Shift bidding explained: Benefits, challenges, and pro tips

If you’ve ever had the luxury of picking your own work hours, you’ve experienced the freeing feeling that shift bidding can bring. Having the ability to choose shifts that align with your personal commitments and skills can leave you with a sense of autonomy that improves your life both in and outside of work.

But shift bidding doesn’t only benefit workers—it can also result in significant cost savings for employers by reducing work for schedulers, increasing employee productivity, and avoiding unnecessary overtime costs. It also leads to better resource utilization by making sure the right person is assigned to the right task. 

Implementing shift bidding in practice can be complex. Getting started requires an understanding of how it works, common challenges, and best practices for creating a smooth scheduling workflow.

What is shift bidding, and why does it matter?

Shift bidding is a scheduling process that allows staff to bid on available shifts instead of having them assigned by a manager. This gives workers more control over their work schedules by letting them choose when they work based on their availability and preferences. 

This scheduling method is commonly used in industries that have fluctuating staffing needs or that operate 24/7, including healthcare facilities, call centers, and hotels.

The shift bidding model encourages consistent staff engagement by empowering employees to take control of their work-life balance. It can provide a greater sense of autonomy and trust from their organization, making them more likely to enjoy their jobs.

How does shift bidding work?

A typical shift bidding system includes four main steps:

1. Shift release: Managers release a pool of open shifts, often using employee scheduling software.
2. Employee bidding period: Staff receive notifications about the new shifts and bid on them according to their eligibility, availability, and other criteria.
3. Manager review: Managers review the bids and assign shifts based on employee preferences, business needs, qualifications, and sometimes seniority.
4. Final schedule: Managers finalize and publish the schedule for all to see. Staff may receive all, some, or none of their preferred shifts. 

The benefits of shift bidding

The shift bidding scheduling method comes with benefits for both staff and employers. According to a 2024 literature review published in Frontiers in Psychology, flexible work arrangements, such as those created by shift bidding, have been shown to:

• Improve employee satisfaction, loyalty, and performance
• Reduce absenteeism and burnout
• Provide mental and physical balance
• Increase work efficiency and effectiveness
• Decrease work stress, tension, and fatigue

Increases in job satisfaction related to shift bidding can also lead to higher rates of employee engagement and retention. This is especially crucial right now, as U.S. employee engagement levels hit a 10-year low of 31% last year. Knowing that everyone has a shot at securing the most desired shifts improves internal transparency and communication, which can also increase organizational commitment.

Shift bidding also benefits schedulers by significantly reducing the administrative burden of manually scheduling staff. When employees request their own shifts, much of the work happens automatically, making the entire shift scheduling process less labor intensive and more efficient.

Potential shift bidding challenges to prepare for

While shift bidding sounds like a win-win scenario all around, it does come with its challenges. It’s a good idea to be prepared for questions or concerns about the following factors.

Fairness and favoritism

If certain staff members feel like they rarely get the schedule they want, it’s natural for them to question the fairness of using self-scheduling for shift assignments. Be prepared to mitigate concerns about favoritism and how staff are chosen when there are multiple bids for the same shift.

The best way to deal with this is to get ahead of the issue. Be transparent about how your decisions are made. For example, if you get several bids for the same shift from people who are all qualified and always choose the worker with the most seniority, say so. Or, maybe your policy is “first come, first served.” Communicating this will help manage employee expectations in advance to avoid conflicts down the line.

Compliance with labor laws

Regardless of who bids what, your organization may be held to strict employment laws and union regulations. Even if an employee wants to work four 12-hour shifts in a row, you might not legally be allowed to grant that request. Some laws require a certain amount of time off compared to hours worked or have restrictions on overtime. 

If this happens, it’s best to communicate with the bidder so they understand why you must deny certain bids.

Training and change management considerations

If you’re just implementing a shift bidding process, you might be met with some resistance to change. That’s normal for any type of transformation. 

Make sure you offer ample training to help staff feel confident using the new bidding system and ease any anxiety about getting stuck with the “worst” work hours. Create a training manual they can reference when claiming shifts, and keep an open line of communication for questions that come up. This is especially easy if you use a mobile app to enable self-scheduling, as many staffing apps also offer chat features.

5 best practices for optimizing your shift bidding system

Whether you’re just implementing shift bidding or have been using the model for years, there’s always room for improvement. Use these five tips to streamline your flexible scheduling process.

1. Define clear policies and eligibility criteria

To ensure fairness and transparency, it’s essential to formally document your shift bidding policies, including eligibility criteria and bidding conflict management. This helps employees understand how decisions are made and reassures them that the process follows the organization’s established guidelines.

Examples of details to consider in your policy include:

• Shift posting details: Which details are shared about each shift, such as the date, time, location, and potentially the pay rate
• Bidding criteria: Whether factors like seniority, performance, or skill level might influence prioritizing bidders
• Random selection: Whether any shifts will be randomly assigned to ensure fairness
• Pay rates: Whether employees can bid based on their desired pay rate 
• Reward systems: Whether you’ll offer incentives for taking last-minute or unclaimed shifts to help prevent understaffing, and what that might look like

2. Foster open communication and transparency

Once you have your policies set, make sure your team members know about them. Send a copy to all affected employees and to new staff during the onboarding process. Consider hosting the document on an intranet or employee mobile app where team members can easily access it.

Invite staff to ask questions and submit feedback. The more they feel like their voice is heard, the more likely they are to buy into the process.

3. Leverage shift bidding software and automation

Shift bidding becomes much easier with digital scheduling tools like workforce management software. The simplest way to set this up is by finding a labor management system that has capabilities for self-scheduling, particularly through a mobile app. 

The added convenience of receiving mobile notifications when new shifts are posted and being able to claim them while you’re on the go can significantly improve the employee experience. This can be a big factor in retention if you’re a staffing agency up against competitors with similar capabilities.

Using automation tools can also optimize your scheduling process by alerting you to scheduling conflicts, such as duplicate or overlapping shifts. 

4. Provide comprehensive training and support

Without proper training or support, your staff might feel left in the dark when it comes to how to get the shifts they want. This could lead to frustration and increased turnover.

Make sure your staff have adequate training guides, how-to videos, and someone they can contact if they run into issues. Offering ample support shows them you want them to succeed.

Training is something to consider when choosing the right scheduling software. The more intuitive the platform, the less training required. This saves your organization time and money.

5. Continuously monitor and refine the process

As with any new business process, monitoring your shift bidding system for areas of improvement is essential. Use metrics like the following to measure its impact:

• Fill rates: The percentage of shifts successfully filled by the bidding process
• Time-to-fill: How quickly shifts are claimed by staff
• Schedule adherence: The rate of attendance and punctuality with assigned shifts
• Manager time savings: Decrease in time spent on scheduling tasks
• Turnover: The rate at which employees leave your company and are replaced

If these KPIs aren’t trending in the right direction, consider changing some of your policies. Ask for direct feedback from staff about what is and isn’t working to help find hidden pain points.

Unlock the power of shift bidding with Teambridge

Shift bidding models can be a huge efficiency booster for schedulers while also empowering staff to take back control of their personal time. They can lead to happier, healthier employees who show up motivated and committed to their work.

Teambridge’s scheduling platform features mobile self-service capabilities that let staff receive alerts and claim open shifts, giving them the control and flexibility to select their own shifts within set rules. With automated notifications and customizable permissions, you can structure how and when shifts become available to staff, supporting efficient and fair shift allocation processes similar to shift bidding models.

Curious to see how these features can simplify your work life? Check out our Building Block for rapidly filling open shifts.