Mobile support workers are an essential part of so many people's health and wellness from the time they start to support them until they no longer need assistance. They deliver services to many clients and travel to each one while managing various schedules and adjusting to the needs of clients as they evolve. For the organisation providing these critical services, having a good system of rostering to manage the mobile workforce is vital not only for the delivery of services to clients but also for employee satisfaction and, ultimately, client outcomes. Therefore, the introduction of cloud-based rostering software into the industry has created many advantages that simply aren't available with traditional methods.

Limitations of Standard Rostering systems

Consider the situation where a mobile support worker has been provided their weekly schedule via email or in printed form. A client cancels their appointment, or another client requires urgent extra support at that same time. Effective and timely communication of this change to the assigned worker and finding an appropriate alternative to cover the cancelled appointment or task is incredibly challenging using traditional methods. This can lead to:

• Communication Gaps – Delayed communications that increase the potential loss of the employee not showing up to work at all could lead to employees coming into the wrong site or duplicated effort.
• Inefficient Scheduling – It can be a challenge to manage routes and shift schedules due to the number of workers available and their individual skill sets, client location requirements, and other factors, resulting in inefficient use of employee time and resources with too much wasted travel time.
• Compliance Risks – Maintaining compliance with employee work hours and ensuring breaks are provided is an ongoing concern for managers in labour-intensive businesses that require many workers, as is ensuring that employees possess the appropriate certification/qualification for the activities required of that position.
• Lack of Transparency – Employees may not know when they will be working until they arrive at work each day, so they may have inadequate planning time for their personal lives or requests for time off.
• Administrative Burden – An excessive amount of time is spent on creating, changing, and communicating work rosters and other employee-related activities, resulting in wasted resources in the service delivery area. 

The urgency to address these issues requires the implementation of a more sophisticated approach, which can be achieved through using cloud-enabled rostering software.

Cloud-based Rostering Software

Support staff from mobile can be managed better with the use of cloud-based rostering software, which is the ideal way to manage staff effectively with a central location to do so. Using the internet as the base, these types of systems offer the ability to get updates in real-time, communicate better, and be able to schedule in a more intelligent manner, thus transforming the entire process of rostering for support staff.

  1. Instant Access and Communication

Real-time roster access is one of the major advantages of cloud-based roster systems – enabling mobile support staff and managers instant access to rosters wherever they are! Mobile staff can see their upcoming shifts, client information and any last-minute changes to their shifts all from their mobile device at all times and from anywhere in the world. This significantly reduces the need for phone calls or emails, therefore improving the communication process. As soon as a client changes their appointment, the system immediately notifies the affected staff member, allowing managers to focus on other tasks.

  2. Increased Efficiency and Optimisation

It is common practice in modern roster systems to use sophisticated algorithms to create optimised schedules. When creating rosters, modern roster systems will determine the most effective way to deploy staff by taking into account the availability and qualifications of staff, client preferences, travel times, and geographic distances from clients or other staff (to create an optimal schedule). The result of this is reduced administrative time, reduced travel costs for staff, and the efficient use of deployed staff to enhance the delivery of services. For example, the system will be able to create an urgent shift based on the location of an available staff member who has the qualifications necessary to fill the shift.

  3. Increased Adherence to Regulations and Managing Risk

Protecting your organisation's interests regarding compliance (for example, adherence to employment-related laws, industry standards, and internal policies) would be a key area of focus in this sector. The information stored in a rostering system enables you to view an individual’s work hours, breaks, vacation, and qualifications easily and quickly. This process makes it easier to ensure that your organisation is in compliance with these laws and significantly decreases your chance of being penalised for any non-compliance. Automated alerts can also be established to notify administrators if a breach is about to occur, which will allow them to make the necessary corrections in time.

  4. Increased Visibility for Support Workers and Employee Empowerment

It is very important to support workers who travel to clients’ homes. An efficient scheduling system will provide employees with increased visibility and control over their schedules. They can access their rosters prior to their scheduled work. Some systems allow employees to request a shift swap, request time off work, or change their availability, all through the same system. This allows employees to feel empowered and to manage both their work and home lives effectively, thereby increasing their overall job satisfaction and reducing their rate of absenteeism.

  5. Decreased Cost and Less Administrative Burden

Automation of manual tasks associated with rostering results in reduced administrative burden through cloud-based solutions. By providing managers and administrators with more time to spend on higher-value activities (i.e., client care planning, team development), they are able to realise efficiencies, lower errors and optimise travel. All these factors can provide organisations significant savings. The organisations will recoup their initial investment in rostering software rapidly through the long-term benefits.

  6. Flexibility & Scalability

Cloud-based rostering software offers the ability to grow with the organisation/new mobile support workers supporting more clients. Flexibility allows for modifications to scheduling criteria/reports quickly; updates for different systems will maintain its value long into the future.

Finding the Best Rostering Software

If you're thinking about buying a cloud-based roster, here is a summary of the most important things to think about.

• User-Friendly: For administrators and mobile-based employees, you probably need to purchase a system that is easy to navigate and understand.
• Mobile Applications: To allow for mobile employee access to their schedules and be able to communicate while on the move, you need a strong mobile application.
• System Integration: If you intend to integrate with payroll/HR and client management systems, then the software should have that capability.
• Ability to Customise: It is important that you can customise the software to your needs and work processes.
• Help and Training: When building a custom roster system through a vendor, using an online support system and/or help desk of some sort is important for your successful launch.
• Data Protection: Protecting data related to clients and employees from unauthorised use or access should be your priority when considering the best software for your organisation.

Conclusions 

For an organisation with mobile support workers, there is no longer room to delay the adoption of cloud-based rostering applications or the implementation of such solutions. Furthermore, the adoption of cloud-based technology within an organisation will create returns in the areas of efficiencies, compliance, worker satisfaction and, ultimately, better quality of care for all people who require assistance. There is little doubt that the future of mobile support work is linked to intelligent, accessible and adaptable rostering solutions.