What Does a Scheduler Do?
Schedulers create and maintain the schedules of individuals or teams within an organization. They balance the availability and resources against incoming requests to ensure all tasks are completed on time and adjust schedules as necessary to accommodate changes in priorities or deadlines. Schedulers work in various industries – most commonly healthcare, logistics, manufacturing, and transportation.
Success as a scheduler requires excellent organizational and time-management skills, the ability to manage competing priorities, and calmness under pressure. They must be strong communicators who are able to confidently and effectively collaborate with team members and other departments to ensure tasks and projects are completed on time.
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National Average Salary
Scheduler salaries vary by experience, industry, organization size, and geography. Click below to explore salaries by local market.
The average national salary for a Scheduler is:
$50,554
Scheduler Job Descriptions
The first step when hiring a great scheduler is a well-crafted job description. Below are real-world examples to help give you the best chance of success on your recruiting journey.
Example 1
Looking for a full-time remote scheduler to work at [Your Company Name]. The scheduler will be responsible for booking clients and patients for appointments. You must have excellent communication skills as well as the ability to accurately record, manage, and oversee data. Previous experience in scheduling and calendar software is not required but is a plus. You will be in charge of answering phone calls and emails from clients and potential clients, as well as scheduling appointments for consultations and visits. If any scheduling issues occur, it will be your responsibility to resolve these issues as well. You should be hardworking and have the ability to resolve any communication issues that may occur. If the duties described seem like they would fit you perfectly, please apply for this position. [Your Company Name] looks forward to hearing from you!
Typical duties and responsibilities
- Schedule appointments for patients
- Call for appointment reminders
- Answer phones and greet patients
- Submit billing and insurance claims
- Resolve questions and complaints
- Handle paper and electronic files
- Basic bookkeeping
Education and experience
Schedulers should have a high school diploma or equivalent. An associate degree in a business or medical field would be helpful, although it isn’t required. Some knowledge of health care would be a plus.
Required skills and qualifications
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Computer skills, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel)
- Experience with electronic health records (EHRs)
- Strong interpersonal skills for dealing with patients, doctors, and staff
- Discretion and the ability to handle confidential information
- Organizational skills and the ability to multitask
- Calm, professional demeanor
- Attention to detail
Preferred qualifications
- Completed HIPAA training
- Experience with scheduling software and working in healthcare
- Obtained previous medical certifications
- Strong mechanical aptitude
- High ethical standards and the ability to hold accountability
Example 2
Responsible for coordinating the day-to-day scheduling activities of a company operation. Maintain and expedite accurate schedules to appropriate departments. Communicate with production department, installers, and customers as necessary for scheduling dates.
Primary tasks and responsibilities
- Coordinates production schedules with vendors, sub-contractors, and customers to establish installation timelines
- Communicates installation date schedules to internal departments as appropriate to ensure product is delivered by established deadline
- Interacts with external customers, vendors, and internal staff to obtain information needed to facilitate work planning, scheduling prioritization, resolution of technical issues, incorporating changes, and identification of other special requirements
- Coordinates flow and work orders according to quality control inspections, schedule, and customer requests
- Communicates with customer regarding scheduling, status, and technical issues
- Maintains accurate records of all trades
- Utilizes computerized system for tracking, information gathering, and/or troubleshooting
Education and experience
- Must be at least eighteen years of age
- Must pass work eligibility requirements
- HS Diploma or GED required
- 0-2 years of experience in area of responsibility
- Experience using Microsoft Office Suite, Specifically Excel
- Preferred: Material resource planning and/or production control experience with Systems Applications Processes (SAP)
- Preferred: Experience in processes of warehouse operations and distribution programs
Physical demands
- While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, stand, sit, talk, hear, and use hands and fingers to operate a computer and telephone keyboard reach, stoop kneel to install computer equipment
- Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer work
- Light to moderate lifting is required
Example 3
If your dream job is heavy on mail merging, pivot tables, and presentation design, this could be the scheduler job for you!
Your responsibilities in this role
- Back various projects for other employees
- Navigate through word processing, filing, and faxing
- Receive and direct visitors
- Appointment scheduling
- Handle telephone calls
Requirements
- At least 1 year of Administrative Assistant experience preferred
- Strong communication and social skills and able to receive criticism well
- Proficiency with diverse computer applications and experience with contract database systems
- Ability to use the internet for research
- Deep understanding of Microsoft Word
- Expertise in Microsoft Excel
- Dispatching experience
Example 4
Role summary
In all of our centers, the first point of verbal contact for our patients is the Scheduler. As first impressions are lasting, our personnel must portray patience, understanding, professionalism, compassion, and accuracy.
Your key responsibilities
- Completes initial registration information of new patients following established policies and procedures
- Process referrals before scheduling new appointments
- Verifies coverage under eligibility
- Evaluate physician schedules to organize appointments
- Monitors automatic call reminder system; making sure that cancellations are identified and reconciled with the schedule
- Updates any changes of patient’s information in computer database and scans updated paperwork into Electronic Health Record (EHR) including documenting phone notes when appropriate
- Navigate through a patient’s chart in the EHR to locate appropriate information
- Verifies pharmacy information and other clinical information related to a patient’s visit
- Documents notes in computer when appropriate
- Other duties as assigned by supervisor
Minimum qualifications
- High school graduate or equivalent
- Excellent organizational and interpersonal skills
- Superior Telephone, computer, and typing skills
- Medical system experience & MS Office experience preferred
- One plus year(s) experience in a medical office setting required
- Ability to sit, stand, and communicate to patients and staff
Candidate Certifications to Look For
- PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP). The PMI Scheduling Professional certification allows candidates who have a comprehensive knowledge of scheduling, project management, and administrative techniques to showcase their knowledge with a widely recognized certificate. This certification is offered by the Project Management Institute.
- Certified Medical Administrative Assistant (CMAA). A certified medical administrative assistant is required to have a comprehensive understanding of administrative tasks within medical offices. This certification can be immensely beneficial to any scheduler looking to gain entry into the medical scheduling field or expand their potential job spectrum. The certificate is offered by the National Healthcareer Association.