Best Practice Rostering & Scheduling in Aged Care: Driving Operational Excellence through Strategic Workforce Management
In aged care, effective rostering and scheduling are critical to ensuring quality care, meeting regulatory standards, and controlling costs. Yet, these functions are also among the most complex, influenced by numerous upstream and downstream factors like demand forecasting, capacity planning, and real-time workforce availability. To deliver exceptional care consistently, aged care providers need to adopt best practices in rostering and scheduling. These practices must be deeply integrated into broader workforce planning, recruitment strategies, and technological enablement.
At the heart of these efforts lies a philosophy of continuous improvement, supported by data, robust processes, and the right technological tools. Trace Consultants offers a structured approach to workforce management, borrowing best practices from industries as diverse as retail, healthcare, pharmaceutical, aviation, defence, food and beverage (F&B), and hospitality to deliver highly effective solutions for the aged care sector.
This article will unpack how aged care providers can significantly enhance service reliability and reduce operational costs by adopting best practice rostering and scheduling. We will also delve into how the government’s increased focus on funding home services introduces added complexity, especially in terms of route optimisation and managing agency use.
The Role of Rostering and Scheduling in Aged Care
Rostering and scheduling in aged care are subject to both upstream and downstream activities. These include demand forecasting, recruitment, capacity planning, and daily management—all elements that must be aligned to ensure an optimised workforce. Rostering and scheduling are not isolated activities; they are integral to a provider’s overall strategy and design. When done correctly, they become the "heartbeat" of service organisations, enabling seamless service delivery and operational efficiency.
The process of rostering and scheduling can be challenging due to its nuanced nature. It involves not just the allocation of staff but balancing three essential elements—Availability, Affability, and Ability. Staff need to be in the right place at the right time, possess the appropriate skills, and must also be affable to clients to ensure a positive care experience.
A Holistic Approach to Workforce Optimisation
To achieve excellence in rostering and scheduling, aged care providers must adopt a holistic approach that integrates workforce planning, recruitment, and scheduling into a seamless operating rhythm. This requires investment in three key enablers—people, processes, and data—supported by robust technology solutions.
- People: Skilled workforce planners, schedulers, and managers are critical to the success of rostering systems. They must possess the expertise to use data-driven insights to anticipate demand, forecast capacity, and adjust schedules in real-time. Investing in ongoing training and development ensures staff are equipped to handle the complexity of modern scheduling systems.
- Processes: Optimising rostering and scheduling requires well-defined processes that align with broader organisational objectives. Providers should establish policies and incentives that encourage efficient scheduling and reward staff who consistently meet service and care standards. Regular reviews of these processes ensure they remain responsive to changing client needs and regulatory requirements.
- Data: Data is the lifeblood of modern rostering and scheduling systems. Accurate, real-time data enables better decision-making, from forecasting future workforce needs to adjusting schedules based on daily changes in demand. By investing in data management tools and analytics, aged care providers can significantly improve the accuracy of their workforce planning efforts.
- Technology: Technology plays a crucial role in streamlining workforce management. From automated scheduling tools to AI-driven analytics, modern technology solutions help providers optimise their workforce by reducing manual effort and ensuring more accurate rostering. Trace Consultants works with aged care providers to implement advanced technologies that allow for real-time adjustments, predictive scheduling, and seamless integration with other workforce management systems.
Understanding the Upstream and Downstream Influence on Rostering
Rostering and scheduling are not standalone activities—they are influenced by both upstream and downstream factors, as shown in the diagram. These include:
Upstream Activities:
- Forecasting and Demand Planning: Understanding the future demand for care services is crucial to ensuring that there is adequate staffing. This involves analysing historical data, client care plans, and external factors like seasonality or public holidays that may impact care needs.
- Recruitment and External Agency Planning: Workforce availability is often constrained by recruitment efforts and the use of external agencies. Effective recruitment ensures a steady supply of skilled staff, while strategic use of agencies helps fill any temporary gaps in the workforce.
- Capacity Planning: This involves anticipating how many staff members will be needed at various times and locations. Capacity planning must take into account not only client needs but also staff availability, skill sets, and preferences.
Downstream Activities:
- Roster, Schedule & Route Optimisation: Once staffing levels are determined, rostering systems assign workers to shifts and locations, ensuring that care needs are met efficiently. In home care, this also involves route optimisation to minimise travel time and maximise time spent with clients.
- Daily Management: Even the best schedules require daily adjustments. As client needs change, staff may need to be reassigned or shifts altered to ensure care continuity. Real-time data enables these adjustments to be made seamlessly.
The Challenge of Scheduling: Balancing Art and Science
Scheduling in aged care is a delicate balance of both art and science. While technology and data play a significant role in optimising rosters, human judgement remains critical. For instance, ensuring that the "right person" is assigned to each client often requires an understanding of both the staff member's skill set and the client's preferences.
Staff must be available at the right times and in the right regions, be affable to ensure a positive client experience, and have the ability or appropriate grade level to perform the tasks required. Balancing these three factors—availability, affability, and ability—is a challenging but essential aspect of workforce management in aged care.
Rostering as the 'Heartbeat' of Service Organisations
Effective rostering and scheduling form the foundation upon which service delivery is built. In aged care, this is especially true, as the quality of care provided depends heavily on having the right staff in place at the right time.
As shown in the diagram, rostering connects various elements of the workforce planning ecosystem, from demand and capacity planning to program management and delivery. This integrated approach ensures that every aspect of care delivery is aligned with the provider’s overall strategy.
Applying Supply Chain Best Practices to Aged Care Workforce Management
Trace Consultants leverages best practices from industries like retail, healthcare, and aviation, where demand and supply balancing is critical to operational efficiency. In these industries, workforce management is treated as a key driver of business success. By applying these same principles to aged care, Trace Consultants helps providers optimise their workforce to deliver higher-quality care at a lower cost.
For instance, in retail, demand forecasting is used to predict customer behaviour and ensure that staffing levels are aligned with expected demand. Similarly, in aged care, demand forecasting helps providers anticipate client needs and schedule staff accordingly.
In aviation, route optimisation is used to minimise travel time and reduce costs. This same approach can be applied to home care services, where staff must travel between clients. By optimising routes, aged care providers can reduce travel time and improve service delivery.
Managing the Complexity of Home Care: Route Optimisation and Agency Use
The shift towards home care services, driven by government funding, has introduced added complexity to workforce management. In home care, staff must travel between clients, making route optimisation a critical aspect of scheduling.
Route Optimisation
By leveraging technology used in logistics and F&B industries, aged care providers can optimise travel routes to reduce time spent in transit and maximise time spent with clients. Route optimisation tools allow providers to assign staff to clients based on geographical proximity, ensuring that care is delivered efficiently.
Managing Agency Use
As demand for home care services grows, many providers rely on agency staff to fill gaps in their workforce. However, over-reliance on agencies can lead to higher costs and inconsistent care quality. By investing in better workforce planning and predictive scheduling systems, aged care providers can reduce their reliance on agencies and ensure a more stable, permanent workforce.
For aged care providers in Australia and New Zealand, the future of workforce management lies in adopting best practice rostering and scheduling techniques. By investing in process and technology redesign, providers can significantly improve service reliability, reduce costs, and ensure that the right staff are in the right place at the right time.
Trace Consultants offers a unique approach to workforce optimisation, drawing on best practices from industries like retail, aviation, and healthcare to deliver tailored solutions for the aged care sector. As the complexity of home care services continues to grow, now is the time for providers to invest in workforce management strategies that will drive operational excellence and improve client outcomes.