The Benefits of Using a Roster App

When it comes to running a business, there are all the important considerations like maintaining a solid cash flow, keeping clients happy and winning new business. But something that’s often overlooked – and equally, if not even more important, than those things – is [scheduling staff hours](https://www.deputy.com/au/blog/how-to-schedule-your-staff). After all, for operations to run smoothly, you need a well-oiled machine of happy and productive team members. Here’s why using a roster app could change the way you do business. * * * ### **What are the different types of rosters?** You don’t have to conform to any one set of rules when it comes to rosters – after all, you know how to run your business better than anyone else! But here are a few popular options to consider: * **Duty rosters:** These are useful for businesses where more than one team member is equipped to take on particular roles. A duty roster can clarify those roles and avoid any unintentional double-ups. * **Flexi-rosters:** Flexible working is becoming more and more common, and having a roster that’s equipped to handle the changing needs of employees is crucial for all business types – but especially those that schedule staff in shifts or keep long hours on weekends. * **Staggered rosters:** For retail businesses that have fluctuations in customer numbers depending on the time of day, staggered rosters can ensure the right number of employees are always on the clock. It’s worth investigating how a few [quick hacks for rostering](https://www.deputy.com/au/blog/5-quick-hacks-for-better-payroll-management) can revolutionise your scheduling practices. They can not only streamline your processes, but also turn the creation of those rosters from a time-intensive chore into something concise, easy to manage and worthy of your business. * * * ### **Get staff involved** A [roster app](https://www.deputy.com/au/features/scheduling-software) is only as good as the people who use it – so it makes sense to share your company roster with your whole team. This avoids any inadvertent favouritism with employees, and lets anyone [throw their hat in the ring for certain shifts](https://www.deputy.com/au/features/shift-trading), for example on better-paying public holidays. While the final decision should always rest with the boss, having two-way communication and transparency can do wonders for staff morale and productivity. * * * ### **Need to fill busy shifts? Use experienced workers** There will always be days when things get hectic and you need to call in the troops. But with a proper roster app, you can prepare for those busy periods and assign duties and shifts to your best team members. While busy periods are also really useful for training up new staff, be sure to keep experienced employees around so everything runs smoothly. * * * ### **Automate availability and time-off requests through the roster app** Gone are the days of heavy ledgers and handwritten shifts – thankfully! In the modern age, all rostering should be online and, preferably, certain tasks should be automated. This includes letting team members choose their availability and make leave requests. The right roster app will have all this and more, and being able to automate the time-consuming jobs will make for a more streamlined business operation. * * * ### **Let staff see their work schedules** As has already been mentioned, transparency is extremely important for small business owners – especially for managers juggling a team of casual or seasonal employees. By having a roster app that every team member can access on their phone or PC, they can view their schedules and make requests without having to contact HR or call you during your downtime. But perhaps most important is that this functionality gives your team enough time to view their shifts and plan for their week ahead. Having everything online and visible means last-minute calls into work are less frequent, and the schedule is consistent week in, week out. * * * ### **How Deputy can help** There are all sorts of ways you can bring your rostering techniques into the modern era, and having an intuitive, user-friendly roster app is the perfect way to get started. Deputy’s online rostering software is an all-in-one solution that does everything from sending employees notifications to optimising rosters and [integrating POS data](https://www.deputy.com/au/integrations) – and heaps more! **Find out more about roster apps and saving time with** [**Deputy**](https://www.deputy.com/au/features) **today.**