HR
Aug 6, 2023

How to Create a Rota Template for Your Business

Creating a rota template for your business can be daunting, but it's essential to organising your team and ensuring everyone knows their responsibilities. With a rota template, you can easily schedule shifts, track employee availability, and make necessary changes. In this blog post, we'll guide you through creating a rota template that works for your business, so you can save time and focus on growing your company. Let's get started!

Explanation of what a rota template is


A rota template is a document that helps you schedule shifts among your team in an organised manner. It contains shift times, employee availabilities, and other vital information to ensure everyone knows their role and remains accountable for the tasks they need to conduct. Creating a rota template allows you to plan easily, providing the most efficient use of time and resources while avoiding potential scheduling conflicts.

Importance of having a rota template for your business

A rota template for your business is essential for creating a sound shift plan. It helps ensure that employees know their obligations and deadlines to deliver the best outcome for your business. Additionally, having a rota template in place can help save time and money by reducing scheduling conflicts and ensuring everyone is where they need to be when they need to be there. Moreover, it creates  transparency within your business as everyone can see how their tasks fit into the workflow.

Identifying your business needs

Analysing your business requirements

Before you jump into creating a rota template, it's crucial to analyse the needs of your business. Ask yourself questions like: How many employees do I need to schedule? What kind of shifts am I needing? What is my budget? Do you have a scheduling process in place? For example, is a deputy manager responsible for creating the shifts and maintaining the rota planner? This will help you determine what type of template best suits your business and make creating it smoother.  

Identifying the roles and responsibilities of your employees

The next step is to identify the roles and responsibilities of your employees. This will help you create a rota template for their duties and working hours. For instance, if some employees can only work part-time, you must create a template that accommodates this situation. Additionally, look into any particular tasks or additional skills your team may have that could benefit your business.  


Creating a rota template


Choosing a suitable format for your rota template

Once you have identified your business's needs and each team member's roles, it's time to decide on the format for your rota template. You can choose from various formats like Excel spreadsheets, Google Sheets, or dedicated software.

Filling in the required details

Once you have chosen a suitable format, it's time to start filling in the details. First, add employee names, work locations, hourly rates, and availability. Next, add shift times, breaks, and any special instructions that must be followed. Finally, make sure to proofread everything before finalising your template.  

Customising the template to fit your business needs

Now that you have filled out the details, you can customise your shift planner to fit your business needs. You can add additional tracking categories, such as employee performance or overtime. Additionally, you can use colours or symbols to help differentiate tasks and make it easy to read.

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Implementing the rota template

Communicating the rota template with your employees

The final step is to communicate the rota template with your employees. Ensure everyone knows their roles, work schedule and responsibilities and any other special instructions that must be followed. Additionally, ensure everyone knows where and when to access the template. The main advantage of rota software is that staff members receive push notifications on their phones. Moreover, some solutions, like Moonworkers, allow them to sync the rota planner with their phone calendar. Another advantage of an automated shift planner is that managers can create open shifts, allowing your roster to swap shifts.

Providing necessary training for employees to use the template

Now that your rota template is ready, it's time to give the required employee training. This includes teaching them how to read and interpret the template and any additional features you have added. Additionally, provide any guidance they may need when adjusting their availability or making changes in the template.

Ensuring that the template is being used effectively

Once the training is complete and everyone is familiar with the rota template, it's essential to ensure it is used effectively. This can be done by monitoring employee performance and any changes they make to the template. Additionally, you should conduct regular checks to ensure everything is running smoothly and that the template meets your business needs.  

Reviewing and Updating the Rota Template

Regularly reviewing the template to check for any necessary changes

Reviewing your rota template periodically is vital to check for any necessary adjustments. This can include employee availability, shift times, or other changes that may affect the efficiency of your template. Additionally, if you spot any redundancies or inefficiencies in the template, update it accordingly.  

Updating the template to reflect any changes in your business needs

Finally, updating the template to reflect any changes in your business needs is essential. This includes adapting the template to new roles and responsibilities of your employees or any recent shifts you may need to add. Additionally, if you are using dedicated rota planning software, keep it updated with any changes in your business.  

Conclusion

Creating a rota template for your business guarantees everyone knows their responsibilities and stays organised. We hope our guide has helped you create a template that works for your business, so you can save time and focus on growing your company.

How can Moonworkers help?

Moonworkers is a dedicated rota planning software designed to help businesses save time and money when creating shift plans. Our easy-to-use dashboard provides features like open shifts, push notifications, calendar sync, and additional tracking categories for employee performance or overtime. In addition, Moonworkers will generate timesheets automatically as well as compute payroll.

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Choose Moonworkers online payroll services for professional, reliable, and knowledgeable service.
We have been using Moonworkers for quite some time and compared to other software in the market, we found it very simple to use and excellent. Moreover, the customer service is great.
Shabir D.
Euro-accounting

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