Managing employees across multiple locations can be a complex challenge, but the right tools make it a lot easier. In this article, we explore the best employee management apps designed specifically for multi-location businesses and franchises.
These apps streamline scheduling, time tracking, communication, training, and compliance, helping you keep everything in sync. Whether you’re juggling schedules for multiple stores or tracking performance across various branches, these solutions can transform how you manage your dispersed team.
Key Features of Employee Management Apps for Multi-Location Businesses and Franchises:
There are dozens of employee management apps on the market with a range of capabilities. Here are some key features you should look for when choosing the best option for your multi-location franchise business:
1. Employee scheduling:
The software should offer an employee scheduler so you can easily create schedules for your employees in all locations.
2. Communication:
You should easily be able to reach employees in all locations at once. The app should ideally offer multiple communication channels for easy collaboration, such as in-app chat and an updates board for company-wide announcements.
3. Employee time clock:
Employees should be able to clock in and out of work right from their mobile devices. The time clock should accurately track everyone’s hours, breaks, and overtime.
4. Task management:
Look for software that allows you to assign tasks and projects to employees in multiple stores. You should also be able to include notes and descriptions within tasks and be able to track employee progress.
5 Employee training:
You should be able to create customized training courses and upload them to the app for employees to complete from their mobile devices. Standardized training across all locations is essential to ensure every employee possesses the same knowledge and skills
6. Human resource management:
Look for software that assists with HR processes, like setting customizable pay rates. The software should also streamline payroll by creating automated timesheets and integrating with payroll software.
The Best Employee Management Apps for Multi-Location Businesses and Franchises
Connecteam – Best all-in-one employee management app
Connecteam is an excellent option for franchise businesses due to its wide range of capabilities and extensive feature package. Let’s take a look at how this employee management app can streamline your business.
Employee scheduling features in Employee Management Apps
Connecteam offers both manual and automated scheduling, allowing each store manager to choose whichever option they prefer.
The intuitive manual scheduler features templates, drag-and-drop capabilities, recurring shifts, and scheduling conflict alerts to prevent errors.
To use the auto-scheduler, you simply need to define which roles and shifts that need to be covered, and the app will create schedules for you. It does this while considering employee availability, preference, overtime, and business needs to create efficient, balanced schedules that minimize conflicts and maximize productivity.
Team communication and collaboration
One major challenge of managing teams in different locations is achieving consistent communication. Ensuring that all staff receive the same information and understand their responsibilities properly can be difficult.
One reason Connecteam is the best option is that the app offers multiple communication channels that all employees have access to.
With employee management apps the online team chat feature, you can create 1:1 chats with any employees, or use the Smart Group feature to create group chats with employees or managers across stores. You can share documents, product manuals, safety information, videos, images, and any other important content.
To share important updates and announcements with everyone at once, you can use the company updates feature. This social media-style newsfeed is an interactive and engaging way to share information with everyone. Employees can respond with likes, emojis, and comments, which is great for team engagement.
The app also has a searchable employee directory that stores everyone’s contact information, so you can easily reach staff personally by phone or email.
To boost team engagement and gain real-time feedback from your employees, Connecteam offers team surveys that you can customize and send out to everyone. This is a great way to measure employee productivity and happiness across stores.
Consistent onboarding and training across teams
Use Connecteam’s mobile-friendly onboarding and training course templates to create your own trainings. Fill in templates with your own content, such as videos, slideshows, PDFs, and images to make them engaging. You can also break courses up into sections for easier delivery.
Employees in all locations can complete the same training right from their mobile devices so you can rest assured they receive the same knowledge, ensuring consistency across stores.
The app also offers a mobile-friendly, searchable knowledge base to ensure everyone has access to important company information. You can fill this with training documents, checklists, company policies, safety tips, and any other documents employees need close to hand.
Plus much more
Connecteam is an incredibly feature-rich software. Additional features inlude an employee time clock, automated time sheets with customizable pay rates, and employee engagement features.
Connecteam’s paid plan starts at just $29 per month for up to 30 users, and small businesses with fewer than 10 users can access the app completely free.
Pros:
- Ideal for companies with teams in multiple locations, no extra cost for additional location
- Feature-rich
- Intuitive and easy-to-use
- Multiple communication channels keep teams aligned
Cons:
- More third-party integrations in development
Homebase – Good for hiring and onboarding
Homebase is a workforce management software designed to simplify daily operations for businesses managing hourly employees, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses in sectors like retail, hospitality, and services. It provides a variety of tools to streamline daily operations and improve team coordination, no matter how many locations you have.
Hiring and onboarding tools
Homebase’s hiring and onboarding features are particularly useful. You can create and post job listings to multiple job boards directly from the software, making it easier to attract candidates. The built-in applicant tracking system helps you organize resumes, track candidates through different stages of the hiring process, and communicate with them.
Once you hire a new employee, Homebase simplifies onboarding with digital document collection and e-signatures. This allows new hires to complete paperwork before their first day. You can also send automated welcome emails and provide access to company handbooks or training materials.
Compliance and HR management
With Homebase’s compliance and HR management tools, you can keep track of all employee information in one place, from personal details to job history, simplifying record-keeping and updates. Homebase lets you store essential documents, manage employee availability, and even track certifications and licenses.
When it comes to compliance, Homebase makes monitoring overtime and breaks really straightforward. The software automatically flags overtime, helping you comply with labor regulations and prevent costly errors. You can also set up break rules that align with your local labor laws, and Homebase will ensure employees take required breaks and log them correctly.
You can schedule shifts within legal limits to avoid conflicts and compliance issues. You’ll get alerts for potential breaches, giving you peace of mind that your scheduling aligns with legal requirements.
Additionally, Homebase simplifies onboarding by collecting digital signatures on important documents, ensuring you meet regulatory requirements from day one. The app’s intuitive design means you can manage all these HR and compliance tasks without getting bogged down in paperwork, keeping your focus on running a smooth, compliant business.
Pros:
- Scheduling and time off request features works well
- Easy-to-use user interface
- Straightforward communication channels
- Budget-friendly
Cons
- No training tools
- No incident reporting features
- No digital checklists
- Lacks project tracking and the ability to comment on tasks or attach documents
7-Shifts – Good for restaurants and hospitality businesses
7Shifts is a workforce management solution that’s ideal for food service businesses. It supports communication between multiple business locations, offers a time clock, tip management, team scheduling, and more.
Employee time tracking and payroll
In the employee management apps employee time clock allows employees to clock in and out via mobile app, web browser, or time clock. The software then calculates employee working hours, tips, and overtime, eliminating the need to do this manually. Then, it automatically transfers this information to timesheets.
The timesheets consolidate all payroll data for each restaurant into location-specific reports. These reports are really useful and detail total hours, overtime, breaks, and pay rates for each employee in every location. Once you approve timesheets, you can export the data directly to payroll software to make sure everyone gets paid on time.
Business compliance features
7shifts’ compliance features ensure businesses adhere to labor laws and regulations, making it easier for restaurants to manage legal requirements. The platform tracks overtime, breaks, and scheduling rules, automatically flagging potential violations and providing alerts for managers.
Additionally, it maintains a comprehensive audit trail of all time and attendance records so restaurants remain compliant and ready for inspections.
Team communication
This employee management apps software’s communication tools keep restaurant teams connected through direct and group messaging. You can send important updates or announcements to all staff or specific groups, ensuring everyone stays informed. Plus, the platform supports document sharing, so training materials and policies can be easily distributed, streamlining communication and collaboration.
Pros:
- Ideal solution for food service businesses
- Restaurant compliance tools are useful
- Streamlines payroll
- Helps improve employee engagement
Cons
- Extra features cost more
- App can be glitchy
- Reporting features could be more robust
- Labor forecasting tools need work
Wishup’s Employee Management App – The All-in-One Solution for Remote Teams
Running a business remotely? Manage your team with ease right from your phone using Wishup’s Employee Management App. This powerful tool makes employee management and task tracking seamless, putting your entire office in the palm of your hand.
- Features:
- Easy Team Management: Track tasks, assign responsibilities, and get end-of-day reports to stay informed on what everyone’s working on.
- Time Tracking: Monitor time spent on tasks and get insights into employee utilization for efficient team management.
- Task Scheduling: Schedule tasks in advance and receive AI-powered task suggestions to optimize team productivity.
- Leave Tracking: Manage employee leave requests and absences effortlessly.
- Employee Utilization: See how effectively your team uses their time, with a built-in utilization tracker.
- Perfect for Remote Teams: Ideal for entrepreneurs and remote teams, making daily management and reporting clear, efficient, and accessible.
