A Year in Review: Deputy's Top Features of 2023

by Deputy Team, 5 minutes read
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At Deputy, we're on a mission to create thriving workplaces in every community, where businesses and their teams flourish. To make that happen, we're dedicated to providing innovative HR software and workforce management solutions that help businesses look after their most valuable asset: their people.

As 2023 came to a close, we looked back on the incredible journey we've shared. In this special edition of our blog, we highlight the achievements, innovations, and game-changing features that have defined Deputy's growth in the past year. 

Join us in celebrating the milestones, acknowledging the progress, and embracing the exciting possibilities that lie ahead.

If you have any feedback on what Deputy should be building, we would love to hear from you! Submit feedback here.

Highlights of 2023

Deputy HR

We heard directly from our customers that hiring the right people was difficult, and teams were using multiple tools and platforms to find, onboard, and hire the right candidates. Deputy HR is the first and only platform that offers the unique combination of:

  • Video-based application questions and automated applicant management. Get to know your candidates beyond their CVs with video questions, and speed up the hiring process with automated text updates for candidates as they progress.

  • Lightning-fast new hire onboarding. Effortlessly collect signatures, bank details, and right to work information, so your hire can start working in hours, not days.

  • ️Digitally and centrally store and automatically chase up expired documents like “responsible serving of alcohol licences” or “working with children checks”, depending on the industry, in the app your workers actually use.

Our customers have been raving about it too! “With Deputy HR, the journey from onboarding all the way to payday is so much simpler and efficient. Not to mention the ability to collect and track staff licences and certifications, the flexibility Deputy scheduling has given us, it's been a godsend for our business.” Derrin Drew, Mantra Park Management



Business insights on mobile

Exciting news for our users who are always on the move and want to stay informed about their business locations! 

If you're a fan of seamlessly tracking your business performance on the go, you may be excited to hear that we’ve launched business insights for the IOS app.  You can now conveniently access and analyse key business metrics (including hours and wages, sales, labour percentage, and sales per hour) right from the palm of your hand.

Bulk import tool

In response to valuable feedback from our customers, we are thrilled to announce a significant enhancement to Deputy's functionality. The bulk import tool has undergone a complete reconstruction, providing you with a simple and efficient way to import or update essential data from CSV files directly into Deputy. 

This upgrade enables the import of various data types, including employee and team member details, pay rates, training modules, training records, assignment of pay details and employment terms (exclusive to Enterprise users), schedules, and timesheets.

The new bulk import has many capabilities:

  • Upsert - Insert new data and update existing data in single import operation

  • Validations - Validate data (e.g. valid location or stress profile) before importing

  • In-place editor - Correct errors directly in editor (no need to download, correct, and re-upload)

  • Export - Export all existing data so that you can edit and re-import 

  • Sample Import templates

  • Bulk Import History - Review previous imports

Improved news feed with reactions

Welcome to a redesigned news feed with reactions to create a more engaging communications centre in your workplace! 

Now, team members can react to each other's posts or comments on web and mobile. Users can choose between 5 reactions on any post or comment. You can also view the list of reactions and who reacted on your post.

The update also introduces a new visual appeal to the news feed on desktop and mobile, featuring full-width image attachments for an enriched viewing experience. As a part of this enhancement, mobile users now have the option to disable comments on posts designed for one-way communication, such as announcements, mirroring the functionality available on desktop. Embrace the fresh look and feel of our news feed, designed to elevate communication and collaboration within your workplace community.

A streamlined copy shifts experience

Deputy has introduced a significant enhancement to the copy shifts feature, focusing on a more streamlined and efficient experience. 

The user interface has been revamped to allow for basic copies of bulk shifts in a single step directly on the schedule, providing a more user-friendly and straightforward process. A real-time progress bar has been integrated into the copy shifts experience, offering visibility into the copying process and ensuring users can monitor its progress. 

Furthermore, the backend engine has been optimised, leading to fewer errors when executing large shift copies across different weeks. This update aims to not only accelerate the copying process but also enhance its reliability, particularly when dealing with substantial amounts of data.

New scheduling experience

This year Deputy introduced a new and improved scheduling experience with the Add Shift Popover feature designed to enhance the scheduling experience for all managers. 

This redesign focused on providing a faster and more user-friendly interaction where users now have the advantage of maintaining a view of their entire week’s schedule while adding or editing a shift, ensuring a fast and comprehensive scheduling process. The new design is user-friendly and easily adoptable, drawing parallels with the intuitive layout of Google Calendar for a more intuitive and accessible scheduling experience. 


Other feature updates


Vision for the future

As we reflect on the remarkable strides Deputy made in 2023, it's with great excitement that we share our vision for 2024. At the heart of our commitment is a continued investment in our customers, aligning our focus on improving their day-to-day lives with smart technology.

This year, anticipate groundbreaking launches in profit optimisation, labour compliance, business reporting, and recruiting and retaining staff. These signal our dedication to empower businesses and support the incredible shift workers who drive our communities. Stay tuned for thrilling updates as we pave the way for a more streamlined, efficient, and impactful future.