“We couldn’t have done it without the team at WorkForce Software. When you’re in the mix of running your business, you don’t necessarily pick up on all the opportunities for improvement that the system can provide, so working with them was fantastic.”
Roster Smarter with Illawarra Retirement Trust
A Groundbreakers Story
Illawarra Retirement Trust (IRT) is one of Australia’s largest community-owned providers of independent living, aged care, and home care with a vision to “create communities where seniors achieve their optimum quality of life.” Operating for over fifty years, IRT provides services to over 9,000 residents and customers each year in 31 retirement villages, 21 aged care centres, and 6 home care hubs. Faced with the need to migrate to a single workforce management system, IRT shares how they unified their rostering model for multiple locations to drive better employee outcomes and greater operating efficiencies.
Customer Snapshot
Organisation: Illawarra Retirement Trust
Headquarters: Wollongong, NSW
Industry: Healthcare
Divisions:
- Aged Care Centres
- Home Care
- Retirement Villages
- Catering
- Foundation & Academy
Employees: 1,900+
Website: www.irt.org.au
Four Main Challenges with a Decentralised Model
Inconsistent Processes
- Mixed manual processes, including Excel, Word, and handwritten notes
- Poor visibility of information from HR systems
- Limited or inconsistent reporting formats
- Higher overtimes and labour budgets
- Erosion of employee performance
Poor Utilisation of Workforce
- Roster clerks operating in silos
- Increased overtime costs to cover unplanned absences
- Increased agency cost for contract and temp workers
- Difficulty in meeting an increase and decrease in demand across sites
- Reduced employee engagement and earnings opportunities
Inability to Meet 24/7 Operating Demands
- Roster Clerks unable to meet demands outside their shift
- Payroll errors and risk of non-compliance
- Poor use of valuable skillsets and resources
- Impact on job performance and satisfaction
- Distraction from providing quality care for residents
Lack of Employee Engagement and Input
- Limited communication channels
- Increased labour costs to prepare and finalise rosters
- Reduction in employee satisfaction and sentiment
- Increase in overtime or unskilled shifts
- Knowledge loss due to turnover at each site
Rostering Best Practices Revolve Around:
- Fatigue Rules
- Business and Skill Needs
- Customer Demands
- Legislative Compliance
- Contracts/EBAs
- Employee Availability
“We couldn’t have done it without the team at WorkForce Software. When you’re in the mix of running your business, you don’t necessarily pick up on all the opportunities for improvement that the system can provide, so working with them was fantastic.”—Richard Walsh, Head of People & Culture, Aged Care Centres
4 Key Benefits of a Unified Hub Rostering Model
Rostering to Meet 24/7 Business Needs
- Reduced absentee and improved job satisfaction
- Reduction in overtime costs and payroll errors
- Reduced burden of unplanned roster management removed from non-HR roles
- Employees are able to focus on core duties and provide outstanding customer service and care
Consistent Rostering for All Sites
- Ability to meet complex workplace agreements
- Clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and processes
- Greater skill-share and upskilling across the team, improving job performance and satisfaction
- Reduction in contract and temp staff as well as overall employee costs
Employee Visibility and Self-Service
- Access to rosters anytime, anywhere
- Real-time engagement, workforce transparency, increased job satisfaction and retention
- Increased productivity of workforce planners and senior staff
- Reduction in escalated payroll-related complaints
Improved Reporting
- Complete view of real-time work hour and pay data
- Reduction in administrative efforts
- Streamlined compliance
- Greater transparency of metrics for more informed business decisions
“We’ve had a great relationship with WorkForce Software for a long time. The support that we have been provided has been fantastic and the team has supported IRT as a business. It’s an ever-evolving partnership.”—Richard Walsh, Head of People & Culture, Aged Care Centres
IRT’s Response to COVID-19
- Requires all employees to have a flu vaccination before entering the care centre
- Utilises a secondary employment database to quickly run reports regarding COVID-19 hotspots that may affect employees with secondary employment
- Sends daily COVID-19 update emails to ensure employees are receiving and viewing pertinent information
WorkForce Suite for Healthcare
See how the WorkForce Suite can help you avoid healthcare worker burnout and turnover, reduce costs, increase operational efficiency, and simplify compliance.
See it in Action!
To see how our solution can help you improve business outcomes, request a personalised demo.