A rota schedule (also called a roster or work schedule) is a way of managing staff, teams, or sometimes just individuals, to help them work or perform specific tasks at certain times on certain days.
Rota schedules are used by a wide variety of businesses and industries, including:
& more
In the past, rota schedules were usually drawn up by hand using pen and paper, consisting of a few rows and columns of names, days, and times. Modern rotas are created using dedicated rota scheduling software which makes the process much quicker and easier for managers, and is more convenient for staff.
Using rota scheduling software, managers are able to create clear, easy-to-understand rotas for their teams in minutes, helping them provide the perfect amount of cover without overspending on staffing.
Modern rota scheduling software like RotaCloud includes features such as:
Drag & drop rota planning. Create rotas by dropping shift cards into place, without the need for spreadsheet-style formulas or repeated data entry.
Annual leave management. Assign staff holidays, or receive leave requests from employees and process them in seconds.
Labour cost controls. See labour costs in real-time as you build your rota — experiment with shift patterns to spot opportunities to save money on staffing.
Clocking in. Staff clock in using either their own mobile phones, or via a tablet using our Terminal clocking-in app.
Staff availability. Allows staff to communicate days or times when they are — or aren’t — available to work, reducing the need to revisions to the rota and helping businesses create a positive employee experience.
Sharing & notifications. Managers can publish rotas with a single click, alerting their team that their next schedule is ready and notifying them of any changes.
Payroll reports. Prepare for payroll in seconds with a report that shows everything from hours worked to lateness and overtime.
Document storage. Securely store important employee and company documents in your RotaCloud account — accessible anytime, anywhere.