Barbed is predominantly a retailer that specialises in outdoor furniture. As well as having two physical stores and a formidable online presence, the company works closely with garden and interior designers, as well as operating in the contract furniture market.

The challenge

“We were using spreadsheets up until we opened our second store,” Graham Sterry, managing director at Barbed, told us.

“Then we found that this became impractical as it lacked format, leading to mistakes and we noticed that staff members were not getting the information in a timely fashion.”

Barbed needed a system that, as well as making it easy for managers to plan rotas, ensured that the entire team received their shifts on time, and were always kept in the loop when changes needed to be made.

The solution

After trialling RotaCloud, Graham and his team quickly saw the benefits of having a rota system that’s stored and managed online rather than off.

“The fact the system’s cloud-based means that staff can get alerts and messages concerning changes of hours, location etc. as management respond to day-to-day business pressures,” Graham said.

And with this newfound convenience came an additional benefit.

“What really surprised me was a financial saving,” Graham added.

“Due to getting the rotas more organised, we discovered we didn’t need as much part-time and weekend cover. That and happier staff who seem to appreciate clearer communication.”