Rostering, its a critical business skill

Why Roster

If you didn’t have to roster you probably wouldn’t but rostering is a critical business skill.

Yes it’s a skill – and like all skills it requires practice and the right tools to get it right.

Payroll for most businesses can be there highest costs, and money lost on over rostering cannot be recovered. We also find that without the right tools the time spent on rosters can be a hidden cost to your business.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

To properly roster you must:

1.    Have an idea of the minimum staffing requirements of your business as your base roster.

2.    Book in additional hours to cover the projected expectations in revenues.

3.    Ensure starting and finishing times are managed and staggered.

4.    Make sure your roster is giving people the right days and time off.

5.    Put a plan in place so that your roster is catering for holidays.

6.    Rosters need to have flexibility.

7.    Rosters need to be costed.

8.    Rosters need to be linked to expected revenues per day and per week.

An excuse we will always hear is that we find it difficult to plan our rosters as we can’t predict our revenues or when we are busy – but “A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow”… George S. Patton.

Proper rostering is difficult to begin with but ultimately like all skills once mastered it will reward your business with a better payroll % and ultimately better profits. It also leads to happier staff as holidays and time off are all part of a proper roster.