative approach: Monthly check-ins prevented multi-day resolution bottlenecks before they started
- •Simple ask: Just verify and update if needed, no complex reporting or approval process required
The Results
Quantifiable Outcomes
- ✓Reduced timecard resolution delays by keeping schedule workbook current
- ✓Prevented multi-day back-and-forth between team, supervisor, and employee
- ✓Supervisors caught schedule changes before they caused timecard mismatches
- ✓Monthly reminders removed reliance on supervisors remembering to update workbook
- ✓Simple automation with minimal supervisor time burden
- ✓Proactive maintenance replaced reactive problem-solving
- ✓Fewer frustrated employees dealing with timecard errors from outdated schedules
Lessons Learned
- →Preventing problems beats fixing them: Monthly reminders stopped multi-day resolution delays before they started
- →Simple automation can solve big pain points: Single monthly email eliminated major workflow bottleneck
- →Regular nudges work better than expecting people to remember: Supervisors needed the reminder system, not more responsibility
- →Understanding the real workflow matters: Knowing the team couldn't contact employees directly made workbook accuracy critical
- →Monthly timing hit the sweet spot: Frequent enough to catch changes, infrequent enough supervisors didn't mind