Use case guide

The Employee Shift Scheduling (ESS) model powers automated, optimized, and fair shift-based planning across industries, including hospitals, retailers, and security firms.

This guide outlines common use cases and shares tips on how to use the Timefold model for each.

Use cases of the Employee Shift Scheduling model include:

  • Hospital staff: Fairly assign the right staff to every shift, every ward, every time.

  • Retail staff: Smarter schedules for peak efficiency.

  • Security & guards: Full site coverage, compliant rotations, and real-time responsiveness.

1. Nurse rostering (Hospital & Healthcare)

1.1. Typical use case

Hospitals, clinics, and care facilities use the Employee Shift Scheduling model to generate fair, compliant, and efficient nurse rosters. By balancing coverage requirements, qualifications, and personal preferences, the model ensures quality care while reducing administrative workload.

1.2. Key challenges

  • Ensuring safe, high-quality patient care by maintaining the right skill mix and staffing levels on every shift.

  • Keeping 100% shift coverage across wards while meeting qualification and certification requirements.

  • Handling last-minute absences and fluctuating patient demand without disrupting care continuity.

  • Balancing skills, costs, seniority, and fairness to protect staff morale and reduce burnout.

  • Respecting union rules, rest periods, and labor regulations to stay compliant and avoid fatigue-related errors.

1.3. How to address common scheduling problems

Problem Solve it with

You need to ensure the right staff per ward or department.

Use tags to label shifts and employees by ward or unit (for example: ICU, Pediatrics, ER).

You must assign staff with the right qualifications and seniority.

Apply skills to specify required roles (RN, specialist nurse, trainee, anesthetist).

You need to plan around long and irregular shifts.

Configure shift patterns, for example: 8–12 hour shifts with rotating 3-day work weeks and recovery days.

You want to respect staff preferences and improve satisfaction.

Use availability preferences to honor preferences for when to work or not to work.

You want to mentor new nurses by pairing them with seniors.

Add pairings to link senior nurses and trainees.

You want to lock in some shifts already assigned (or swapped) manually.

Use pinning or shift assignments to fix or prefer certain employees for certain shifts.

You must guarantee minimum coverage for every ward each day.

Use mandatory shifts and shift priorities to maintain high-priority daily targets.

2. Retail staff scheduling

2.1. Typical use case

Retailers use the Employee Shift Scheduling model to align staffing with customer demand while minimizing labor costs and improving employee satisfaction. By combining demand forecasting, contract limits, and availability, it builds schedules that are fair, compliant, and responsive.

2.2. Key challenges

  • Matching staffing levels to hourly demand and traffic peaks.

  • Managing variable availability and part-time contracts.

  • Enforcing labor law and rest-period compliance across stores.

  • Maintaining fair workload distribution across teams.

2.3. How to address common scheduling problems

Problem Solve it with

You need to schedule staff across different store sections or branches.

Use tags to represent store locations (Branch A, Branch B, etc.) or departments (checkout, stock, bakery, etc.).

You need to assign the right role to the right shift.

Define skills to handle roles like cashier, supervisor, or barista.

You must handle short and flexible shift lengths.

Configure shift patterns for 4–6 hour shifts and variable 5–6 day work weeks and/or use alternative shifts to pre-generate multiple variants of a shift (short/long) and assign just one of them.

You want to staff dynamically based on customer demand.

Use demand-based scheduling to match forecasted sales and traffic peaks.

You want to honor locations where employees prefer to work.

Label locations with tags and use tag preferences.

3. Security guard scheduling

3.1. Typical use case

Security companies, facility managers, and event operators use the Employee Shift Scheduling model to create balanced, compliant, and real-time adaptive guard schedules. It automatically plans rotations, site assignments, and coverage, ensuring every post stays protected.

3.2. Key challenges

  • Maintaining continuous site coverage and quick reassignments during incidents.

  • Matching guards to sites based on certifications, clearances, and contract rules.

  • Managing rotation limits and rest-period compliance.

  • Balancing fatigue and fairness across guards.

  • Keeping critical sites high priority at all times.

3.3. How to address common scheduling problems

Problem Solve it with

You must schedule guards across multiple sites or contracts.

Use tags to represent locations (for example: Airport, Warehouse A).

You need to assign guards based on qualifications or site clearance.

Configure skills for certifications like firearm license, first aid, or security clearance.

You want to maintain fixed rotations (for example: 4-on / 4-off).

Set shift patterns to model continuous cycles.

You want to keep guards working with the same partners or at the same posts.

Use pairings to link guards or stabilize site assignments.

You want to preserve, or prefer, pre-agreed assignments for long-term contracts.

Use pinning or shift assignments to keep specific posts fixed or preferred.

You must prioritize certain sites (for example: critical infrastructure).

Use mandatory shifts and shift priorities to assign higher weight to high-security sites.