At a glance
- Reporting that used to take days now takes minutes
- Open shifts filled almost instantly, without managers chasing cover
- One platform replacing three disconnected systems for HR, Payroll and Time & Attendance
“The reporting used to take days, it now takes minutes.”
The Challenge
Before Sona, Signature Senior Lifestyle's HR, payroll and Time & Attendance systems sat on separate platforms, forcing teams to duplicate work across multiple spreadsheets. For business admin teams, that meant manual, repetitive effort with little room for error.
“I used multiple spreadsheets, spending a lot of time duplicating work.”
The stakes were high: a rota error could mean turning up to a shortfall in staffing with no warning, with a direct knock-on effect on the quality of care residents received that day.
“The last thing you want is to come to work one day and realise that your rotas had an error and now you're going to be short-staffed, because that will have an impact on the quality of the service that we're going to deliver to the residents on that particular day.”
“Previously, our HR system, payroll system, and time and attendance system were all on separate platforms.”
The Solution
Signature rolled out Sona to bring scheduling, HR, payroll and time & attendance into a single platform. This gives managers self-service access to the information they need, when they need it.
“Sona has enabled anybody in our organisation with the right access to literally hit a button and get what they need, which just saves so much time for our admin managers.”
Open shift cover was one of the first things to change. Where a call-in sick used to mean manually chasing cover, Sona now surfaces the open shift to every available, qualified colleague automatically.
“One of the things that changed almost instantly was the covering of open shifts. If someone, for example, called in sick or wasn't able to work, we can instantly put that shift open on the roster. It sends out a notification to all the employees that are available to work in that department — they can claim it, and that goes straight into the roster. It's so much more efficient just in that aspect alone.”
| Before Sona | After Sona |
|---|---|
| Multiple spreadsheets, with work duplicated across them | One system for scheduling, HR, payroll and time & attendance |
| HR, payroll and time & attendance on separate platforms | Self-service access for managers, across the organisation, in one place |
| Open shifts covered by manually chasing available staff | Open shifts posted instantly and filled by notified, available colleagues |
| Reporting compiled by hand, taking days | Reporting completed in minutes |
The Results
Since rolling out Sona, managers and admin teams are getting their work done faster and with less hassle.
“It's a system, it's very user-friendly. I can see things straight away. It's going to save so much time because it's easy”
“[Sona] saves me approximately two hours a day.”
For Signature's leadership, the shift is part of a broader ambition: using technology to free up more time for colleagues to spend with residents, without losing the human touch that care depends on.
“I like to think of technology — it can never replace the human touch. It helps make things more efficient, and it just supports the human element of care that we deliver. Ultimately, I see it as an enabler, not a replacement.”
“Technology should absolutely enable more time for our colleagues to spend with residents.”
“Looking after what is the most important thing — delivering excellent care to everybody.”
