Employee Rostering: Dated Mindsets and How to Challenge Them

HR managers overwhelmed by employee rostering turn to WorkForce Software to increase efficiency, improve productivity and modernise their workforce.

Determining which employees will work which shift is often a challenging task for managers. Employee rostering requires managers to understand the organisation’s workforce, specifically the employees’ skill sets and certifications, to match the right worker with the right task.

Different types of workers have different needs. A one-size-fits-all employee rostering approach, whilst tempting for simplicity’s sake, essentially ignores the needs of the workforce.

WorkForce Software solutions help managers respond quickly to disruptions in the workforce, featuring fair and predictive employee rostering tools that gather valuable data on workers’ skills and hours worked. Managers can make use of this data to meet their employees’ needs adequately whilst helping to create an appropriate work/life balance.

Our rostering tools also retain the necessary focus on compliance, which can be a constantly moving target. It can be difficult to keep track of every detail to ensure operations are meeting regulatory requirements. The right employee rostering programmes can help navigate these challenges, keep the organisation compliant and maintain worker satisfaction.

WorkForce Software helps managers take a modern approach to employee rostering to fully support the different teams in your workforce. This reduces discrepancies between worker types, eliminates unnecessary competition for hours and decreases the chaotic and unproductive nature of manual employee rostering. The software can also assist with ensuring a productive mix of employees to encourage collaboration and address both the needs of the business and its workers.

WorkForce Software can help modernise the employee rostering of deskless shift workers in a variety of verticals, including manufacturing, retail, education, the public sector, healthcare, hospitality and business services.

Employee Rostering By Skill-Level

One way that our solutions modernise employee rostering is by factoring in employee skill-level. Managers can be strategic and intentional by including workers with more experience in the same shifts with workers who are newer, rostering employees who have the strengths and weaknesses to complement each other. This strategy creates a balanced environment where co-workers learn from and with one another.

Additionally, managers can factor in other aspects to ensure they roster the right workers for each shift. With digital rostering capabilities, managers can also look at qualifications, updated certifications and availability to configure dynamic employee rostering. Using these competency criteria will help ensure only workers who are a fit for the job are rostered.

With WorkForce Software, employers have access to a complete worker profile allowing them to log in and update their own employee data. The employee profile tracks shift history and other performance indicators. This employee-generated information also helps the system to identify workers best suited for each project.

Employee Rostering By Multiple Groups

Another benefit of WorkForce Software’s solution is its ability to assist with employee rostering for different groups of workers. Not all labour is alike and organisations may have a combination of full-time and part-time deskless shift workers. Each employee type has different requirements in minimum and maximum hours according to labour laws. Workforce management programmes enable managers to ensure consistency and compliance.

Let’s consider several scenarios to showcase how these tools can assist with rostering:

Scenario 1: A retail store staffed with part-time and full-time workers and two managers:

WorkForce Software calculates the number of part-time workers to roster for each shift based on the tasks required and the hours needed. A project that requires twenty-five hours could be completed in one day by five part-time workers, each working five hours.

For full-time workers, the manager could roster three full-time workers to work eight-hour shifts. The goal of employee rostering with WorkForce Software is to meet the demands of both the organisation and the employee.

Scenario 2: A manufacturing project that requires workers with at least three years of experience and specific ASQ certifications:  

WorkForce Software can identify qualified workers to include in shifts and eliminate workers who do not meet the minimum requirements, acting as a safety net to ensure compliance with all processes and procedures necessary to avoid legal risks and fines.

The software also helps enable more flexibility with different types of workers and documenting their shifts. Employees can enter their own time into the system including blocking off their availability and noting hours worked. Managers can verify the data and use it to plan for future employee rostering. This is especially important for seasonal workers.

Scenario 3: Partnering more experienced workers with new hires:

Employee rostering can be modified to realise this balance of experienced and inexperienced staff. If the objective is to increase sales and productivity, employee rostering can be created around high-performing and reliable deskless shift workers.

If the goal is to optimize labor spend and reduce office space even further, the organisation may choose employee rostering based on a combination of their availability and business needs.

Productivity, Efficiency and Optimisation

Some key considerations for managers when creating employee rostering strategies for deskless shift workers involves being flexible, predictable and accessible. These workers need employee rostering tools that help them plan their work/life balance and have access to their employee data.

Employees need to know that their availability and requests for time-off will be acknowledged and factored into the employee rostering process each week. When employees feel employers are responsive to their needs, they are likely to be more engaged, productive and loyal to your organisation.

WorkForce Software’s rostering capabilities deliver the flexibility employees expect with the coverage employers want including:

• Gives employees visual access to their rosters, clearly displaying when they are expected to work. It can show weekly, biweekly and even monthly rosters. Once employee rostering has been entered, managers can use previous shift information to create future shifts. Knowing when they will work helps employees plan their lives around their work rosters, which is crucial for a healthy work/life balance.
• Accessibility from a desktop, phone, or any devices with an internet connection. Employees can review their rosters, note changes, updates and even claim available rosters. They can review previous shifts and confirm any information already entered.
• Provides managers the means and technology to intelligently manage the often overwhelming process of employee rostering. The software helps with managing shifts and planning for time-off requests in an precise and efficient way.

Support Different Teams and Strengthen Employee Experience

With all of these benefits, WorkForce Software offers the tools managers need to provide flexibility in employee rostering whilst helping to meet employee and employer needs. Built for managers that want to easily and quickly create, adapt and monitor employee rosters whilst giving workers more flexibility and control.

Powerful data gathering functions, ease of communication, compliance cognisant and employee satisfaction focused — learn what it can do for your organisation today.