Welcome to HosPortal! This article outlines the process to set up a new customer who is using our self-roster functions, explains the different roles for you and the HosPortal team, and outlines the information we will need to assist you get up and running.
Overview and timing
We normally expect that a setup process will take a couple of weeks, depending on the complexity of the roster and the availability of your administrative staff. For self-rostering customers our slowest phase is often finalising the way that your roster quotas will work.
The exact timing will need to be confirmed after we have the checklist of information described in the next section below.
The general approach is:
HosPortal will work with you so we understand your rosters, your rostering approach and quotas. This allows us to guide you on the various rostering configurations and the pros and cons of various alternative approaches.
HosPortal will set up a basic structure of your site and give your main roster administrators and super-users access. We would also help you upload the details of all the people you want on HosPortal so you have the data you need to start.
We would set up a draft self-roster and jointly review it with you to see if there are any issues that need addressing.
We would undertake a final review once we all feel that the system is ready to go.
HosPortal will prepare a set of welcome instructions for your users. These instructions are reasonably similar from site to site, but we can customise them for your users.
Information to get started
To enable the first review, and before starting the activities on a more detailed setup checklist, please send us:
A copy of all the rosters you want entered into HosPortal: the structure and timing of all your shifts, and how they occur on holidays.
An overview of your quota approach: who needs to participate, how are quotas determined. If you use spreadsheets with calculations then it can help to see those.
A full staff list in in Excel table, listing names, email, mobile, role (e.g. Consultant, Administrator), and their quotas.
Those staff who should be given admin rights.
The target dates. There are three main dates of importance:
The first date for which HosPortal will be the authoritative source of roster information, e.g. you would like to have your new rosters built on HosPortal from 1 August, with your existing roster tools being used until 31 July.
The date by which you want to finalise your rosters. For a roster starting 1 August you may want or need the final roster published by 30 June.
The dates over which you want your staff to select their shifts/preferences.
What next
Once we have the 'getting started' information we will review it and get back to you with any questions. To assist with that we will talk to key personnel to better understand their rostering approach and assist in any decisions that they need to make regarding the configuration and setup.
Detailed setup checklist
We will then go through the detailed onboarding checklist (available here) based on your specific circumstances. For most self-roster customers many of these items do not apply. We will guide the site administrators through the various configuration screens that they need to be familiar with.
Training and help
Over the years we have found our approach to training to work best for most users:
For normal users, such as doctors and view-only users, the online support and the online help pages they receive in their welcome message when they first sign up has been proven to be enough. All users have access to our help files at any time, and access to our live chat support tool during most waking hours.
For roster administrators we find that the collaborative and iterative process we use to set up the rosters by phone and Zoom allows them to become familiar with what they need by the time we go live. Where they need additional support after the setup is complete the online files and live chat are also available.
Admin users also have access to our 'Mirror' site, which uses a copy of your data on a site that you can edit and experiment with without affecting your live rosters or your users. Further details can be found here.