How we helped

• From paper to online scheduling.

• Increased transparency means better quality care.

• Remote staff training on demand with Florence Academy.

The journey

Established in 2017, Radius is a housing association managing 12,500 properties and supporting over 33,000 households across 80 towns in Northern Ireland, employing over 1,000 staff members. Previously, paper rotas were the norm at Radius care homes, leading to inefficiencies due to difficulties in managing changes, absences and adding agency staff. These paper schedules were not easily shareable, requiring scheme managers to scan and email them whenever shifts needed filling – a needlessly time-consuming job.

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

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. 

Enter Florence

“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. When we found Florence, we were looking for a rota solution we could use remotely, 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.”

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.”