Aug 6, 2023

2024 Rota Staff: Strategies for Successful Rota Planning

As we enter another new year, it's time to get your business ready to go!

One of the critical things you'll need to do is plan a staff rota. Staff rota, or the "roster", outlines all employees' shifts. This may seem simple up front, but organising team schedules can quickly become daunting.

You must consider the different roles of your employees, requests for certain hours/days, business demands, required breaks, off-time and more, all while ensuring your team can cover its responsibilities.

While this may seem overwhelming, it doesn't have to be. While planning can be time-consuming, the right strategies and tools make it manageable. This blog post will give you some tips on rota planning in 2024. With these tips, you can create a rota that works for your business and your employees.

So let's get started!

Decide what tasks need to be completed each day and make a list

Scheduling is the key to having a productive day, so making a daily to-do list is essential. Listing out your tasks can help ensure that you're staying on top of deadlines and not forgetting any important tasks that need to be done.

Setting aside time each day to make your list can save you from an overwhelming rush at the last minute. Making these lists also offers a sense of accomplishment when you finish marking off the items, and it helps to motivate you for the next day's tasks. Writing down what needs to be done lets you get organised and stay focused, giving yourself a better chance of having a stress-free and successful day.

Work out how many staff members you will need for each task

Planning for a big project takes time and patience - especially when you must work out how many staff members you will need to complete each task. It's essential to get it right as having too few staff could make the job take longer than anticipated, while too many can lead to extra costs that need to be accounted for.

Consider the responsibilities you must cover for a shift and project. Break down the various tasks involved, and then plan how many people (and which type of employee) you may need. If you discover any times you need more or less assistance, then note those down for future reference. You may uncover specific time frames that require more employees vs ones that require fewer. It may take a bit of trial and error, but once you hit the sweet spot, you can feel confident that your project is in good hands!

Create a rota that covers all the shifts you need to be filled

Creating a rota that can cover all the shifts you need to fill is one of the most important organisational tasks. It must be taken seriously and requires careful consideration of who has the right availability, skillset, and attitude to do the job.

When creating your staff rota for 2024, consider using a rota management system to streamline the process, ensuring all shifts are efficiently covered. Building your rotas requires careful consideration of each employee's shift pattern and availability. Rota planning will also require communication between management and staff to ensure everyone is clear on their shifts and duties. As tedious as it can sometimes be, setting up an efficient roster system that works for everyone is vital – resulting in less stress and more harmony among staff!

Make sure everyone knows when they are working by sending them the rota in advance

Getting everyone on the same page regarding work schedules is always a good idea. Making sure everyone knows when they're working helps keep organisations and businesses running smoothly, so send out your rota each week in advance.

What if you need to make a last-minute change to the schedule? No law prohibits you from changing the working hours of an employee's schedule, but be sure that any changes do not violate their contract.

Therefore, accurate employee information is crucial for effective rota adjustments. The same goes for increasing or decreasing total working hours.

Additionally, be mindful of the disruption changes can bring to your team. Do your best to avoid them and offer optional shift pickups.

Not only does this give everyone plenty of time to plan, but it also reduces stress by ensuring everyone's expectations are clear. Let's all do our best to stay organised!

Create your rota straight from your payroll app

Our intuitive and easy-to-use rota builder makes creating your rotas a breeze. Add, edit and publish shifts when you are ready to notify your staff. Single shifts or entire weeks can be copied and pasted saving hours of tedious planning. Synced with payroll.

Be flexible with the rota - if someone needs time off, try to accommodate their request

Taking time off is essential - it gives us much-needed breathing space and relaxation. We all deserve a break now and then, so the statutory annual leave entitlement is for workers who work five days per week to receive at least 28 days of paid annual leave. So, when someone in the team needs to take some extra time away from work, it's essential to be flexible. Accommodating leave requests within the rota helps maintain staff engagement.

Of course, you'll still need a rota that works for everyone and ensures that tasks are completed on time, but try to be as accommodating as possible. Keeping everyone happy ultimately creates a better working environment and more productive employees.

Keep an eye on absenteeism and try to identify any pattern

Absenteeism can be tricky to navigate, but it's important to keep an eye on it and try to identify any patterns. For example, if you notice certain individuals taking excessive time off/or calls in sick more than others, address it promptly.

Similarly, if a job role exhibits higher absenteeism rates, there is something else behind the scenes to look into. Keeping tabs on everyone's attendance records means that any potential issues can be addressed quickly and stopped before they become too serious.

Be mindful of how you approach tardiness and absenteeism. Offer an understanding approach and try to uncover the "why" behind the issue rather than blaming the employee. For example, in 2021, over 2.5 million people in the UK had to take off work for long-term health problems. But, of course, you must also lay good ground rules about time off, communication for emergencies and so on.

Well, there you have it – our guide to creating a rota for your business. We hope this has been helpful and gives you a clearer understanding of what steps you need to take to ensure that your staff is allocated hours that work for them. Oh, and don't forget: the more detailed your rota is, the easier it will be for everyone involved!

Use Moonworkers to streamline your staff rota

The best solution for 2024 and beyond is Moonworkers integrated rota planner. Our rota management system reduces the usual chaos of planning schedules and timesheets.

Using Moonworkers, you can plan rotas within minutes. You can add, edit, and publish shifts within a few clicks. Notify your team when you're ready. Save time on repeated schedules as well. Using our rota planner, you can copy specific shifts or entire weeks and repeat them as necessary.

As employees clock in and out, we can generate automatic timesheets to make it quick and easy for you to track hours. Approve clocking records with one click or adjust as needed. Compare clock-in times with scheduled hours and monitor any tardiness or absence.

If you want an easy way to create a rota for your business and stay on budget, give us a try. Book your free demo today to learn more about how our Moonworkers can help you with your rota planning and HR needs.