What we found was that we would find people who wanted to be on the night shift, and would NOT like to be changed, at all. Some people
like
night work, or have family situations where it is ideal for them.
Regards Marshall
+1 I would start by first taking an audit of skills. Some people are just really good troubleshooters above and beyond average in that respect. You want at least one of those on each shift. Some other people are really great at attention to every little detail in documentation. You want at least one of those, too, on each shift. Sometimes those skills overlap but my experience is that they are rooted in different personality traits and the two complement each other and are only rarely found in the same person. Everyone else will be pretty much average in both respects. Then look at family situations. Married with children will probably not much care for swing shift if their kids are school age as they will never see them except on their days off. Mids are difficult for people with a toddler at home (ever try to sleep with a toddler in the house?) but work well with school-aged kids (parent can sleep while child is at school). Single parents are going to hate mids and swings. Look at individual preferences. Some people are natural night owls, some are natural morning people. Don't try to work against that if you can avoid it. So you might have a swing shift loaded up with single people, mids with people who like working those hours and maybe married with school-aged children. Day shift with single parents and higher level supervisory rolls. But the extent to which you take into account people's natural preferences, natural strengths and weaknesses, and their situation at home can make a huge difference in a harmonious situation on the job.