At some businesses and organisations, staff are able to claim or “book” the shifts they want to work via software or an application known as a shift booking system.
Shift booking systems such as RotaCloud’s “open shifts” function allow managers and business owners to create and publish shifts for members of their team to claim on a first come, first served basis.
Managers can also limit who can claim particular shifts by specifying role types, limiting shifts to particular locations, and automatically preventing staff who are already scheduled to work on that date (or who have booked annual leave) from claiming them.
Shift booking systems like RotaCloud’s are particularly useful for businesses where staff prefer to work flexibly — for example, couriers, delivery drivers and part-time staff — since staff can choose the shifts that work best for them. This also takes the pressure off managers to build rotas that accommodate employees’ individual needs and availability, since the onus is on the employee to pick up the shifts that best fit in with their own schedule.
Shift booking systems can often come in handy for allowing staff to pick up additional hours and for filling gaps in the rota that occur as a result of an employee calling in sick or suddenly being unable to work on a particular day.