Anyone who has run a traditional rostering system will agree that this is a time-consuming, frustrating task - and the best roster fails dismally every time unexpected events occur. The cost of maintaining a roster can be enormous, and staff frustration with inaccuracies can be as great as that of the unfortunate person trying to wrestle with producing it.
Navigation through Virtual Roster is made extremely simple through the use of the Main Menu and the Organisational Chart. The Main Menu lists each of the areas of the program that can be opened. Since the menus are static you are able to open all screens no mater which screen you are currently in.
The Organisational Chart displays your company and it's locations with in it. You can open company specific and individual location specific information from each of these. To further add to the functionality, when viewing information from any area in the program you are able to select the company or any of the departments and the display will show the correct information relating to your selection. For example if you are viewing the weekly editor, which displays a weekly roster, you are able to click between each of the departments and view their respective weekly roster.
The "Weekly Editor" is used to give the user an overall view of the week's roster. It is also a powerful tool used to alter an existing roster. If a roster has already been created, the staff and their shifts will be presented. As in the "Daily Editor" you can move and swap employees between shifts. You can also use the Move To feature. This feature when selected from a shift will give a list of who else is available to work the shift. Their phone number along with some other details will help you select which employee the shift can be assigned to.
Employee details are available for viewing or editing. Add new employees or edit the many information fields used by the system. Nominate dates an employee cannot work so that rosters accommodate these limitations. There are tabs leading to other information relevant to the selected employee such as availability and employee leave. It is a quick and simple process to add a new employee, just open the Employee Wizard and follow the prompts.
The "Work Rules" Screen is where the rostering rules are edited. These rules are attached to employees. During the rostering process these rules are checked. Any variation from the rule will result in a violation screen appearing. Virtual Roster gives you the control to override the violation if need be. Essentially the work rules are there to help guide you through the rostering process along with availability and leave. They serve as a reminder as to how you want or need you roster to be created. This could be dictated by personal preference or by an award.
The leave calendar allows employees' leave details to be recorded for any date. This information is automatically factored into new rosters.