Kalkine TV Interview RosterElf Founder Simon Ingleson

RosterElf Founder Shares Insight into the Benefits of a Complete Rostering Software for Businesses

In a recent interview on Kalkine TV, CEO and founder of RosterElf, Simon Ingleson, sat down with Sage from Executive Corner: Expert Talks with Kalkine TV. 

Simon shares his insight and support on how the innovative cloud software can help make rostering magically efficient and straightforward for businesses that manage a team of casual employees.

See the interview:

Read the Transcript:

Sage: Would you begin with highlighting the key specs of your staff rostering software that make it stand out in the market, please?

Simon: Unlike other business tools and software, RosterElf takes a different approach. Since leaving the corporate world, I've run several small businesses and often found that business technology fell short of what it was supposed to help with and added more complications. At RosterElf, our approach is to understand the needs of small businesses and the pain points they face every day. Our goal is to meet their needs where others can’t help efficiently.

RosterElf covers four core elements for our clients. The first one is staff availability. The casual workforce continues to grow, and businesses are finding it harder to manage the availability of employees. So, our staff availability feature handles this concern and leave requests.

The second one is the actual roster itself. We help managers schedule smartly and efficiently, communicate it effectively to employees, and manage any changes and updates. The rostering feature also helps them budget their schedule's costs against their margins.

The third is digital time and attendance. The feature allows employees to digitally clock in and out of shifts, record the time digitally, and keep businesses compliant. And finally, staff payroll. Australia has an incredibly complex award system that protects employees. RosterElf handles all the award interpretation. So, all companies need to do is approve hours, and we will help calculate the award interpretation.

Outside of functionality, our approach is that the product needs to be simple to use, and our customers are always our number one focus. So, we put a lot of resources and time into ensuring a seamless setup.

Sage: Well, it sounds like you've definitely ticked all the boxes there. And today's businesses love the sound of saving time and cutting back costs. So RosterElf is on a mission to help businesses achieve their dream goals. Which are your target industries at the moment?

Simon: RosterElf started as a tool for the hospitality industry, but we’ve discovered that most industries need this tool over the last few years. Now hospitality makes up about 25-30% of our customers. As other industries continue to grow, like Aged Care, more and more industries need a complete rostering tool. Now the industries we help range from Entertainment and Retail to Logistics and more.

Sage: Yes. That's fantastic to hear that so many sectors are growing, despite our working conditions. And I think one of the hardest things for people who manage rosters are those late pull-outs and the people that can't make the shift due to sickness or something else that has come up. So having a functionality of access to RosterElf in the palm of your hand would make that easier, I suppose. What are the exciting features that RosterElf's mobile application offers?

Simon: That’s a great question, Sage. The reality is consumers expect everything in their pocket. So, we focused a lot on our mobile applications, and really, the most extensive user base of the software is not the business owners. It’s the employees. So, we’ve ensured that our iOS and Android apps are employee-friendly. If the employees are engaged helpfully, it benefits the whole organisation. For example, the app allows employees to apply for leave, update their availability and swap shifts. They can also see when they work and clock in and out of shifts using GPS technology. In addition, business owners and managers can update rosters and communicate with staff from their smartphones. And I only see that trend increasing. It's not very often you get to sit in front of a computer and do these sorts of tasks when running a small business which is why our mobile application is essential to our customers.

Sage: That's fantastic to hear. And having all your shifts maintained in this type of system is excellent for record-keeping as well, further down the track, for any taxation or accounting purposes. So, it can be beneficial. If you were to highlight the top five benefits of using the roster management tool, what would they be for us quickly today?

Simon: After getting feedback from thousands of customers, the benefits are pretty straightforward. The first one is time. Business owners have little to no time for administrative tasks. Then you add COVID to the mix, which is even more challenging. RosterElf removes the unnecessary time it takes to do these tasks and makes them more efficient.

The second one is saving money. Labour is often one of our customers’ most considerable costs, so we added a live budgeting tool. The tool helps managers build a roster while getting live updates of the labour costs to adjust for seasonal trends and ensure they're using their labour resources effectively.

The third one is calculating awards in Australia. It can be challenging for business owners to find the time and ensure compliance. We handle all of that. The award interpretation tool is powerful and helps business owners remain Fair Work compliant.

Fourthly, employees love the software. They have complete visibility into when they're working, and the control to update their availability and communicate with their manager on the go. So from an employee morale point of view, it's great.

And the last one is the overall management of a business. Business owners already have so many things they need to juggle. But with RosterElf, business owners can log in and look at how their business and labour trends are tracking and plan for what's coming up, which is especially important with restrictions.

Sage: Great. It sounds easy to use and has all the functionality you expect from an excellent rostering app. So, while digitisation is here to stay, it is not free of glitches, for instance, ensuring data security and privacy. How does RosterElf address these challenges?

Simon: In the last decade, SaaS software has dramatically improved. And now, you're seeing enterprise-level customers embracing SaaS because of its security level. Our approach to ensuring data security and privacy involves a dedicated team whose whole focus is ensuring the data and privacy of our customers are secure. They continually monitor for any software vulnerabilities and ensure that we’re always one step ahead if anything were to happen. Whilst every software on the planet has vulnerabilities. It’s about implementing the best practices to stay ahead of the curve. So, while improving the product, we're ensuring that our data security and privacy are world-class.

Sage: Fantastic to hear it. And thanks for making time to share your insights today. But we have to start wrapping it up there. Were there any final comments you'd like to share with our proactive investor audience here at Kalkine?

Simon: We recently did an exclusive partnership with Clubs New South Wales. They're one of the biggest hospitality employers in Australia, with about 1,200 venues. Together we’re helping to build a Clubs HR version of RosterElf, which will be specific for the Clubs industry. That will be rolling out in the next few months and is a fascinating addition to the RosterElf family.

Sage: Fantastic to hear it. Thank you again for joining us, Mr Simon Ingleson, CEO and founder of RosterElf. And viewers, if you've just joined us, we had a very interesting discussion about an innovative new cloud software helping the rostering of casuals. The full interview will be available via the YouTube channel Kalkine Media. Keep watching Kalkine TV for more Expert Talks and live market reviews. I'll be back soon with the last trade. And as we say, stay apprised and invest wisely with Kalkine.