Many businesses need to be staffed 24 hours a day. In government facilities – such as police stations or nursing homes – a contact person must always be available to attend to people’s needs. Production companies, on the other hand, must ensure that they meet the high demand of their clientele. This is why shifts were created. This means that employees do not all work at the same time, but are assigned to different periods. As a rule, a working day is divided into three shifts: The early, late and night shifts. However, if these time periods are not well-structured, misunderstandings and confusion can quickly arise. As a result, the operational flow can be jeopardized, processes slowed down and customers annoyed. A digital duty roster that clearly assigns employees to their respective shifts can provide a remedy. In the following article, we would like to dive into the world of duty rosters and present the numerous advantages of this organizational system.
Source: freestocks, 29.07.2021
Digital duty roster – an essential in well-organized companies
The 21st century is characterized by digitalization. Nevertheless, there are still companies that rely on the use of Excel spreadsheets and wall calendars to structure the working hours of their employees. While Excel can at least be updated and easily edited, paper calendars have major shortcomings. There is often not enough space to make comprehensive notes. In addition, the duty roster quickly becomes confusing, especially when names are crossed out, shifts are rescheduled and changes are made. With such a lack of clarity, it can quickly happen that employees misinterpret the duty roster and do not show up at the workplace at the scheduled time. As a consequence of this poor organization and structure, resentment occurs within teams and can negatively impact the work climate. In addition, the completion of projects is delayed, which can cause lasting damage to the company’s reputation. For this reason, it is better to rely on online rota software. The programs are clearly arranged and can be accessed regardless of time and location.
Reduced costs
While it is true that buying additional roster software comes with expenses, in fact, the program can save you money. This is because a human resources person is usually seconded to take care of updating the roster. In large companies, this task can take up a lot of time that could have been used for other projects. However, the digital duty roster is easy to use and since all the information is already stored in the program, weekly planning only takes a few minutes.
Furthermore, it should be emphasized that the digital duty roster is a virtual tool. Both the management level and the HR managers and employees have permanent access to the program. Accordingly, the duty roster can be called up and viewed regardless of time and location. It is no longer necessary to print out Excel tables and hang them up in all the offices and rooms in the building. This saves paper and printing costs.
Efficient productivity
In addition, the digital duty roster has exceptional functions, which make work easier for personnel managers. Thus, the program displays overlapping shifts and saves the company from human errors. The double assignment is marked to alert the employee about problems. Also, holiday times and days of absence are noted, which prevents employees from being scheduled incorrectly. Employees also benefit from the software. Updates are displayed in seconds and employees are consistently alerted to remaining holiday and overtime.
High security
Companies are encouraged to comply with data protection guidelines. This concerns not only the sensitive data of customers, business partners and suppliers, but also personal information of employees. Through a wall calendar, working hours and names are exposed to the public without protection. And even Excel spreadsheets only protect employees’ privacy to a limited extent. In contrast, digital rosters ensure data security. Access authorizations and encryption shield the information from unauthorized eyes.