One such tool is the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It is primarily used by smaller companies, but is also used in many medium-sized companies. It can be used to quickly and easily create duty rosters for weekly workforce management. Additionally, you can find numerous ready-to-use Excel templates online such as templates for shift schedules.
In addition to enabling you to visualize work hours and shift schedules, the Excel spreadsheet also provides many useful formulas and macros. These allow you to automate complicated calculations (e.g. for weekly hours or wages) and program additional functions such as employee lists and checkboxes. You can then either print out the finished work schedules as hard copies or send them directly to employees by email or via intranet.
However, since most information is entered into Excel spreadsheets manually, this tool is relatively error prone. This can lead to duplicate entries if the person is not paying careful attention, which cannot be prevented by formulas. Furthermore, this Microsoft tool’s range of functions is quite limited when compared to dedicated WFM software.