Work Week Scheduling Guidelines (Managers)

As a manager, you are responsible for building and publishing the crew schedule. A well-built schedule is one of the most impactful things you do for your team and your store’s performance. A poorly-built schedule leads to over-staffing, under-staffing, unhappy employees, and service failures.

The Work Week

• Cassano’s work week runs Thursday through Wednesday
• Schedules must be posted one week in advance — before the work week they cover begins
• Posting the schedule late is a leadership failure; your team needs time to plan their lives

Building the Schedule

Step 1: Project Sales

Pull the sales history for the same week in the prior year (and any recent comparable weeks). Note:

• Which days are high volume vs. low volume
• What your peak hours are (typically 11 AM–2 PM and 5 PM–8 PM)
• Any local events or promotions that may affect demand

Step 2: Set Your Labor Target

Your district manager will provide your labor percentage target. Labor cost as a percentage of sales drives store profitability. Build to that target:

• Labor % = (Total labor cost ÷ Total sales) × 100
• Over-scheduling raises labor cost; under-scheduling hurts service and burns out your crew

Step 3: Layer Your Shifts

• Staff your peak hours first — make sure you have enough people for the lunch and dinner rushes
• Schedule openers and closers around your busiest windows
• Build in overlap at transitions so the store is never caught understaffed during a shift change
• Account for the smoke break blackout windows — see L25 — when scheduling coverage during rushes

Step 4: Account for Time-Off Requests

• Time-off requests submitted 30+ days in advance should be honored when operationally possible
• Do not approve requests that would leave you below minimum coverage without a backup plan
• Communicate denials in writing as early as possible

Ohio Overtime Rules

For hourly employees:

• Any hours over 40 in a workweek must be paid at 1.5× the regular rate
• The work week for overtime calculation is Thursday–Wednesday
• Overtime is not prohibited — but unplanned overtime is a cost control issue. Build your schedule to minimize unintended OT

For salaried-exempt managers:

• Exempt employees are not entitled to overtime under FLSA exempt status
• This applies only if the employee meets the salary threshold and job duties test for exemption
• If you are unsure whether an employee is correctly classified, ask your district manager before assuming exemption

Communicating the Schedule

• Post the schedule in a visible, accessible location in the store
• Notify employees as soon as the schedule is posted — do not make them hunt for it
• If a scheduling error occurs after posting (wrong person on a shift, coverage gap), correct it immediately and notify affected employees directly

Handling Call-Offs

When a crew member calls off:

1. Acknowledge the call-off — do not ignore it and hope coverage materializes
2. Work your call list: who is off that day? Who has open availability?
3. If you cannot fill the shift, adjust your floor plan to cover the gap rather than running shorthanded without a plan
4. Document the call-off for attendance tracking purposes

Manager Scheduling & Self-Coverage

As a manager, you set the tone. If you are regularly arriving late, leaving early, or calling off shifts — your crew notices. Hold yourself to the same standard you hold them.