Managers who have an idea of their staff’s routine outside of their work will be more popular than managers who expect staff to drop everything and come into work on short notice. If a member of staff has a busy life, kids to look after or is studying for a degree, they’re probably not going to be available at short notice or be able to work unsociable hours. Planning staff rotas might be boring and time consuming, but not paying attention to when staff are available and when they’re not and just pencilling staff in for a shift randomly is a good way to end up with a lot of unhappy employees. Managers Who Plan Rotas Without Knowing When Staff Are Available Your staff will thank you, shifts will run smoother, and you’ll save yourself a heap of worries before the shift even starts. Decide what time of the week to share the rota and stick to it.

This causes problems, workplace friction, and general annoyance. Managers don’t like it when they feel pestered by staff to tell them when they’re next shift is.

Staff don’t like it when they’re left hanging around waiting for their managers to finish next week’s rota. If you want to avoid upsetting employees and experiencing chaotic, short-staffed shifts, plan your rota in advance or try rota software, which makes shift planning so much easier. This can throw the whole shift into chaos. Why? Think about it this way: if staff don’t know when they’re working, they will likely request changes or just not show up. It’s important to prepare and share your rota a week in advance. If you frequently find yourself working on a rota with less than 24 hours before it starts, you’re doing something wrong – and you’re risking making costly scheduling errors. Whether you use an Excel spreadsheet, rota software, or still rely on traditional paper and pencil, keep your rota neat and in the same format from one week to the next and you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle. Changing colour schemes, font, size, or layout every other week can cause confusion and even result in staff missing their shifts. If you’re in charge of the staff rota, make sure that staff can understand it with just a quick glance. And for anyone who has never thought to try rota software, there’s no time like the present. With this in mind, let’s look at the most common staff rota complaints and how you can avoid them. Shifts will run like clockwork, employees will be happy, and managers won’t be pulling their hair out. Fortunately, with a little foresight, planning, and the right platform, you can get your staff rotas spot on every time.

Staff rota spreadsheet