The Benefits of Automated Substitute Management

Is there a single school administrator or secretary out there who doesn’t dread hearing the phone ring at 5 am on a Monday morning? It’s usually nothing serious, a minor illness that means a teacher won’t be able to make it to work that day. But it disrupts your sleep, gets Monday off to a rough start, and then you have the inevitable, tireless search for a last-minute substitute.

You call sub after sub in hopes one of them will a) pick up the early phone call and b) drag themselves out of bed to cover a class. A great way to start the day for all involved!

What if we told you there’s a better way to tackle substitute management? One that means school districts can eliminate these calls entirely? It’s time to automate substitute management with software. Read on to learn how automating substitute management makes finding substitutes a lot less painful, improves communication between teachers and substitutes, and brings substitute management costs down.

What is automated substitute management?

A game changer for K-12 schools, automated software for substitute management is an online management system where teachers input absences, substitutes sign up for work, and administrators review and approve leave with just a click or two. It helps schools:

• Get a comprehensive view of coverage needs to manage labor costs and prevent under-scheduling
• Increase substitute fill rates — and fill those gaps more quickly with qualified, available substitutes assigned to the right class
• Empower substitutes with the information and documentation they need to keep curriculums on track
• Ensure substitutes are paid accurately from the appropriate budget
• Make leave management quick and easy for everybody

Long story short: automating substitute management gives administrators, teachers, and substitutes valuable time back and makes sure students keep learning without disruptions.

How does it work?

Everyone at school — including teachers, substitutes, and administrators — receives a login to the substitute scheduling software. When a teacher is sick or needs to take leave, they login to the system and create an absence in just a couple of minutes. Once the absence is created, available substitutes are automatically notified of open classes.

Your administrators don’t have to pick up the phone countless times, substitutes don’t have to wait for their phone to ring to book work, and your teachers can take the time off they need without worrying about class coverage.

Is it right for my school?

No matter how large or small your school, automated substitute management is perfect for any school that has a teacher sick leave policy. While administrators want teachers in their assigned classrooms every day, people get sick and life likes to throw curve balls every now and then. If you struggle to keep up with substitute assignments during the peak sick weeks each winter, or having staff out for professional development proves too much for your substitute management process, then automated substitute scheduling is right for you.

How automated substitute management improves the lives of teachers, administrators, and substitutes

Today’s administrators and secretaries need to spend their time working for and helping students, not solving staffing issues. No more phone calls. No looking up numbers, leaving messages, or playing phone tag (plus, Millennials are scared of phone calls…).

In addition to making finding substitutes as easy as 1-2-3, the right software for substitute management also offers the following benefits:

• For teachers: A digital record of absences and leave allowances — Avoid the dreaded “leave without pay” with a clear look into sick and personal leave balances
• For administrators: Insights into absence trends and substitute fill rates — understand absence behavior, support attendance goals, and know which dates are historically harder to fill so you can proactively incentivize staff attendance
• For substitutes: More visibility and flexibility — set availability and easily keep track of booked classes

 It’s time to explore automated substitute management for your school

Designed for K-12 schools to support strong communication and collaboration between teachers and substitutes, SubSearch is available in our leading time and attendance solution, TimeClock Plus. Contact the TCP Software team today to learn more about how SubSearch makes sub assignments clearer for substitutes, easier for teachers, and keeps your students on track.

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TCP Software’s employee scheduling and time and attendance solutions have the flexibility and scalability to suit your business and employees now and as you grow.

From TimeClock Plus that automates even the most complex payroll calculations and leave management requests, to Humanity Schedule for dynamic employee scheduling that saves you time and money, we have everything you need to meet the needs of your organization, no matter how unique. Plus, with Aladtec, we offer 24/7 public safety scheduling solutions for your hometown heroes.

Ready to learn how TCP Software takes the pain out of employee scheduling and time tracking? Speak with an expert today.