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Technology Buying Guide 2025: organise staff with a fail-safe rota
Create an overview of your shift system with AI-powered feedback on where it can improve.
Shift cancellations, last-minute swaps, holiday requests and myriad other HR considerations take up a lot of administration time and are open to human error. Workforce management (WFM) systems can ease and automate theses processes and add an extra layer of artificial intelligence-led cleverness by looking at a shift schedules, calculating the cost and offering solutions to save money. This, along with added extras such as employee apps and swift communication with HR, means staff feel secure in seeing their working patterns for the weeks ahead.
Discover the latest WFM systems below.
Rotaready offers support across HR
What is it? Rotaready, an Access company, is built specifically for hospitality businesses, with features including rota scheduling, time and attendance, HR, cost control, in-depth reporting, demand forecasting and an employee mobile app.
What does it do? The software offers over 40 real-time integrations with other solutions, within and outside the Access Hospitality suite, for connection between, for example, electronic point of sale, reservations, training and payroll.
Customers can receive extensive personalised training in the system as well as ongoing phone, email, live chat support and a range of online content on specific topics.
What the industry says Its customers include BrewDog, Mollie’s Motels, the Hotel Folk, Pizza Pilgrims and restaurant group Temper, with operators reportedly saving up to 5% on payroll, achieving a return on investment of 620%, and reducing admin time by as much as 80%.
Contact
Visit rotaready.com/pricing
Sona organises shifts around peak times
What is it? Sona is AI-powered demand forecasting and scheduling software.
What does it do? It manages shifts, HR and payroll workflows, labour costs and team communications to optimise shifts during peak periods and conserve resources during off-peak periods. Sona has a dedicated implementation team and customers have reportedly seen a return on investment in six months from sign-up, plus high staff adoption rates and increased employee satisfaction.
What the industry says Dawn Humphries, head of HR and training at bakery brand Paul, says: “Our decision to choose Sona was easy once we explored the features and met the team. Based on all the help and support received during our initial discussions, I can only be excited for the journey that is to come.”
Contact
Visit www.getsona.com or www.getsona.com/pricing
RotaCloud offers free 30-day trial
What is it? RotaCloud, which has been in business since 2014, combines rota planning, timesheets, leave management and payroll in one easy-to-use system.
What does it do? Key features include unlimited weekly and monthly rotas in minutes, tracking labour costs as a schedule is created to stay on budget, and building schedules around staff availability for fewer shift changes.
RotaCloud offers a free 30-day trial (after that it is priced at £2 per month, per user) plus one-to-one set-up and training calls, which could mean a business is up and running in less than a week. The UK-based team promises a four-minute response time and a 97.4% customer support satisfaction rate.
What the industry says Mark Coaker, operations manager at Millers Fish & Chips in Haxby, York, says: “We were spending 25% of our turnover on wages. Now it’s down to 19%.”
Contact
Visit rotacloud.com
Save time and money with Deputy
What is it? Deputy, founded in 1992, has helped more than 320,000 workplaces internationally.
What does it do? The software can create rotas, organise leave periods, post jobs and store documents.
What the industry says Truffle Burger in London, which has expanded from a street food vendor to a multi-location restaurant chain, has saved 10 to 15 hours per week on scheduling and time tracking with Deputy. It has saved one hour per employee on HR document onboarding and improved labour cost management and communication across its four central London sites.
Scarlett Grace, operations director at Truffle Burger, says: “Someone from the street food community recommended Deputy to us and we liked its ease of use from the start. We’ve grown from five to 95 users on Deputy right now, and we plan on doubling to 195 users next year.”
An integration with Tenzo, a sales forecasting and labour management tool, helps Truffle Burger optimise labour costs and improve shift planning. Other Deputy clients include CitizenM, Honest Burgers, Atlas Hotels and Hyde Park Winter Wonderland.
Contact
Bizimply manages shift costs in real time
What is it? Bizimply’s workforce management system simplifies employee scheduling and reportedly saves up to 5% on labour costs by displaying the cost of schedules in real time and comparing them against targets.
What does it do? The MyZimply app allows employees to book time off, check holiday balances, clock in via GPS, update their availability and receive notifications. Managers can view live clock-in data, monitor arrivals, manage schedules, complete task lists and review shift logs. Colour-coded shift schedules are sent directly to team members’ phones.
What the industry says Its clients include Costa Coffee, KTC, Zambrero, the Wandering Elk, Crêpeaffaire and the Irish Heritage Trust. Laura Killeen, human resources officer at the Irish Heritage Trust, a business with four locations and 124 employees, says: “Bizimply has provided more efficient, streamlined processes in areas of our business that were previously labour- and time-intensive.”
Contact
Visit www.bizimply.com or www.bizimply.com/pricing
Nory arranges shifts according to demand
What is it? Nory uses artificial intelligence to predict hourly venue demand with 95% accuracy. The scheduling algorithms consider employee skills, availability and labour laws to create optimal rosters, eliminating overstaffing and understaffing.
What does it do? Its analytics provide managers with insights into labour costs, and the system’s employee engagement features, including mobile clock-in/out and shift swapping, improve staff satisfaction and retention, while the integrated payroll system ensures accurate and timely compensation.
What the industry says Nory has reportedly reduced costs by 20% and increased earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation by over 50% with companies including Buns From Home, the Jamie Oliver Group and Roasting Plant Coffee. Luke Simpson, finance director at Roasting Plant Coffee, says: “We had an 18% reduction in labour costs within two months of undertaking Nory. It’s allowed us to make decisions that maximise revenue.”
Contact
Visit www.nory.ai or nory.ai/pricing
The Technology Buyer’s Guide 2025
Booking tools How to use software to maximise efficiency in your tables or bedrooms
Food safety Tracking and recording software that takes the pain out of food safety legislation compliance
EPoS Why your electronic point of sale is at the centre of your profitability
Property management Control everything from one point: from room bookings to spa days
Guestline – more than a PMS How to tackle ’zombie’ hotel tasks
Revenue management Software to forecast guest room booking and uplift revenue
Photo: Anton Vierietin/Shutterstock
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