According to customised roster solutions provider Shiftworks Solutions, an organisation’s productiveness is more likely to grow without expenditure increasing when an effective work roster is in place. Shiftwork Solutions Africa manager Andrew Harding

states that, owing to the current downturn in the industry, optimal rosters will benefit organisations, as they can contribute to eliminating excess expenditure by evaluating elements such as overtime, shift rates and asset use.

Understanding an organisation’s business requirements plays a major role in designing a productive work roster, says Harding. Organisations that keep the same rosters for years are unaware of their losses, as business requirements and workplace conditions change over time, making existing rosters ineffective and costly.

“It is not until you have all three pieces of information – business needs, employee needs and health and safety boundaries – that a roster can be designed,” stresses Harding.

However, it is important to investigate not only productivity, workload, staffing levels, use of key equipment, absenteeism, safety, overtime, employee benefits and the actual cost of an hour of work but also employee participation.

Harding says organisations should include employees in the decision-making and selection process regarding the roster, which is supported by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act’s Code of Good Practice on Arrangement of Working Time. This code stipulates employee involvement in the design of work schedules.

Many health, safety and fatigue risk management challenges might also arise from poorly designed rosters, necessitating the need to consider aspects such as shift duration and how often an employee is required to alternate between the day and night shift, as well as the age of the workforce, he adds, as these can impact on employee health, alertness and fatigue.

Therefore, if a roster is designed so that employees can benefit optimally, productivity is also likely to improve, Harding notes.

“The biggest challenge is that most people think they can change the rosters themselves; however, this does not always [result in] organisations [seeing] missed opportunities. “This is as a result of organisations not fully understanding the complexities and possibilities available with a roster change and being hesitant to pay for outside assistance for something they perceive as simple.”

Harding stresses that, when a new roster is introduced, it is important to plan the change in some detail in advance to facilitate smooth implementation, as most people, including shift workers, are sceptical of change.

To alleviate some of the apprehensiveness associated with a roster change, a trial period is recommended, allowing management and employees to evaluate, discuss and assess the new roster, which, in turn, will enable amendments to be made, if required.

A transition roster is often needed to provide a faultless changeover from the old to the new roster. “Both management and employees will need to agree on the changes that are suggested and publish and communicate new work and remuneration rules and adjustments to employee salaries, as well as educate employees on the health and safety impacts of the new roster. In some cases, you may need to employ additional staff or lay off staff, which needs to be done before the implementation or change of a roster,” concludes Harding.