Thanks to ever-evolving workforce management technology, the days of creating rotas in an Excel spreadsheet are numbered. Leaders of shift-based workforces have realised the many pitfalls of these longstanding employee management methods, including confusion about shift scheduling, a lack of clarity over labour costs, staffing budget blow-outs, time wasted on manual data entry, endless data inaccuracies, and incorrect pay runs.

What if you could create fully costed, compliant rotas based on demand, at the click of a button? Intuitive rota software makes this entirely possible.

With a plethora of options and features available, it can be difficult to know where to start when choosing the best rota software solution. To make things easier, we have broken down the benefits of rota software, which features that every rota software system should offer, and the challenges you’ll face when selecting the right solution for your business needs.

What are the benefits of using an online rota system?

Rota software is more than just a sophisticated spreadsheet. An online rota system is designed to make managers’ lives easier by speeding up and simplifying the scheduling process, communicating the rota effectively, keeping information in a secure central location, and providing full visibility over rota costs.

An AI-powered online rota system uses employee profile details, built-in compliance rules and staffing budgets to generate cost-effective and compliant rotas with a single click. Once created, you can publish rotas and instantly notify staff via a staff scheduling app or desktop platform so they know exactly where and when they need to be at work.

Rota software can:

• Automate rotas with built-in AI techniques
• Reduce risk with built-in compliance
• Monitor rota costs against sales results
• Create labour efficiencies business-wide
• Communicate rotas automatically
• Send rota and attendance data straight to payroll
• Ensure seamless data flow throughout your workforce management.

The challenges of choosing the best rota software

Before we go into detail around which rota software features to look out for, it’s important to understand that no two businesses are identical and therefore there is no “one size fits all” solution. Take a strategic approach and think about your short- and long-term goals as you decide which rota software solution is the best fit for your business and industry needs, and which will be able to scale with you, as your business need fluctuate.

For example, rota software in hospitality needs to be intuitive, user-friendly and scalable to meet ever-changing staffing demand, and rota software in healthcare needs to help ensure payroll compliance as staff work long and late hours.

Key rota software features to look out for

The best rota software choice is usually one like Roubler where all aspects work together in harmony to create an efficient and streamlined workflow for your business. Certain rota software functions are must-haves to include on your checklist when shopping around.

Easy-to-use interface

An easy-to-use and implement rota software solution will ensure your team hit the ground running with the right online rota system. Look out for how much training is involved and how much ongoing support is needed.

Cloud-based SaaS

Cloud-based SaaS rota software helps save time when creating rotas, eliminate manual data entry and automate the process of sending time and attendance information to payroll. You will also have access to invaluable business intelligence and insights that live on the cloud⁠ – including budgets, timesheet reports, and sales and labour efficiency data – all available at the click of a button.

Smart shift scheduling

Make sure your rota software solution includes smart scheduling to help ensure you create the most efficient rotas possible. Powered by machine learning, Roubler’s smart rota tool suggests the right employees for each shift and auto-completes your rosters taking into account availability, location, roles, compliance and labour costs.

Staff rota app

The best rota software solution not only provides managers with an intuitive interface to create rotas but also supplies employees with a staff rota app on which they can view their rotas by day, week or month. A staff rota app like Roubler’s employee self service app, makes it easy for employees to see exactly when and where they’re working, helping prevent any miscommunication.

Built-in compliance

Your solution should embed compliance checks and measures throughout your rota. With Roubler’s rota software, the ability to build in legislative changes makes it easy for you to remain compliant. You’ll gain peace of mind when it comes to meeting obligations and paying your team correctly.

All-in-one workforce management

Your rota software solution should connect to all aspects of your workforce management including payroll, time and attendance and business intelligence. Roubler’s rota software provides you with the power of one seamless system for all your workforce management needs.

By incorporating everything you need to recruit, onboard, rota, manage and pay your team, Roubler increases efficiency and drives productivity across every aspect of your workforce.

Get in touch with one of Roubler’s workforce management experts to find out how we can help you transform your rota practices and make the most out of an online rota system.

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Samantha Hill

Samantha Hill is a Marketing Content Creator with a passion for making a positive impact online. Over the past five years, Samantha has worked with an array of different companies to deliver content that communicates what their business means to their audience. Since joining Roubler in 2020, Samantha’s focus is on creating engaging content that informs business leaders of the latest skills, strategies, and techniques to help get the best out of their teams.