Publications

September 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling

By: Ethan Bernstein, Saravanan Kesavan, Bradley Staats and Luke Hassall

With 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles,... View Details

Educators

Purchase

12 Apr 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Productivity Suffers When Employees Are Allowed to Schedule Their Own Tasks

Source: rawpixel Many jobs involve completing a series of sequential, independent, prearranged tasks. Physicians see patients; teachers grade papers; insurance agents process stacks of claims. In the interest of productivity, some organizations have a predetermined... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

2022
Working Paper

The Effect of Employee Lateness and Absenteeism on Store Performance

By: Caleb Kwon and Ananth Raman

We empirically analyze the effects of employee lateness and absenteeism on store performance by examining 25.5 million employee shift timecards covering more than 100,000 employees across more than 500 U.S. retail grocery store locations over a four year time period.... View Details

Keywords: Absenteeism; Lateness; Scheduling; Performance Productivity; Employees; Retail Industry

2022
Working Paper

Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions

By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo

We empirically analyze how managerial overrides to a commercial algorithm that forecasts demand and schedules labor affect store performance. We analyze administrative data from a large grocery retailer that utilizes a commercial algorithm to forecast demand and... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Human Capital; Performance; Applications and Software; Management Skills; Management Practices and Processes; Retail Industry

2024
Working Paper

Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions

By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo

We investigate whether corporate officers should grant managers discretion to override AI-driven demand forecasts and labor scheduling tools. Analyzing five years of administrative data from a large grocery retailer using such an AI tool, encompassing over 500 stores,... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Forecasting and Prediction; Working Conditions; Performance Productivity

2023
Working Paper

The Impact of Input Inaccuracy on Leveraging AI Tools: Evidence from Algorithmic Labor Scheduling

By: Caleb Kwon, Antonio Moreno and Ananth Raman

Are the inputs used by your AI tool correct and up to date? In this paper, we show that the answer to this question: (i) is frequently a “no” in real business contexts, and (ii) has significant implications on the performance of AI tools. In the context of algorithmic... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Employees; Performance Effectiveness

04 Oct 2024
In Practice

Research-Based Advice for the Seasonally Overwhelmed and Schedule Challenged

Similarly, the fitness studios I frequented often adjusted the class schedules twice a year—almost like two “semesters.” Likewise, the enrichment activities my kids decided to participate in reset each fall. Even the Broadway plays and... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

23 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

How to Keep Employees Productive: Support Caregivers

report guides organizations in supporting work-life balance for caregivers. Fuller finds that there are strong incentives to support these employees with benefits; payoffs include lower turnover and less absenteeism. Instead of urging... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

enhanced personal protective equipment; creating a physical barrier between work stations (for example, Plexiglas screens or individual offices); and changing work schedules to minimize contact between coworkers. Above all, employers... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

25 May 2011
HBS Case

QuikTrip’s Investment in Retail Employees Pays Off

It's a much believed assumption in the retail world: If you're going to compete on the basis of low cost, then you can't afford to invest in your employees. Extensive training—who has the time to give? Regularly scheduled hours?—way too... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

22 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Want Hybrid Work to Succeed? Trust, Don’t Track, Employees

Many employees are seeking a permanent change to their schedules and companies are adapting. A recent McKinsey survey found that 90 percent of companies are willing to accommodate them with plans for hybrid... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

29 Jul 2019
Research & Ideas

How Companies Benefit When Employees Work Remotely

Companies that let their workers decide where and when to do their jobs—whether in another city or in the middle of the night—increase employee productivity, reduce turnover, and lower organizational costs, new research suggests.... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

28 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Forget Cash. Here Are Better Ways to Motivate Employees

For example, figure out flexible work schedules so employees spend less time jammed in traffic. Allow work-travelers to book direct flights—even if they cost a little more than indirect trips. Encourage... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

27 Feb 2023
Research & Ideas

How One Late Employee Can Hurt Your Business: Data from 25 Million Timecards

control of store owners: Employees showing up late—or sometimes not at all. Managers are aware that employee lateness and absenteeism is prevalent and expensive to their operations. Now, researchers at... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand; Retail

September 2018
Article

Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services

By: Maria Ibanez, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats

Work-scheduling research typically prescribes task sequences implemented by managers. Yet employees often have discretion to deviate from their prescribed sequence. Using data from 2.4 million radiological diagnoses, we find that doctors prioritize similar tasks... View Details

Keywords: Discretion; Scheduling; Queue; Healthcare; Learning; Experience; Decentralization; Operations; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Performance; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Decisions; Time Management; Cost vs Benefits; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

02 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

Employees Out Sick? Inside One Company's Creative Approach to Staying Productive

can’t control absenteeism, and you don’t know when you will receive an order for a very important buyer,” he says. “So how do you execute your strategy?” While studying a factory in India, Tamayo found one efficient way businesses can remain productive even when View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Fashion

2017
Working Paper

Discretionary Task Ordering: Queue Management in Radiological Services

By: Maria Ibanez, Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats

Work scheduling research typically prescribes task sequences implemented by managers. Yet employees often have discretion to deviate from their prescribed sequence. Using data from 2.4 million radiological diagnoses, we find that doctors prioritize similar tasks... View Details