Potential weekly labour saving
Based on the historical comparisons and the £12.70 hourly assumption below.
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Rota Generator Case Study
Less overstaffing.
Less overstaffing.
Lower labour costs.
A more efficient rota means fewer unnecessary paid hours. This tool minimises overstaffing while meeting the business’s staffing needs and rules. Custom built for a retail chain with 5–6 locations, it runs entirely offline.
- Match shifts to demandMeet your staffing levels and working rules.
- Reduce overstaffingSchedule fewer unnecessary paid hours.
- Lower the labour billTurn those avoided hours into a calculable saving.
Tested against real historical rotas
Fewer unnecessary hours. A measurable saving.
I compared the tool’s rotas with real historical rotas from one branch. By reducing overstaffing, it saved an average of 8.8 scheduled hours per week while still meeting the configured staffing and contract requirements. At an assumed £12.70 an hour, that is around £110 a week in potential labour-cost savings.
Average weekly hours saved
Fewer paid hours each week on average, with the required staffing cover maintained.
All staffing requirements
Required staffing cover, availability, working-hour limits and fixed shifts were all respected.
The hours behind the saving
Scroll sideways to compare all columns →
| Week commencing | Original rota | Optimised rota | Hours saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 July | 213.5 hours | 207 hours | 6.5 hours |
| 21 July | 195 hours | 186 hours | 9 hours |
| 11 August | 217 hours | 206 hours | 11 hours |
Potential labour savings of around £110 per week. Across three historical rotas, the optimiser identified an average reduction of 8.8 staff hours per week, valued at £12.70 per hour.
The Problem
Where the labour savings come from.
An inefficient rota can put more people on shift than needed at certain times of day. Those extra hours add to the labour bill. The tool finds a better fit between shifts and required cover, reducing that overstaffing while keeping the business’s rules in place.
The staffing rules the tool follows
It reduces overstaffing while respecting:
- Staff availability and time off
- Contracted hours and maximum working hours
- The number of staff needed throughout the day
- Keyholder cover, opening staff and fixed shifts
Useful extras
Less time spent on rota planning.
Reducing overstaffing is the main saving. These features also make the manager’s job easier.
Plan 1–4 weeks at once
Create a single week or plan up to four weeks ahead.
Balance weekend work
Spread weekend shifts more fairly across the team, within the rota’s rules.
Keep fixed shifts in place
Lock shifts that cannot move and build the rest of the rota around them.
How It Works
Set your rules. Review the generated rota.
The manager enters the team’s details and required staffing levels. The tool then looks for a rota with less overstaffing that still meets those rules. Click any screenshot for a closer look. Staff names have been replaced with anonymous labels.
01
Add your staff
Enter contracted hours, maximum hours and important roles such as keyholders and opening staff.
02
Set availability
Mark when each employee can and cannot work, including unavailable days and limited hours.
03
Set staffing needs
Set how many people are needed at different times of day. The tool uses those levels to keep the required cover and minimise staffing above it.
04
Lock anything that cannot move
Keep fixed shifts in place while the rest of the rota is built around them. Use availability to account for time off.
05
Generate and review
Choose one to four weeks, check the details and click Generate rota. The tool looks for an efficient schedule for the manager to review before sharing with the team.
The output
Easy to check. Ready to work with.
Open the rota in Excel to check individual shifts and hours, or use the visual overview to see the whole week at a glance. The screenshots below show what the tool produces.
Enlarge screenshot ↗Excel-compatible output
Open the exported spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel to review each person’s shifts, days off and total weekly hours alongside their contracted hours.
Enlarge screenshot ↗The week at a glance
See who’s working when and where shifts overlap, without reading through every row of the rota.
Built for youYour team. Your rules.
Your team. Your rules.
Your own computer.
This tool was built specifically for the retail chain’s way of working. Yours would be built around your team, opening hours and staffing rules, then tested against your own rotas to see where overstaffing could be reduced.
It all runs on your own computer, entirely offline. Your staff data stays with you. Initial testing and a free trial let you check both the savings and how the tool runs on your laptop before any paid work.
Built around what you need
- Your staffing levels, roles and opening hours
- Your availability rules and fixed commitments
- The inputs and files you already work with
- A finished rota in a format that works for you