<s>
Employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
automates	B-Application
the	O
process	O
of	O
creating	O
and	O
maintaining	O
a	O
schedule	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
make	O
optimization	O
decisions	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
manage	O
and	O
coordinate	O
the	O
tasks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
's	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
often	O
includes	O
mobile	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
functionality	O
can	O
help	O
organizations	O
with	O
issues	O
like	O
employee	O
retention	O
,	O
compliance	O
with	O
labor	O
laws	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
workforce	B-Application
management	I-Application
challenges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
theoretical	O
underpinning	O
of	O
an	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
problem	I-Application
can	O
be	O
represented	O
as	O
the	O
Nurse	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
problem	I-Application
,	O
which	O
is	O
NP-hard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Prior	O
to	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
companies	O
would	O
use	O
physical	O
mediums	O
for	O
tracking	O
employee	O
hours	O
and	O
work	O
schedule	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
then	O
gave	O
way	O
to	O
the	O
idea	O
of	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
which	O
would	O
be	O
an	O
all-inclusive	O
system	O
that	O
would	O
store	O
and	O
track	O
employee	O
work	O
history	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
actually	O
scheduling	O
the	O
employee	O
's	O
work	O
week	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
form	O
of	O
automated	O
employee	O
scheduling	O
and	O
managing	O
of	O
employee	O
hours	O
was	O
the	O
punch	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
manufactured	O
and	O
marketed	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
unit	O
record	O
machines	O
for	O
creating	O
,	O
sorting	O
,	O
and	O
tabulating	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
,	O
even	O
after	O
expanding	O
into	O
electronic	O
computers	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1950s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
developed	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
technology	O
into	O
a	O
powerful	O
tool	O
for	O
business	O
data-processing	O
and	O
produced	O
an	O
extensive	O
line	O
of	O
general	O
purpose	O
unit	O
record	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
1960s	O
,	O
the	O
punched	B-Architecture
card	I-Architecture
was	O
gradually	O
replaced	O
as	O
the	O
primary	O
means	O
for	O
data	O
storage	O
by	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
,	O
as	O
better	O
,	O
more	O
capable	O
computers	O
became	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mohawk	O
Data	O
Sciences	O
introduced	O
a	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
encoder	O
in	O
1965	O
,	O
a	O
system	O
marketed	O
as	O
a	O
keypunch	O
replacement	O
which	O
was	O
somewhat	O
successful	O
,	O
but	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
were	O
still	O
commonly	O
used	O
for	O
data	O
entry	O
and	O
programming	O
until	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
when	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
lower	O
cost	O
magnetic	O
disk	O
storage	O
,	O
and	O
affordable	O
interactive	O
terminals	O
on	O
less	O
expensive	O
minicomputers	O
made	O
punched	B-Architecture
cards	I-Architecture
obsolete	O
for	O
this	O
role	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
need	O
for	O
automation	B-Application
and	O
intelligent	O
rostering	B-Application
in	O
workforce	B-Application
management	I-Application
will	O
continue	O
to	O
grow	O
as	O
society	O
's	O
heads	O
into	O
a	O
gig	O
economy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Algorithms	O
are	O
used	O
within	O
the	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
in	O
order	O
to	O
determine	O
not	O
only	O
who	O
is	O
working	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
the	O
specific	O
jobs	O
and	O
tasks	O
required	O
of	O
the	O
workers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
complexities	O
thusly	O
require	O
that	O
each	O
and	O
every	O
workplace	O
must	O
optimize	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
based	O
on	O
their	O
own	O
unique	O
set	O
of	O
rules	O
,	O
issues	O
and	O
needs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
employee	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
wo	O
n't	O
necessarily	O
improve	O
business	O
practices	O
by	O
itself	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
automate	O
typically	O
tedious	O
business	O
administration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Manage	O
the	O
task	O
of	O
automation	B-Application
and	O
data	O
collection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
modern	O
workplace	O
becomes	O
more	O
complex	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
likely	O
that	O
rostering	B-Application
will	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
flexible	O
to	O
cater	O
to	O
more	O
individualistic	O
preferences	O
.	O
</s>
