Innovation comes from challenging the status quo. So why are rosters so often put in the ‘too hard’ basket when workload requirements change, or when there is an opportunity to improve operational flexibility?
Sometimes this comes down to workload and resources. A local manager may need to meet quarterly performance measures before taking on new assignments, and at times we all have to kick the can down the road.
Another common reason for inaction is inertia: if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Rosters involve employees, unions, other stakeholders, award and/or enterprise agreement conditions, change management, cost analysis, and the design of better alternatives. Some managers are also risk averse and prefer to stick with what they know, while others may be rewarded for playing it safe.
How innovative are your rosters? Rosters and hours of work are fundamental to the performance of any shiftwork operation that allocates labour to individual work areas. Yet many rosters are inherited from an earlier time, and few are designed to properly address site-specific business, employee, and health and safety considerations.
Today, managers often spend significant time managing leave requests, leave approvals, and skill set requirements in an effort to reduce growing entitlement balances and spread staff absences across the calendar year. In many cases, annual leave can instead be built into the roster, reducing administrative effort and improving fairness. Without innovation, suboptimal performance can become sustained, eventually affecting competitiveness in the market.
So, what’s the solution? A practical and low-risk approach is to first conduct a review that evaluates the performance of your current roster(s) from business, employee, and health and safety perspectives, and identifies new solutions for management consideration. This approach involves limited risk and provides useful information to support a business case for change where opportunities for improvement exist.
What do I have to risk? Only the status quo.
