The Human Services Professionals

RosterCoster EMSOnline Help desk Contact us Log an order or request

Rostering business rules

User manuals RosterCoster.com RosterCoster.xls >>features >>history B.P. Rostering >>RRR >>business rules >>greenfield >>core >>worked

Introduction

Most organisations have quite an extensive set of rostering business rules. These are typically a combination of:

Whatever is laid down in Awards
Additional local business rules that are published
Additional local business rules that are not published, but which are "local practice"

All three matter, and typically, those that are not written down are just as powerful as those that are not.

Our approach

Step 1: Assist an organisation to publish, in easy to read, access and maintain format (we recommend in database form*) all local business rules on a single site (which eliminates the problem of "version control" that arises when, for example, these sorts of things are done in print, or in files distributed.
Step 2: Ensure that as many of these business rules are coded as "compulsory" or "recommended" conditions in your rostering software - as it turns out, if a piece of software blocks an illegal shift, this is much more powerful than demanding that such shifts not be created.
Step 3: Assist an organisation to publish, as a subset of the database in Step 1, any items that could not be covered in Step 2. The net count of business rules thus created, the business rules that a manager needs to be actively mindful of, and remember, then, becomes a much shorter list.

*As part of our promotion of best practice between organisations, we maintain a master database of all business rules we collect as we move around organisations. This is a valuable resource, as it allows an organisation to browse business rules that have perhaps never occurred to them, or which they actually follow, but have forgotten to "switch on" in their own business rules database.

Some typical business rules

Just to get some momentum going, as "non-software" as the following seem, all of these can be databased and / or workflowed, in line with our mantra that as little as possible in the world of rostering should be "manual", relying on local rostering coordinators to manually control functions such as:

Roster design must be in accordance with the Award and local best practice guidelines, which are in turn developed with reference to sector-wide benchmarks.
For each accommodation setting, there is a RRR Roster Model that is based solely on an assessment of client need, before individual staff considerations are taken into account. While this roster may never be worked, it sits behind the core roster (which does take into account individual staff needs) as an ideal.
Core Rosters must be formally reviewed annually during June, and must also be reviewed each time there is a significant change in client need.
Posted Rosters must be posted to staff on or before the Tuesday before the roster commences.
Timesheets must be posted to the manager on the first working day after the pay period ends.
Etc.

Rostering Business Rules

Quick Launch