Has this ever happened to you?  You review this week’s schedule and ask the question “what does this schedule cost?  only to get a response that is something like “give me a few minutes and I’ll let you know”.  We have long struggled to find a scheduling tool that provided both a clear perspective on floor coverage and a precise capture of scheduled labor cost.  With labor cost representing the majority of our cost structure, the proper balance of coverage vs. cost is critical.  Scheduling with only attention to coverage can lead to subtle but costly (overtime) budget overruns while scheduling only to budget will likely leave the retail floor undermanned at critical times. The absolute worst time to fully understand your labor cost is when you run payroll…and by then it’s too late.   Task Master provides a graphical representation of coverage vs. customer service demand and a precise calculation of scheduled labor cost vs. budget…the best of both worlds.

I noticed a young associate cleaning the front sidewalk one morning but after entering the store, I noticed several customers gazing at aisle markers searching for product.  This left me wondering why the associate chose to clean the storefront with a store full of customers.  I went back outside and praised him for his work, then asked why he chose then do this task.  He told me “my boss (store manager) told me to do so”…good answer.  More curious, I asked my store manager the same question, and his response was “because I told him to”…another reasonable response.  I knew there had to be a better way for managers to delegate tasks that was more customer-centric.  The answer for my business was a task card which empowered the associate to choose customer service over the timing of executing tasks while providing the manager with a tool to prevent essential tasks from being overlooked or forgotten.

Have you ever thought of how much more effective your business would be in terms of delivering legendary customer service if your most talented employees could spend much more time with customers rather than being periodically consumed with back-office activities like scheduling or managing all of the non-selling activities required in our business?  At last count, there were 67 tasks that need to get executed on some periodic basis in our business.  To a manager whose primary role is to sell merchandise, this is a bunch of “mind clutter”.  Task Master provides a clear process to delegate, organize, and keep score of almost anything business activity AND gives back your best talent to your customers.