Labour planning is one of the most critical drivers of workforce operations. When it aligns with demand, teams are productive, customers get optimal experiences, and labour budgets stay under control.
However, even small mistakes in labour planning can trigger a domino effect that ultimately proves costly. When 23% of UK workers planned to leave their jobs in 2025—with hospitality seeing a staggering 52% turnover rate—getting rostering right has never been more critical.
Even strong teams struggle when labour plans rely on outdated data, manual processes, or assumptions. To help you avoid these challenges, we’ve outlined five of the most common labour planning mistakes businesses make and how to correct them before they damage your bottom line.
Ditch the anecdotes and rely on data instead
Many managers rely on gut instinct when deciding who to roster and when. It seems faster, but those quick calls often lead to wasted hours or missed coverage. Even experienced leaders can misjudge demand without data, causing labour costs to deviate from track.
Begin by examining what's actually happening in your business. Review sales trends to pinpoint peak periods and slower stretches. Foot traffic and booking data reveal similar patterns that tell you exactly when coverage matters most. Once you identify these trends, you can build rosters that reflect real demand instead of relying on assumptions.
Base every rostering decision on real data. With Deputy, you can automatically analyze your historical trends and utilise forecasting models that accurately predict when demand rises or slows. That clarity becomes the benchmark for building reliable rotas that scale as your business grows, so staffing aligns with what’s really happening, rather than relying on instinct.
Embrace the benefits of flexible rostering
Treating every week the same makes controlling costs difficult. Ignoring busy stretches or slow periods often results in overstaffing on quiet days and understaffing when demand spikes. Not to mention, 65% of managers are spending between 3-10 hours per week on manual rostering—and that can change at the drop of a hat when staff call in sick, leaving gaps when you need shifts filled.
Your own sales history and trends hold the key. You likely notice rushes around holidays or slowdowns after major local events. Identifying these patterns early helps you proactively plan rather than reacting at the last minute. Then, keep rotas flexible so you can easily scale hours up or down as demand changes.
Think of your rosters as something that shifts with demand, not a static plan. With Deputy, you can combine AI-driven forecasting with the patterns inside your own sales data to see when staffing needs to rise or taper off. This provides a clearer picture of what’s ahead, allowing rostering to stay in sync with real demand instead of reacting after the fact.
Say “goodbye” to manual rostering that you can automate
Spreadsheets and paper rotas still dominate how many businesses manage their teams. They feel familiar, but manual processes eat up time and turn small mistakes into costly problems. A single misplaced entry can disrupt payroll and result in accidental overtime, or leave staff confused about when they’re meant to work.
Just consider, for example, that 25% of UK employees have received incorrect pay (with 46% of those errors caused by human error). You need a solution that can handle the complexities of managing your workforce while helping to control labour costs.
Technology has changed what's possible. Smart scheduling software can help forecast needs using real data – such as historical demand, sales patterns, and seasonality – so you can build rotass around what the business actually needs. At the same time, smart platforms can factor in employee availability, skill sets, and labour law requirements.
They can also connect rostering with time tracking, communication, and payroll–keeping processes streamlined. Tasks that used to take hours, such as approving timesheets, calculating overtime, or communicating last-minute shift changes, can now be completed within minutes. Managers can focus on leading their teams more efficiently, and staff can gain visibility and control over their rotas.
Don’t overlook the value of micro-scheduling
Most managers create rotas in large blocks, even though customer demand rarely stays steady throughout the day. When coverage doesn’t match what’s happening on the floor, labour costs climb, and teams end up either waiting for work or struggling to keep up.
Micro-scheduling gives you more control by breaking the day into smaller segments that reflect real activity.
It allows managers to add or reduce coverage at specific times, rather than committing to long blocks that don’t match demand.
Employees also benefit because they can take on shorter shifts, relocate if needed, and create rotas that align with their actual availability.
72% of hourly workers in the UK say flexible scheduling is a top factor that influences their job decisions, which is where micro-scheduling comes in—it better enables the kind of control over when they work that employees demand.
Build rotas around real patterns of demand, not habit. With Deputy’s micro-scheduling tools, you can break the day into smaller segments, so coverage rises only when the work does. This helps keep labour spending under control and allows you to spot coverage issues before they become real problems. It also gives employees more flexibility to choose shifts that work with their lives.
Employee preferences and input are the key to keeping your talent
Rotas that look good on paper often fall apart in practice. Without employee input, conflicts build quietly and eventually create real problems. Shifts get missed, communication breaks down, and motivation fades. Over time, that frustration can drive turnover, one of the costliest challenges any business faces.
In the UK:
Replacing employees costs anywhere between 30% and 200% of their annual salary
The average UK turnover rate sits around 34% (as of 2024)
Sectors, like hospitality, have reached up to 52% turnover, which shows how detrimental ignoring employee preferences can be
Giving your team more control changes everything. When they can update their availability or swap shifts easily, they feel respected and trusted. That confidence is evident in their reliability and willingness to help cover gaps. You benefit too, spending less time sorting out last-minute changes.
Build rostering around collaboration. Deputy's mobile app gives your team direct control over their rotas. They can swap shifts with qualified coworkers, request time off, and update their availability, all without waiting for your approval. When the process is open and easy, people feel invested in keeping it running smoothly and delivering their best work every day.
Improving labour planning for long-term success
Labor planning influences numerous aspects of the business, including efficiency, service quality, team morale, and labour costs. And as the five mistakes in this article highlight, even small gaps in your approach can set off a chain reaction: overstaffing that taps into budget, understaffing that burns out your team, or inconsistent customer experiences that hurt your business.
The good news is that these challenges are preventable. By replacing anecdotes with real data, adapting rotas to demand, automating processes, and embracing micro-scheduling, labour planning becomes more accurate, flexible, and sustainable.
Ready to plan with confidence, cut labour costs, and create an efficient workforce?
Deputy brings the pieces of labour planning together by automating the complex parts of rostering, matching staff to real demand, making it easy to micro-schedule, empowering your team to adjust shifts as needed, and helping you stay on budget. Try Deputy for free.
