Swing Shift: What Is It & How It Could Work For Your Business

As a business leader, you know firsthand how hard it can be to adequately staff your shifts. Building schedules is even tougher if your business operates outside of the traditional nine-to-five model. One solution that many businesses turn to is the swing shift. This flexible scheduling model provides coverage 24/7. But is it right for your business?

In this guide, we’ll break down what a swing shift is and discuss the benefits and challenges. We’ll also show you how When I Work can help you manage swing shifts efficiently. 

Table of contents:

• What is a swing shift?
• Examples of a swing shift in practice
• Business benefits of offering swing shifts
• Common challenges with swing shifts
• Questions to ask before offering swing shifts for your staff
• How employee scheduling software helps you manage swing shift schedules
• Save up to 15 hours per week on scheduling with When I Work

What is a swing shift?

A swing shift schedule assigns employees shifts that fall outside of traditional day and night shift hours. Swing shifts typically run from late afternoon to midnight or even early morning. However, the exact hours vary depending on the industry and business needs. Swing shifts are usually eight hours long, but they can be shorter or longer. 

Swing shifts should not be confused with rotating day and night shifts. Rotating schedules typically use 12-hour shifts. For example, day shift hospital nurses may work from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Night shift nurses will work from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.

Rotating shifts are a popular type of schedule for businesses that are open 24/7. Employees will typically rotate shifts each week, month, or quarter. Rotating the schedules gives each person a chance to work normal daytime hours. 

However, not all industries rotate schedules so frequently. Some may rotate schedules annually using a seniority-based bidding system. 24/7 healthcare facilities, manufacturing plants, and customer service centers commonly use swing shifts. 

Examples of a swing shift in practice

The following industries commonly use swing shifts:

Healthcare 

Many hospitals schedule nurses on swing shifts. For instance, some nurses may work from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. to ensure adequate staffing during high-admission evening hours. 

The hospital may also have nurses working 12-hour shifts that overlap with the swing shifts. For example, the standard night shift schedule may include a 12-hour shift that runs from 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The hospital needs coverage from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., but fewer nurses are required.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing plants commonly use swing shifts to keep production lines running. For example, a plant may include a swing shift from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

Call center

Call centers typically support multiple time zones. A center might implement a 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. swing shift to handle late-night inquiries from different regions. However, if the center isn’t open 24/7, shift hours won’t extend after midnight. 

Business benefits of offering swing shifts

Swing shifts can provide plenty of advantages for your business and its team, including the following: 

Extended coverage 

Swing shifts make it possible to extend your business hours. You can use overlapping shifts during peak periods. The beginning of early shifts and the end of late shifts will be arranged during slow periods. This strategy avoids excessive overtime while increasing your operating hours. 

Optimized resource utilization

Swing shifts help you distribute workloads evenly. You don’t want one shift to be slammed with work while another group has lots of downtime. Rotating your swing shifts promotes fairness for everyone.

Matching peak business hours

Swing shifts help you align staffing levels with customer demand. The result is better service quality and response times. 

The best part of swing shifts is that you can adjust them throughout the year. Suppose that you work in hospitality. During the busy season, adjust swing shifts to provide optimal coverage for guests. During slower periods, you can spread out your staffing or encourage employees to use their paid time off. 

Support for 24/7 facilities

If your business is open 24/7, swing shifts can help meet your staffing needs. 12-hour shifts are also an option. However, some team members may not like the idea of 12-hour shifts. In this instance, 8-hour swing shifts are a great choice.

You can stagger your team members to provide 24/7 staffing. Shifts should be broken down into 8.5-hour intervals. The overlap simplifies shift change and ensures there are no disruptions. 

Reduced overtime

Scheduling workers into swing shifts can cut down on your overtime expenses. The goal is to ensure proper coverage without overworking your team members. Keeping overtime costs down will also promote the long-term financial health of your business. 

Common challenges with swing shifts

You may run into a few hurdles when implementing swing shifts. Some of the top challenges include the following: 

Scheduling complexity

Managing swing shifts manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Shift swaps and last-minute changes add to the challenge. If you think swing shifts are a good fit for your business, you’ll need to adopt digital tools to implement them effectively. 

High admin costs

Swing shifts can reduce your overtime costs. However, if you are scheduling manually, your admin costs are going to rise. Building swing shifts manually can take 10 to 15 hours per week or more. This becomes expensive and distracts managers from their other responsibilities. 

Employee fatigue

Working odd hours could put a strain on some team members. Employees may struggle to adjust their sleep patterns. They may also have a tough time finding a good work-life balance. 

Employee fatigue and burnout can have severe consequences for your business. Workers who are burnt out are almost three times more likely to actively search for a new job. They may also be more prone to workplace accidents and injuries. 

Regulatory compliance challenges

Some states have strict rules about overtime pay and mandatory breaks. Tracking these factors manually becomes harder when working swing shifts. Make sure to review state and local labor laws so you can avoid fines or other penalties. 

Inconsistent service

Overnight swing shifts typically consist of newer or less experienced employees. As a result, they may struggle to maintain the same efficiency as day shifters. Night shift staff may also be more prone to fatigue and drowsiness. 

Questions to ask before offering swing shifts for your staff

Should your business use swing shifts to achieve workforce optimization? Here are some questions to ask as you explore whether swing shifts are the best fit for your company. 

Does our service require extended shift hours?

Start by considering the needs of your business. What are your current operating hours? Would offering extended service hours benefit your business and its customers? 

Swing shifts are commonly used to provide 24/7 coverage. However, any business that is open for extended hours may benefit from swing shifts. For example, if your business is open from 6 a.m. to midnight, swing shifts might be a good fit. 

Do other businesses in our industry use swing shifts?

Look at what other companies in your industry are doing. Are swing shifts common? If so, you may want to explore them as well. 

How would swing shifts impact our budget?

Swing shifts should have a net positive impact on your budget. You can reduce overtime costs and decrease turnover. However, there are some extra costs associated with swing shifts.

For example, many businesses pay employees hourly differentials for working odd hours. Evening and night differentials encourage more experienced employees to work swing shifts. Offering differentials can be great for morale. However, you must account for this expense when redesigning your scheduling model. 

Are there specific roles that would benefit most from swing shifts?

You don’t have to transition everyone to swing shifts. Identify which roles would benefit from swing shifts and which should have traditional hours. 

Suppose that you run a manufacturing plant. Administrative or office staff probably won’t benefit from swing shifts. On the other hand, changing production line staff to swing shifts would increase productivity and output volume. 

Do we have the right software to manage the complexities of swing shifts?

Managing swing shifts manually is a recipe for disaster. Investing in employee scheduling software simplifies the process of scheduling. You can track each person’s availability and avoid costly conflicts. 

How employee scheduling software helps you manage swing shift schedules

Employee scheduling software makes managing swing shifts effortless. You can automatically rotate employees, track overtime, and ensure fairness. The best solutions include automated alerts about scheduling conflicts to reduce gaps in coverage.

If you want to explore swing shifts, you need a scheduling solution like When I Work. This all-in-one scheduling platform builds better schedules faster. 

How When I Work helps you manage complicated schedules

When I Work is loaded with features to make scheduling easier and more efficient. Some of the top tools and features include the following: 

Automated shift rotations—Manually rotating shifts can lead to errors and inconsistencies, but When I Work automates shift rotation to ensure consistencies. A manufacturing company can reduce scheduling errors by 30% by using automated shift rotations. 

Employee rest tracking and compliance safeguards—Ensuring employees receive adequate rest between shifts is difficult to track manually. That’s why When I Work tracks rest periods and break compliance, preventing burnout and scheduling conflicts. A healthcare facility might reduce scheduling violations by 20% after implementing automatic rest tracking. 

Shift swapping and open shift notifications—Finding last-minute replacements for swing shifts is time-consuming and stressful, so When I Work allows employees to swap shifts or claim open shifts instantly. A retail team can fill 90% of last-minute open shifts within minutes using the shift swap feature. 

Labor cost tracking and overtime management—Managing labor costs and overtime for swing shifts is complex. When I Work tracks labor costs in real time and alerts managers to potential overtime. A logistics company could reduce overtime costs by 15% using automated labor cost tracking. 

Real-time communication tools—Keeping swing shift employees updated on schedule changes manually leads to miscommunication. When I Work sends instant updates and notifications via the mobile app, ensuring employees are always up to date on their schedule. A call center could see a 25% improvement in on-time shift attendance after introducing real-time schedule updates. 

Swing shifts can be a valuable scheduling strategy for your business. However, managing them manually can be overwhelming. When I Work provides the tools you need to manage swing shifts effortlessly. 

Save up to 15 hours per week on scheduling with When I Work

When I Work has all the tools you need to adopt swing shifts. The versatile platform allows for self scheduling and shift swaps. The built-in time clock makes tracking hours worked easier than ever. The team messaging feature simplifies communication between coworkers and management, saving time and reducing confusion. 

These are just a few of the tools included with When I Work. Ready to create better schedules and set your business up for success? Try When I Work for free.