The National Retail Association (NRA) and Melbourne-based technology provider Rision have launched a new platform that aims to make rostering easy for retailers.

Roster Coster is a free online tool that will help you efficiently manage and cost rosters and ensure you understand how the General Retail Industry Award 2010 applies to your staff.

With 40 per cent of businesses struggling with award compliance when it comes to rostering their employees, NRA CEO Dominique Lamb says Roster Coster will be a great resource for small business and the more than 19,000 stores and outlets the association represents across Australia.

“The Retail Award is highly complex, and small businesses can face very significant penalties if they fail to understand and comply with all their obligations,” she says.

“Roster Coster will help business owners ensure they operate within the law, while also optimising their staffing arrangements and budgets.”

Roster Coster is a free and limited version of Rision’s existing rostering product, and retailers that use it will be able to save time while ensuring compliance with the Award.

Rision CEO, Kate Cornick, says the company is proud to have developed state-of-the-art technology that supports retailers and their employees.

“Technology is often seen as a disrupter creating uncertain changes to workforces, but it can also be used to help ensure safety nets, ensuring employees are fairly treated while making life easier for busy employers,” she says.

“We believe technology can and should make businesses run more smoothly and that is exactly what we have set out to achieve in building Roster Coster.”

The Victorian Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, Philip Dalidakis MP, has also praised the tool, saying it is an example of innovative tech companies helping traditional industries keep up with the digital age.

“Roster Coster is a great example of the retail industry collaborating with the tech community to create innovative new ways to ease the day-to-day administrative pressures for our shift workers,” he says.