If your business relies on shift work, you know how challenging it can be to manage all the different aspects of staffing and rostering. From finding the right staff for each shift to dealing with cover, holidays, absenteeism, and costs, balancing everything can feel overwhelming. However, the key to success lies in effective rostering.
When done correctly, rostering can significantly improve your company’s efficiency, reducing absenteeism, maximizing productivity, enhancing the customer experience, and saving on costs. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll discover everything you need to know about successful rostering.
What is rota management?
Rota management is the process of planning and scheduling shifts for your employees. It involves considering factors such as staff availability, holidays, wellbeing, cover and on-call shifts, skills, and costs to create a roster that keeps your business running smoothly.
The drawbacks of traditional rostering
Traditional rostering methods, usually done manually using spreadsheets, come with several issues that can lead to costly problems. Here are some of the biggest challenges associated with manual rostering:
1. Higher fatigue and stress among staff: Without an efficient way to track hours worked and manage breaks and holidays, manual rostering can result in staff members taking on too much overtime or unable to take necessary breaks. This can cause widespread fatigue and stress among your employees.
2. Understaffing: Rosters need to be agile and adaptable to handle unexpected circumstances such as staff sickness or external events like severe weather. Manual rostering requires constant monitoring and adjustments, which can lead to issues with under or overstaffing. This not only impacts immediate profits but also affects the customer experience.
Why should you consider auto-rostering?
Auto-rostering, also known as e-rostering, is a software solution that automates your company’s rostering process. By configuring rotas according to your shifting needs, auto-rostering platforms streamline the entire shift planning process. Here are some benefits of implementing auto-rostering in your business:
1. Save time and money: By automating time-consuming rostering tasks and reducing administrative work, auto-rostering frees up resources and enables you to focus on other areas of your business. It also helps you save money by optimizing staffing levels and ensuring you have the right resources at all times.
2. Reduce absenteeism: Auto-rostering software provides complete visibility over your staff’s working patterns and alerts you to any issues. This ensures that everyone is working the right hours and taking appropriate breaks, resulting in decreased absenteeism and the need for cover.
Discover industry-leading automatic rota management.
Managing rotas can be complex, but it doesn’t have to be. With Nextra’s advanced rostering platform, you can quickly and easily configure rotas, taking advantage of intelligent forecasting to meet projected demands. Monitor shift costs, track absences, and address problem areas, all while remaining compliant with working time regulations. Experience rostering you can rely on.