In industries like healthcare, hospitality, retail, and public services, managing employee shift work can be a daunting task. From assigning the right staff to shifts, finding cover, managing holidays and absenteeism, to keeping costs and productivity in check, there’s a lot to handle. But one mistake can have serious consequences for businesses.
That’s where employee rostering comes in.
Proper rostering can significantly improve a company’s efficiency by reducing absenteeism, maximizing productivity, enhancing the customer experience, and saving on costs. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about effective rostering.
Understanding Rota Management
Similar to rostering, rota management involves planning employee shifts. It considers factors such as staff availability, holidays, well-being, cover and on-call shifts, skills, and costs to create a schedule that keeps your business running smoothly.
The Downsides of Traditional Rostering
Traditional rostering relied on manual processes, with HR teams and managers using spreadsheets to plan shifts. However, the complexity of the task often led to mistakes, resulting in various costly issues.
Let’s explore some of the main problems associated with traditional rostering.
Minimizing Fatigue and Stress
Staff well-being should be a top priority when planning shifts. However, manual rostering makes it challenging to track important data such as hours worked, absences, and breaks, especially with larger employee numbers. This can lead to excessive overtime, inadequate breaks, and ultimately, widespread fatigue and stress among your staff.
Avoiding Understaffing
Efficient business operations require effective roster planning that can adapt to unforeseen circumstances like staff sickness or extreme weather events. While an automated rostering system immediately identifies staffing problems, manual rosters require constant monitoring and adjustments, increasing the risk of understaffing or overstaffing. This not only hurts immediate profits but also negatively impacts the customer experience.
The Benefits of Auto-Rostering
Auto-rostering, also known as e-rostering, refers to software that automates roster management. These platforms make it easy to configure schedules that meet your company’s shifting needs.
Let’s explore how auto-rostering can benefit your business.
Save Time and Money
By automating time-consuming rostering tasks and reducing administrative work, auto-rostering allows for efficient roster management. This frees up resources for other essential aspects of your business. Additionally, it helps you save money by preventing understaffing or overstaffing and providing real-time visibility of any necessary changes to ensure you have the right resources at all times.
Boost Employee Morale and Reduce Absenteeism
Auto-rostering doesn’t just benefit your business; it also improves employee well-being. By giving you complete visibility over your staff’s working patterns and flagging any relevant issues, you can ensure everyone works the right hours and gets adequate breaks. With fewer fatigue-related problems, burnout, and stress, you’ll experience fewer absences that require cover.
Experience the Leading Automatic Rota Management Solution
Managing rosters can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be. With Nextra’s rostering platform, you can easily configure schedules with intelligent forecasting to meet projected demands. Track shift costs, manage absences, and address problem areas while adhering to working time regulations. Trust Nextra for precise and efficient rostering beyond compare.
