Florence diversity and inclusion report 2022

Case study: Radius Housing

How Radius went from paper rotas to simple, sustainable online scheduling.

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About Radius

Established in 2017, Radius manages 12,500 properties and supports more than 33,000 households in 80 towns across Northern Ireland. With over 1,000 staff members, it’s a vibrant and busy housing association.

Radius's problem: too much paper, too little clarity

Not long ago, paper rotas were the standard at Radius care homes across the country, but they weren’t very easy to use, and they weren't always very tidy.

Absences, shift changes and agency staff coming on board meant that names were rubbed out and put back in, making schedules hard to read.

Fiona McAnespie explains...

“We'd computerised several processes, but there was a big reliance on paper for rotas,” says Fiona, Director of Care and Support.

“Regulators would check them during inspections to see if we had adequate staffing levels in line with requirements.”

Paper rotas were hard to share. Scheme managers had to scan schedules in and email them whenever they had a shift to fill - a needlessly time-consuming job.

Fionna McAnespie

Time to make a change

“We were using a lot of paper,” says Fiona. “Sustainability is a big focus at Radius, so we needed an easy-to-use, eco-friendly solution.”

Fiona wanted to create an efficient, collaborative scheduling system that would save her team valuable time. She tried implementing rota software from another company but found it cumbersome and difficult to use.

We had so many files filled with paper rotas. That's an awful lot of paper.

The solution: Florence

Radius joined Florence shortly before the pandemic began.

Fiona found Florence very easy to implement. “It seemed too good to be true,” she says, “but Florence gave us everything we needed."

"Thanks to Florence, we’ve reduced our reliance on paper. We can spend more time caring for people, too.”

Fiona McAnespie, Radius Housing

Simple, paper-free scheduling

“When we push the shifts out on a Friday, Florence workers can see them alongside our permanent staff,” Fiona explains, “so we can fill schedules straight away. It makes life so much easier and less stressful for our managers.”

An added bonus: online training

“When we found Florence, we were looking for a rota solution we could use remotely,” says Fiona, “but we also got Florence Academy."

"Some really good courses are available [for staff], which people can complete online at home or at work. We’ve been very impressed.”

The best thing about Florence is the team.

One-on-one onboarding

According to Fiona, the best thing about working with Florence is the team. She particularly appreciated the onboarding process and one-on-one training given to users new to electronic scheduling.

“Florence is people-focused, simple and honest,” she says. “They didn’t bother managers who were flying along and learning the system. But they could spot people who were unsure and set up bespoke training for them. I thought that was great.”

Try Florence for free

Florence can help you schedule your own staff first, fill shift gaps with reliable agency staff, and provide essential training.
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