What Is Roster Optimisation?
Roster optimisation is the strategic process of creating and refining employee schedules to achieve the best balance between workforce needs, operational efficiency, employee satisfaction, and compliance. It involves using data, predictive analytics, and workforce management tools to assign the right people to the right shifts at the right time—while keeping costs under control and adhering to relevant labour laws.
Unlike basic roster management, which focuses on assigning shifts, roster optimisation takes a proactive approach by factoring in staffing demand, availability, skills, awards, and budgets to improve business performance and employee outcomes.
Key Goals of Roster Optimisation
- Maximise labour efficiency – Avoid overstaffing and understaffing.
- Control labour costs – Reduce unnecessary overtime and align rosters with wage budgets.
- Improve employee engagement – Provide fair, consistent, and predictable shifts.
- Ensure compliance – Honour award conditions, breaks, and fatigue management requirements.
- Support business performance – Align scheduling with demand (e.g. foot traffic, production targets).
How Does Roster Optimisation Work?
Effective roster optimisation considers multiple variables:
- Forecasting demand – Analysing historical data, seasonality, and sales trends.
- Employee availability – Factoring in preferences, part-time hours, and leave.
- Skill matching – Ensuring qualified or certified employees cover required shifts.
- Award interpretation – Ensuring legal compliance with minimum shift lengths, penalty rates, and rest periods.
- Cost modelling – Estimating shift costs and adjusting to stay within budget.
- Fatigue risk mitigation – Preventing back-to-back shifts or excessive weekly hours.
Fair Work – Rostering and Hours
Manual vs Automated Roster Optimisation
| Method |
Pros |
Cons |
| Manual (e.g. spreadsheets) |
Low-cost entry |
Time-consuming, prone to human error, difficult to scale |
| Automated (software) |
Fast, data-driven, scalable, award-compliant |
Requires initial setup and training |
Many Australian businesses are now turning to intelligent rostering tools like Microkeeper to automate and optimise rosters in a way that saves hours of admin each week and improves fairness and compliance.
Roster Optimisation in Different Industries
- Retail: Align staff numbers with peak footfall, promotional events, and sales data.
- Hospitality: Roster around booking levels and service hours.
- Manufacturing: Ensure qualified operators are scheduled for key machinery.
- Healthcare: Avoid fatigue with minimum breaks between shifts and fair weekend load.
- Logistics: Cover demand fluctuations and account for licence-specific work.
Benefits of Roster Optimisation
| Benefit |
Outcome |
| Reduced labour waste |
Prevents paying for idle time or unnecessary staff |
| Higher staff satisfaction |
Enables fairness and consideration of availability and preferences |
| Better compliance |
Automatically adheres to awards and EBAs |
| Reduced payroll errors |
Less manual intervention means more accurate time and attendance tracking |
| More time for HR and managers |
Streamlined rostering allows focus on strategic tasks |
How Microkeeper Helps with Roster Optimisation
Microkeeper’s rostering and workforce management software includes powerful optimisation features designed for Australian businesses. These include:
- AI-assisted rostering: Automatically suggests shifts based on business rules, availability, and historical data.
- Live budget tracking: View estimated wages per shift and department in real-time as you build rosters.
- Award-aware scheduling: Automatically interprets Fair Work Awards and prevents non-compliant shifts.
- Availability and leave sync: Avoid scheduling conflicts by syncing with employee leave and preferences.
- Shift bidding and notifications: Let employees bid on open shifts, increasing flexibility and reducing no-shows.
Explore streamlined rostering features for easy staff scheduling
Best Practices for Roster Optimisation
- Use historical data – Base forecasts on previous sales, demand, and foot traffic.
- Plan in advance – Publish rosters early to give employees time to plan.
- Gather employee input – Factor in staff availability and preferences where possible.
- Monitor and adapt – Use live analytics to adjust rosters in response to changes.
- Stay compliant – Always align schedules with the Fair Work Act, awards, and EBAs.
Common Challenges in Roster Optimisation
- Last-minute absenteeism
- Fatigue and burnout due to poor shift sequencing
- Insufficient visibility into labour costs
- Non-compliance with Fair Work rostering rules
- Lack of coordination between rostering and payroll
Roster optimisation software mitigates many of these risks by providing a centralised, real-time platform for workforce scheduling.
FAQs About Roster Optimisation
Can small businesses benefit from roster optimisation?
Absolutely. Even with a small team, optimising your roster improves productivity and reduces admin overhead.
Does roster optimisation guarantee cost savings?
When implemented properly with accurate inputs, it can significantly reduce unnecessary labour costs and improve resource utilisation.
How does roster optimisation support compliance?
By building schedules that adhere to awards and EBAs, the risk of Fair Work breaches is drastically reduced.
Final Thoughts
Roster optimisation is more than just scheduling, it’s about aligning your workforce strategy with business goals. With Microkeeper, Australian businesses of all sizes can automate rostering, remain compliant, and build smarter, fairer work schedules that serve both employers and employees.
Disclaimer: This glossary entry is provided for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. Always consult Fair Work or a qualified professional for industry-specific guidance.
