WO2005071577A1

WO2005071577A1 - Shift swapping system

Info

Publication number: WO2005071577A1
Application number: PCT/AU2005/000073
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kurt Mitchell Opray; Kris Lacey
Original assignee: Majora Pty Ltd
Priority date: 2004-01-23
Filing date: 2005-01-21
Publication date: 2005-08-04

Abstract

A shift swapping system (140) for rostering, the shift swapping system comprises, an employee database (142) containing employee records for a plurality of employees, rostering means (141) in data communication with said employee database and for processing a request from a first employee to alter a shift, said rostering means searching said employee database (142) to attempt to locate one or more potential replacement employees for said shift, and communication means (143) in data communication with said rostering means (141) and for sending a shift request to at least one potential replacement employee if said rostering means locates one or more potential replacement employees.

Description

Title SHIFT SWAPPING SYSTEM

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a shift swapping system for rostering and a method for shift swapping. The shift swapping system may be provided as part of a rostering system.

Background to the Invention

The process of creating a roster of hours that employees are expected to work is a difficult and can be complicated by a number of factors. For example, if a business is seasonal or experiences peaks of demand it can be difficult to roster sufficient staff at peak times. To this end, computer based rostering systems have been developed with a view to making this process easier for the person responsible for working the shift. These systems assist a user to compile a roster by automating some existing process. For example, by providing checks on the total of numbers of hours rostered for individual employees, ensuring that shifts are not inappropriately located relative to one another, and suggesting sizes of shifts based on factors such as the number of employees working. While such systems have been of great benefit, they do not adequately address the issue of subsequently communicating the shift information to the employees or dealing with situations where employees are unable to work the allocated shifts of their rosters. There are some industries, particularly leisure industries such as the provision of hotel, nightclub, pubs or restaurants where the employee base is large and consists almost entirely of casual employees. In such industries, employees often decline shifts because they have other commitments, for example, a shift at another part-time job. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a system which reduces the burden of reorganising shifts.

Summary of the Invention

The invention may be said to reside in a shift swapping system for rostering, the shift swapping system comprising: an employee database containing employee records for a plurality of employees; rostering means in data communication with said employee database and for processing a request from a first employee to alter a shift, said rostering means searching said employee database to attempt to locate one or more potential replacement employees for said shift; and communication means in data communication with said rostering means and for sending a shift request to at least one potential replacement employee if said rostering means locates one or more potential replacement employees . Typically, said request will be to decline a shift. In one embodiment said communication means is configured to send a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said shift if said communication means receives an acceptance of said shift request. In another embodiment said communication means is configured to send a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said shift if said rostering means locates a number of potential replacement employees which is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The rostering means is typically configured to update a roster in accordance with the acceptance if said shift request. The roster typically comprises a roster database in data communication with the rostering means Typically, the communication means is configured to confirm to the employee who sent the acceptance of the shift request that the employee is the new employee for the shift. In one embodiment, when said rostering means locates one potential replacement employee said rostering means discontinues searching of said employee database. In this embodiment, said rostering means is configured to continue said searching if said communication means receives a response declining said shift request or a predetermined time period expires, whereafter said communication means is configured to send a further shift request to a further potential replacement employee if said rostering means locates a further potential replacement employee. In an alternative embodiment, said rostering means searches said employee database until said rostering means finds all potential replacement employees. In this embodiment, said communication means is typically configured to send shift requests to the potential replacement employees one by one and provides each potential replacement employee to whom the shift request is sent with an opportunity to respond with an acceptance of said shift before sending a shift request to the next potential employee. Alternatively, said communication means may be configured to send the shift request to all potential employees at once, in which case, said rostering means is configured to accept the first acceptance of said shift request. In a typical embodiment, the request is received by said communication means. The communication means is typically further configured to send a message to said first employee declining said request if no replacement employee can be found. The communication means typically comprises messaging means for sending and receiving messages to and from mobile terminals. In one embodiment, the request to alter a shift may be in the form of a lateness notification and said rostering means searches for the employee whose shift starts immediately afterwards in an attempt to locate a potential replacement employee. The invention may also be said to extend to a method of shift swapping comprising: providing an employee database containing employee records for a plurality of employees; processing a request from a first employee to alter a shift by searching said employee database to attempt to locate one or more potential replacement employees for said shift; and sending a shift request to at least one potential replacement employee if one or more potential replacement employees are located in said search. Typically, the request to alter a shift will be to decline a shift. In one embodiment the invention further comprises sending a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said shift if an acceptance of said shift request is received. In another embodiment the invention further comprises sending a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said search locates a number of potential replacement employees which is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The invention also extends to a rostering system incorporating a shift swapping system.

Brief Description of the Drawings Further features of the invention will be apparent from the following description in which: Figure 1 is a flow chart showing a rostering process using the shift swapping system of the preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a site map of a website for managing the system; Figure 3 is a view of a roster page of the preferred embodiment; Figure 4 is a view of an add shift page of the preferred embodiment; Figure 5 is a view of an edit shift page of the preferred embodiment; Figure 6a is a view of an add staff page; Figure 6b is a view of an edit staff page; Figure 7 is a view of a staff roles page; Figure 8 is a view of a staff availability page; Figure 9 is a view of a staff availability exceptions page; Figure 10 shows a staff statistics page; Figure 11 is a flow chart in relation to the shift swapping mechanism of the preferred embodiment; and Figure 12 illustrates an exemplary rostering system.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment In the preferred embodiment a rostering system is provided which incorporates a shift swapping system. Referring to Figure 1, the function of the rostering system of the preferred embodiment is to create and manage a roster. The model for utilization of this system is a medium-sized entertainment venue such as a restaurant, pub or nightclub, however the system can also be used to manage a plurality of venues which operate under shared management or have shared staff employees. Details of all employees are maintained in an employee database along with their availability and roles filled at the venue or each venue. The ability to create and manage employees rosters for multiple venues operating under the one merchant account is included in the system design. As explained in further detail below, the manager of a venue creates the weekly roster 10 online using the tools provided by the rostering system. After the venue manager has created the initial roster, the rostering system sends short messaging system (SMS) messages 11 to employees to inform them of rostered times and waits 12 for replies 21. Employees then SMS back to the rostering system with confirmation or refusal of shifts. The rostering system determines whether the staff are available for the shifts 13. If they are available 14, the rostering system confirms the shift 15. If shifts are declined or remain unconfirmed after a set period of time (the timeout) 16, the rostering system treats these as requests to alter shifts and uses a shift swapping system to match 17 empty shifts (i.e. which have been declined or unconfirmed) with suitable, potential replacement employees 18,19 and offers are sent by SMS 20, asking them to fill the empty shift(s). This process is repeated 22 until all shifts are filled or until all options are exhausted 23. If the rostering system cannot fill a shift, an SMS message is sent to the venue manager 24 alerting the manager to the deficiency. A system of timeouts ensures that the rostering system does not rely solely on the confirmation replies from employees to complete the rostering process. The timeout values control the amount of time that the rostering system will wait before searching for a potential replacement employee for a shift. Shifts can still be accepted after the expiry of the timeout, providing that the shift has not been offered to, and accepted by, another employee. Timeouts operate in a cascading level of priority. A timeout value can be set for a single shift. If there is no value set for a shift, then the timeout value defaults to the timeout setting for that venue. If the venue does not have a timeout value specified, then the timeout value defaults to the global timeout value set for the merchant account. In the preferred embodiment, the rostering system implemented as a web-based, database-driven application using Active Server Pages (ASP) scripts, Short Messaging Service (SMS) and a SQL Server Database. Client-side interaction with the application is achieved through HTML forms presented on a password-protected online site. Navigation throughout the application is global, with all menu options available at all times . Exceptions to this are cases in which, to complete a task, two or more pages must follow in succession. An example of this is the addition of shifts. The attributes and preferences for the shift are set in the page entitled "Add Shift" 42; upon submission of this data, the user is redirected to the page entitled "Suggest Employees" 43 which prompts the user to select from a list of suitable employees to fill the shift. A website map which shows the menu structure and the relationship of pages to one another is shown in

Figure 2. A system time-out is enforced, such that if no activity is recorded for a certain time period, then the user will be deemed to have ceased using the site and be automatically logged out. If a user requests a page after this time, they will be automatically redirected to the "Login" page 30. All users of the rostering system application must log in to the site via the login page 30 with a Username and Password. Any attempt to enter this application must be preceded by submission of Username and Password to this page. Server-side scripts verify the Username/Password pair entered by the user against data recorded in a security portion of the database. When a matching pair is found access to the application is granted by setting a Session Variable (cookie) in the user's browser. The home page 31 is the main navigation reference point for the rostering system application. Navigation elements for the entire application as well as pertinent administrative information are displayed on this page. The view roster page 41 represents visually the

(weekly) roster for each venue. The current status of each shift (shift filled, shift pending, employees needed, system searching or not available) is colour-coded for easy visual interpretation. Rosters can be viewed one day at a time or for a whole week. The user can select the date range they wish to view, remove selected shifts and click to access and edit the properties of shifts. Information about each shift is displayed in pop- up boxes to reduce the amount of screen space needed whilst maximising the amount of information readily available to the user. An example of a view roster page as displayed through a web browser as shown in Figure 3. The page has a calendar 52 which can be used to select a day or week to be displayed. The shifts are represented by lines 54a to 54e extending over time periods 53. The lines have different colours depending on the status of the shift. In Figure 3, line 54a is green indicating that the shift from 11am to 5pm is filled, line 54d is pink to show that acceptance of a shift from 1pm to 7pm is pending and line 54b is red to show that a shift from 12pm to 3pm cannot be filled. To add a new shift, the user clicks add shift button 51. As shown in Figure 4, venue managers create the shifts that they need to fill using them forms of the add shift page 42. The set of shifts make up the entire roster. As shown in Figure 4, the add shift page 42 allows the user to specify the selected staff member for the shift 59; date of the shift 60; the type of employee needed 61; the start time 62; the end time of a shift 63; and/or the duration of a shift 64; the relevant department of a shift 65; confirmation of a shift 66; break start time 67; break duration 68; whether the break is paid 69; the duration the shift must be filled in. Upon submission of this form, the user is directed to the "View Roster" page 41. Fields 59 to 65 are required and will be checked to contain valid data before allowing submission to the server. It will be appreciated that some fields may be automatically completed with default values, for example shift duration for bar staff. The edit shift page 44 shown in Figure 5 is used to edit details of each shift in a roster including: adding/removing shifts, manually filling a shift with a employee, and changing priority attributes for shifts. As shown in Figure 5, this page 44 is essentially identical to the add shift page 42, the difference is that Server- side ASP scripts are used to populate the HTML forms with the current shift data, ready for the user to alter. Similarly, after the user has submitted the form, the data is collected and arranged in order to update the information in the database. Whilst adding or editing the preference details for a shift using page 42 or 44, the suggested employees page 43 (not shown) is displayed to the user to allow them to select from a list of suitable employees to fill the vacant shift. A drop down list 59 is generated according to the preferences specified for the shift. That is, the rostering software searches the employee database for the set of employees who match the preferences determined upon role and availability. More specifically, ASP scripts on this page 43 select suitable candidates for a shift based on the shift criteria entered by the user. These suitable matches are arranged in a drop-down form element for the user to select from. As shown in Figure 6a, the add employees page 33 is used to input details for employees. Upon submission of this data, the user is directed to the "Employees Roles" page 35 to input the information relating to the position (s) held at each venue at which the employee is employed. Data stored in the database is set out in Table 1 with reference numerals relating the data to the form elements shown in Figures 6a and 6b.

Table 1. ASP scripts in the page 33 are used to collect, arrange and insert into the database, data submitted by the user through the HTML form. As shown in Figure 6b, the edit employee page 34 is used to edit the details of a merchant's employees. This page 34 is otherwise identical in appearance to the

Add Employees page 32. Server- side ASP scripts are used to populate the HTML forms with the current employees details, as recorded in the database, in readiness for the user to alter. After the user has submitted the form, the submitted form data is collected and arranged in order to update the information in the database. A JavaScript is used to check that required form fields 80-95 have been completed and that valid data has been entered into the form. The employee roles page 35 is used to manage the potentially various roles that can be filled by employees. An employee may fill several roles at multiple venues. Pay rates are a property of an employee's role and are inputted here. An employee may have different pay rates for the same type of role at different venues. Figure 7 shows an employee roles page 34 for a single venue. The page 34 shows the employees name 100, has a drop down list of possible roles 101, employee department 102, pay rate 103 and award classification 104. After the user has submitted the form on page 34, the submitted data is collected and arranged in order to update the employee's record in the database. JavaScript are used to check that required form fields have been completed and that valid data has been entered into the form. As shown in Figure 8, the Employees availability page 36 is used to manage the regular (weekly) availability of employees. For example: if a employee is a student or has other weekly time commitments, these can be recorded here so that the rostering system is able to cross reference this against shift times in order to determine whether a employee is available for a shift. An example page is shown in Figure 8. A user can select the employee 120, the day 121, the available starting time 122, and an available finish time 123. Server-side ASP scripts are used to populate the HTML forms with the current employees availability details as recorded in the database in readiness for the user to alter. After the user has submitted the form, the submitted data is collected and arranged in order to update the record in the database. A JavaScript is used to check that required form fields have been completed and that valid data has been entered into the form. As shown in Figure 9, the employees availability exceptions page 37 is used to manage the exceptions to regular availability occasioned by illness, holiday or other reasons. This includes exceptions to unavailability (e.g. a student who is on holiday and is available during times he/she would not normally be available.) The fields which are available on the exceptions page 37 include the staff member ID 130, the start time for the exception 131, the date of the exception 132, the end time of the exception 133, the end date of the exception 134, the reason 135 and a choice of whether the exception type is that the employee is available 136 or unavailable 137 all of which are shown in Figure 9. The employees statistics page 38 which is shown in Figure 10 is used to generate and view statistical reporting on employees. Reports may include: Number of sick days taken; number of times employee has refused a rostered shift; number of extra shifts accepted or percentage of shifts that were changed. The user can select a employee from a HTML form element to generate the statistical reports for that employee. The display will include the employees average for comparative analysis. The system is supported by a send SMS function which is part of a communication means for communicating with the employees. This page's function is to format and initiate outbound SMS messages. An initial SMS 13 sent to all employees informing of rostered shifts will initiate a timeout count that decides how long to wait before the next messages are sent. ASP scripts interpret and process information needed to send SMS messages. All outbound messages are logged in a database table entitled "Message Log" . The SMS messages are sent using an SMS Gateway such as will be well known to those in the art. Similarly, there is provided a page to access received inbound messages, interpret the messages and initiate the appropriate actions according to the contents of the message. If messages accepting shift allocations are received after the expiry of the timeout, the shifts can still be confirmed, providing they have not been offered to, and accepted by, another employee. ASP scripts interpret and process information contained in inbound SMS messages. Actions taken as a result will include: confirm rostered shifts (on acceptance) and resume search for replacement employees (on refusal) . All inbound messages will be logged in the database table entitled "Message Log." The rostering system uses SMS messages to inform employees of their scheduled roster for the following week and to issue offers of extra shifts that have not been filled. After the weekly roster has been completed, employees will receive a message on their mobile device (e.g. mobile phone) advising them of their rostered shifts. This message will be formatted in a syntax that allows for easy interpretation by the recipient and also lends itself to the restricted (160 character limit) capacity of the medium. The format of the SMS message will ideally allow for easy interpretation and reply. For example:

YOUR ROSTER! a: 30/9 16:00-22:00, b: 1/10 18:00- 22:00, c: 2/10 18:00-22:00, d: 5/10 16:00-02:00, e: 6/10 16:00-02:00

Meaning: shift "a" on 30^th of September from 4pm to 10pm; shift "b" on 1^st of October from 6pm to 10pm; shift "c" on 2^nd of October from 6pm to 10pm; shift "d" on 5^th of October from 4pm to 2am; shift "e" on 6^th of October from 4pm to 2am.

In addition to the initial messages informing employees of their rostered shifts, employees may receive further messages. Each additional message will contain an incremented letter-code for each additional shift that has been offered to the employee. To offer an extra shift to a employee, another message is sent.

For example: SHIFT OFFER! f: 4/10 18-23:30

Meaning: Can you fill shift "f" on the 4^th of October from 6pm to 11:30pm?

Employees are required to send messages to the rostering system to confirm their availability for their rostered shifts and to accept or refuse offers of extra shifts. Employees will also have the ability to request information from the rostering system such as their rostered or confirmed shifts or their expected remuneration for their rostered shifts. A mobile number will be used to receive SMS messages, which are processed and interpreted by the rostering system, the rostering system can identify the employee by their mobile number and interpret the inbound message accordingly. Employees can reply with a simple message such as: "Yes" if they are confirming their availability for all rostered shifts, "No" to reject all shifts offered or a string of letters indicating the shifts that they are unable to work (by default, the remaining shifts are confirmed) . These letters are matched up against the shift codes that were sent out by the rostering system and are recorded in the database.

For Example: No a e

Meaning: I can't work shift "a" (30^th of September from 4pm to 10pm) or shift "e" (6^th of October from 4pm to 2am) ...all other shifts are OK.

Employees can send in ^w?r" to request an SMS containing their rostered shifts; "?c" to request confirmed shifts; or "?o" to check offered shifts or RDO followed by a date (4/10) to request a day off or inform the rostering system of exceptions to availability. A typical shift swapping procedure is illustrated in Figure 12. At step 200 five shift offers are sent to a first staff member. All these shifts are displayed in pink in the roster shown in Figure 3. The employee confirms four shifts and refuses a shift by replying by SMS. All accepted shifts are displayed in green, the unwanted shift turns blue. At step 202 the rostering system searches the employee record database for the next most suitable replacement shift for the unwanted shift. This is done in accordance with preferences specified by the user which is typically the manager of the venue. If a potential replacement staff member is found an SMS message is sent to them offering the shift at step 203. If they do not reply within a predetermined time period 204 or they refuse the shift by replying to the SMS message with no 205, the system returns to step 202. Alternatively, if they accept the shift by replying to the SMS message in step 206 with ok the accepting staff member is rostered onto the shift in step 207 and the shift is displayed as green in the roster page. Alternatively, if no replacement staff member can be found 208, the first staff member receives a SMS message telling them that no replacements could be found. The first staff member is by default rostered on to the shift and if they cannot do the shift they are required to phone management at step 209. As explained above, management is also sent a message advising them that there is a problem with this shift. The invention can also be used to deal with staff who are running late. Staff who are running late send an SMS message to the system with a code indicating that they are running late. On receipt of the request the system interprets that the staff member is running late, checks the roster and attempts to alter the shift by sending a message to the next rostered on staff member asking them to start early if possible. If the next rostered on staff member replies in the affirmative, the shifts are swapped and both employees are advised of their new shifts. An exemplary rostering system including a shift swapping system as illustrated in Figure 12. Rostering means and shift swapping means are provided by rostering software including shift swapping software running on computer 141. Staff details are stored in an employee database 142 that is in data communication with computer 141. The rostering means sends and receives messages via SMS Gateway 142 to mobile terminals 143a- 143n. The SMS Gateway thus provides a communication means in data communication with the rostering system. Various modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art. For example, rather than searching for each employee in turn when seeking to find an appropriate replacement, the system can send a message to a number of potential candidates with candidates securing the shift on a first in first served basis. These and other embodiments will be understood as falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A shift swapping system for rostering, the shift swapping system comprising: an employee database containing employee records for a plurality of employees; rostering means in data communication with said employee database and for processing a request from a first employee to alter a shift, said rostering means searching said employee database to attempt to locate one or more potential replacement employees for said shift; and communication means in data communication with said rostering means and for sending a shift request to at least one potential replacement employee if said rostering means locates one or more potential replacement employees .

2. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said request to alter a shift is to decline a shift.

3. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said communication means is configured to send a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said shift if said communication means receives an acceptance of said shift request.

4. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said communication means is configured to send a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said shift if said rostering means locates a number of potential replacement employees which is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

5. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rostering means is typically configured to update a roster in accordance with the acceptance of said shift request.

6. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 5, wherein said roster comprises a roster database in data communication with the rostering means

7. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication means is configured to confirm to the employee who sent the acceptance of the shift request that the employee is the new employee for the shift.

8. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rostering means discontinues searching of said employee database when said rostering means locates one potential replacement employee.

9. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 8, wherein said rostering means is configured to continue said searching if said communication means receives a response declining said shift request or a predetermined time period expires, whereafter said communication means is configured to send a further shift request to a further potential replacement employee if said rostering means locates a further potential replacement employee.

10. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein said rostering means searches said employee database until said rostering means finds all potential replacement employees .

11. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said communication means is typically configured to send shift requests to the potential replacement employees one by one and provides each potential replacement employee to whom the shift request is sent with an opportunity to respond with an acceptance of said shift before sending a shift request to the next potential employee.

12. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 10, wherein said communication means is configured to send the shift request to all potential employees at once and to accept the first acceptance of said shift request.

13. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request is received by said communication means .

14. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication means is configured to send a message to said first employee declining said request if no replacement employee can be found.

15. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication means comprises messaging means for sending and receiving messages to and from mobile terminals.

16. A shift swapping system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the request to alter a shift is in the form of a lateness notification and said rostering means searches for the employee whose shift starts immediately afterwards in an attempt to locate a potential replacement employee.

17. A method of shift swapping for rostering comprising: providing an employee database containing employee records for a plurality of employees; processing a request from a first employee to alter a shift by searching said employee database to attempt to locate one or more potential replacement employees for said shift; and sending a shift request to at least one potential replacement employee if one or more potential replacement employees are located in said search.

18. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim

17, wherein the request to alter a shift is to decline a shift.

19. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim

18, further comprising sending a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said shift if an acceptance of said shift request is received.

20. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 18, further comprising sending a response to said first employee accepting said request to decline said search locates a number of potential replacement employees which is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

21. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 17, further comprising updating a roster in accordance with the acceptance if said shift request.

22. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 21, comprising providing said roster as a roster database in data communication with the rostering means

23. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 17, further comprising confirming to the employee who sent the acceptance of the shift request that the employee is the new employee for the shift.

24. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 17, further comprising said rostering means discontinuing searching of said employee database when one potential replacement employee is located.

25. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 24, comprising continuing said searching if a response is received declining said shift request or a predetermined time period expires, and sending a further shift request to a further potential replacement employee if a further potential replacement employee is located.

26. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 17, further comprising searching said employee database until all potential replacement employees are found.

27. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 26, comprising sending shift requests to the potential replacement employees one by one and providing each potential replacement employee to whom the shift request is sent with an opportunity to respond with an acceptance of said shift before sending a shift request to the next potential employee.

28. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 26, comprising sending the shift request to all potential employees at once.

29. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 17, comprising sending a message to said first employee declining said request if no replacement employee can be found.

30. A method of shift swapping as claimed in claim 17, wherein the request to alter a shift is in the form of a lateness notification and the method comprises searching for the employee whose shift starts immediately afterwards in an attempt to locate a potential replacement employee.

31. A rostering system comprising the shift swapping system of claim 1.