April 6, 2025 • 18 mins
This episode of ReThink revealed focuses on how workload modelling can empower businesses to optimise their workforce effectively.
• Introduction to workload modelling and its significance
• Karen’s journey in becoming an expert in the field
• Importance of accurate data in building a successful model
• Real-world examples showcasing the impact of labour models
• Karen’s top tips for maintaining workload models
• Introduction to ReBudget: A new cloud-based solution for modelling
• Differences between Excel-based and cloud-based approaches
• Empowering clients through continuous learning and support
#theproductivityexperts
Register for the 2025 Productivity Forum
Find us in the Top 50 Productivity Podcasts
Connect to Simon on LinkedIn
Follow ReThink on LinkedIn
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Welcome to Rethink Revealed a brand new podcast
series from Rethink Productivitythat will delve into the minds
of our productivity specialiststo ask the deepest of
productivity questions.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And I'm your host.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
James Bradbury-Willis , Head of Business Development
at Rethink.
I'm a marketing and salesprofessional and I'm keen to get
the inside story from thepeople powering productivity
Today.
I welcome Karen to RethinkRevealed.
She is our Workload LabourModel Specialist, who has over
20 years of experience withinoperations and workload
modelling.
Her extensive expertise indesigning and implementing
(00:40):
workload models makes her theideal choice to get the podcast
series underway.
So let's get stuck in, Aaron.
Welcome to Rethink Revealed.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm good, thank you, are you?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, very good.
It's a bit of a cold snap hereat the moment, but I'm keeping
warm, so that's good.
How about yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, same here.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh, well done, well done.
Thank you for joining me todayon Rethink Revealed this brand
new podcast from Rethink.
We're going to start off, karen.
I just wonder if you couldintroduce yourself and just tell
us a little bit about yourbackground and how you became an
expert in workload labourmodelling.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, so I'm Karen.
So I've worked with Rethink fora couple of years now.
So prior to that I spent 20plus years working for a leading
health and beauty retailer.
So during that time I completedvarious NVQs, did Prince II,
did a degree in business andfinance, and I guess I started
(01:36):
by spending a few years in storegetting the first-hand
experience of the retailenvironment, and I guess I was
lucky enough that I had thesupport office on my doorstep so
it was an easy transition forme to move there.
I completed quite a few roleswhen I moved to the support
office, mainly always around thestore operations function, and
(01:58):
the majority of that time I waseither looking after stock
operations or working on ormanaging the team that produced
the workload labour models.
So that was for both the UKbusiness, the ROI business, and
I helped out with the opticiansmodels as well.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Well, fab, I mean that sounds very impressive and
I think would I guess that ifyou were going on something like
Mastermind, you would uselabour modelling as your
specialty question.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, or.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Excel.
So what led you to join Rethink?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So when I worked at my previous company, I worked
with both Simon and Sue in thisarea, so obviously I had the
connections, which is a greatmove then when you move to a new
business, and I guess that'sthe role that I always enjoyed
the most.
So I've always enjoyed doingthe workload modeling bit the
majority of the time.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Leading on from that, then, what would you say is the
most rewarding part of your, ofyour role?
You know?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I think when you get to hand over a completed model
to a customer and you get totrain them and help them
maintain it, so the feedbackthat they give you as well is
always really great about whatit's done to improve their role.
So often people will alwayspick up on how quickly they can
now do scenario modelling, andit really helps with that.
(03:15):
I guess what their businessagenda is, and I guess for me
personally.
I always love it when I cancrack a really complicated
formula that I've been workingon for ages and I know I need to
do something, but I can't quitework out how to do it, so
actually cracking that is quiterewarding as well.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Nice, yeah, I can imagine the satisfaction there
of getting it over the line andobviously with those with the,
with your formulas, as you said,but also just seeing the
improvements that your model canactually give to a business, I
can imagine that is reallyrewarding.
Karen, we're going to move onto the quick fire questions
round and I just want reallyquick answers.
Are you ready?
Quick fire questions.
(03:54):
What's your most used excelfunction?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
I think the if function.
So it's if you do this, if youdo that, it just gives you
different options to build onecalculation in various different
ways excellent, excellent.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
If excel was a person , how would you describe them in
three words?
So I would say flexible anddependable and helpful, and if
you could only use one of thesethe rest of your life, which
would it be Copy, paste, undo orselect all?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Undo.
You often need to undo becausethe calculations might not
necessarily do what you wantthem to, so it's a handy little
tool.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Oh gosh, it's amazing .
I'm a big fan of undo, but Icouldn't separate it from copy
paste.
Like what would I do withoutcopy a copy paste?
I have no idea what's one thingabout workload modeling that
would surprise most people.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
It's probably a lot simpler than people think it is.
So, yeah, I think people kindof probably over build in their
heads what it is.
So as long as you just followin a structure and you stick to
it, you're OK.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
So, Karen, thanks for that.
That's awesome.
We're going to move over to theQ&A and discussion, the main
point of the podcast today.
For those unfamiliar, can youexplain what a workload model is
and why it's so important forbusinesses?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Sure.
So a workload model.
It enables you to have theright number of people available
to complete all of your tasks.
So, for example, if you've gota target to process 1,000 TIL
transactions and it might takeyou a minute to complete each
transaction, then you'd need16.6 hours of colleague and if
(05:42):
that's then at £12.21 an hour,that's £203 a week.
You'd then look at all of youradd-ons.
So a made-up number.
If you need to add on 15% tocover things such as holidays
and sickness pension, ni, all ofa sudden that's £234 a week
that you'd need for that oneactivity.
So you need to build up foreach location and each activity
(06:03):
the number of hours that you'dneed for that one activity.
So you need to build up foreach location and each activity
the number of hours that youneed and then turn it into costs
and then you can use that toschedule your people in the best
way to meet the demands of yourbusiness.
So it isn't about trying tosave costs at all.
It's almost using what you'vegot and trying to distribute it
in the fairest way for yourpeople.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
And how do you use data provided by, sometimes by
clients or most likely from ourproductivity consultants, to
develop these models?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So the Rethink study data is a massive part of the
model, so we need to beconfident that we've got this
right.
So that's both Rethink and thecustomer.
So we use the study data in afew ways so it can come up with
things such as one minute thatwe need for the till transaction
, and that would always includeindustry standard things on top.
(06:52):
So, as well as the time tocomplete that activity, we'd be
looking at allowances forcolleague fatigue, for example.
So all of that would be builtin, and so the study would then
also give us things such as howlong do you managers spend
managing versus how long do theyspend doing?
So that means that they're freeto do all the tasks.
So all of that can get builtinto the model.
(07:16):
And customers data is reallyimportant as well.
So we need to make sure thatfor every location that we're
building and for every week,we've got really robust volume
data in there to make sure thatwe've got something to build all
of the activities from.
So it's quite important if youcan phase it as well.
So if you end up with the samedata every week, it's not
(07:38):
necessarily reflective of what'strue in your business, so you
might have things such as higherfootfall at Christmas, or you
might be closed on all of yourbank holidays.
By building in all of thosevariables, we can give you a
weekly model.
So the data is really, reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
It becomes much more accurate then.
I suppose yeah, okay, great.
So what are some of the keysectors you take into account
when calculating your workloadmodels for a task or department?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
We might look at things such as does it apply to
everybody?
You might have tasks that youonly do in your big locations
versus your little locations.
You might need to look atthings such as is anything
coming along the line so we know, for example, in week 20, we're
going to roll out a newinitiative and that will alter
how we currently work.
(08:28):
And then, I guess, have we gotthe data to support those robust
calculations as well?
So that's both from our studiesand from the client.
Again, that data it alwayscomes back to.
That is a massive, massive partof getting the model right.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Can you share a recent example of how a labour
model helps a client?
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Sure.
So one of the things that weoffer is a subscription service
for our customers.
So that means that I build themodel but then continue to work
with them to update it for them.
And we had an occasion wherethe customer came back and said
we're looking at implementing anew initiative, but the finance
team wants to know reallyquickly what impact that
(09:09):
initiative is going to have.
So we sat down together to lookat the project and almost work
through the model and what taskswould change.
So it might be they might go up, they might go down, so what
impact will it have on hours andon people?
They might go down.
So what impact will it have onhours and on people?
So what that meant is they werethen able to really quickly go
back to the finance team andgive them a number that they
(09:29):
were confident to stand behindand were then able to put into
that investment paper.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Can labour models be used in other sectors, like in
all sectors, and if so, what'sthe process for ensuring these
models are adaptable?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, so I guess we've worked across quite a few
different sectors.
So just the ones that I'veworked on myself have been
retailers, which is always themain one, pharmacies, opticians.
We've had vets, which isobviously quite different,
hotels, restaurants, warehouses,security teams.
So there's loads of differentsectors that we've worked with,
(10:03):
but the basic structure of amodel is always the same.
So it's always about that datagathering, coming up with your
rules, coming up with yourcalculations.
It's just then using that basicstructure and personalizing it
to the business.
So even if you've got tworetailers, they're not going to
be the same because everybody'sgot their own way of doing
things.
So it's adapting everything tomake sure that it's completely
(10:26):
specific to that company.
So when we start to build amodel, I'll sit down with the
customer and we'll have ascoping session and we'll flush
all of that information out sothat we can make it completely
specific to them.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
As you said before, although they follow the same
principles.
I like the fact that they mighthave the same structure, but
you are taking every singleindividual business, in
different nuances, into accountwhen building them.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, you almost start from scratch every single
time because you need to make itspecific for that customer.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
So how does a workload labour model contribute
to a company's overallproductivity strategy?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
So the workload model should be a key contributor to
the strategy.
So you'll know what you need todeliver and the model is a key
part of how you're going todeliver it.
So it will show you in realterms the labour hours and the
costs that you need to completeeverything that you're going to
ask of your people.
And if you can't afford it, youcan always look at well, where
can we remove things?
So how can we simplify thingsto remove cost?
(11:26):
Or, on the flip side, you mightactually have money to invest,
so where can you look for growthareas to put more money into
your model?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
We're going to move into what I'm calling really
originally top three tips.
So, karen, I'm just wonderingif you'd be able to give us your
top three tips for workloadmodelling, please In three.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Make sure whoever manages your model is really
confident in how it works andhow they're going to maintain it
.
So if they haven't got thatconfidence and understand it
fully, it almost gets forgottenreally quickly because people
find it easier to stick withwhat they know.
So make sure that your data isreadily available.
So it needs to be robust andyou need to make sure that
(12:12):
you've agreed who's responsiblefor updating it at regular
intervals.
So it might mean that you needto schedule time in people's
diaries so that they can get thedata for you.
I guess when you do get thatdata, you can't just load it.
You need to validate it.
So you need to be confidentthat that data is right.
So you might find that when youlook at it you've got
transmission failures which havegiven you a few dodgy weeks
(12:34):
with negative values or missingdata.
So you might need to sit andwork through, make sure
absolutely everything is spot onbefore you load it.
And I guess, as a side point,one thing that I always do is
keep a log of where I've got thedata from and what I've changed
in it, because a few monthsdown the line you are completely
going to forget what you'veloaded and why you changed what
(12:56):
you changed.
Number one tip so just keepyour model alive.
So many people say they've gota model but we don't really do
anything with it, so it's acomplete wasted opportunity for
them.
So if you know, you're going toroll out coffee machines into
your shops.
Well, have you considered howmuch workload that is for the
colleague on the shop floor tomaintain it, to clean it?
Who's paying for that?
(13:17):
So just make sure that it's inall of your conversations.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
So, Karen, with the launch of ReBudget, it would be
daft for us not to talk about it, and I know you've been heavily
involved in the development ofthe system, so can you tell me
what is ReBudget?
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, sure.
So I guess for years now we'vebeen offering our workload
labour model in Excel only.
So now what we're working on isa software as a service
solution, so it'll becloud-based, and that is
ReBudget.
A software as a servicesolution, so it'll be
cloud-based, and that isReBudget.
So it will basically give ourcustomers the ability to have
two workload labour modelsolutions that they can choose
from and pick the one thatgreater suits their needs.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Okay, so how does ReBudget help businesses manage
their workload?
Labour models.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
So ReBudget will give you a basic template and it
will help you walk through eachbuild stage.
So we'll start to build up therequirements which will create
your budget.
So, for example, we'll set upyour calendar, we'll put in the
first day of your model and thelast day do you want a daily
version or a weekly version?
And it will walk us through allof those stages until we've got
(14:24):
all of the requirements and allof the data that we need.
And then we'll start to usthrough all of those stages
until we've got all of therequirements and all of the data
that we need, and then we'llstart to work through all of the
calculations.
So it will take you throughstep by step and give you the
budget at the end of it, andit'll have different user
authorization levels within itas well.
So that might mean that I cancreate the budget and then I
could send it to you, james, toalmost review it and feedback,
(14:46):
and I can then either build yourchanges in or reject them.
So it gives us that greaterflexibility to work how you want
to work, and it will be able tofeed through to any workforce
management solution, as theExcel one does now as well.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Right.
How does ReBududget offlinecompare with rebudget online,
and which version is best suitedfor different businesses needs?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
um, well, I guess both are amazing solutions worth
exploring and both will giveyou business massive benefits.
So it's what works for you.
So the excel version isobviously tried and tested.
It's quick to use and, being inexcel, it means you can adapt
the model to include whateveryou want it to and you can
almost make the look and feelmore specific for you as well.
(15:38):
So the online rebudget solutionbeing a software solution, it
will have a bit more of theprofessional look and feel about
it because it is that softwaresolution and it will come with a
little bit less flexibility forthat reason.
But it's one that we can almostdevelop as we go and as users
give us more insights into it.
(15:58):
So it's got that greater levelof security, which will
obviously be big news for the ITteams.
They will obviously prefer thatgreater level of security and
the fact I mentioned that we'llbe able to build in the access
levels so we'll know who's in itand what they're allowed to do
and what they're not allowed todo.
I guess sometimes people canfind Excel a little bit scary
(16:19):
and hard to use.
Often I'll be at conferencesand people will say, oh, we did
have a model but we've notupdated it.
It's a bit hard to maintain.
We don't use it too much, sothis will probably give people a
lot more confidence becauseit's walking you through each
step.
It's a lot more intuitive, soyou don't need as much of the
Excel knowledge.
(16:40):
In terms of how easy then isReBudget for someone who is
completely new to workloadmodelling then is rebudget for
someone who is completely new toworkload modeling so it's very
easy to use.
Obviously we'll always be onhand to help and to offer the
training and support so nobodywill ever be on their own.
Um and people, whether it's theexcel or the rebudget version,
they're part of that journey.
So customers validate it alongthe way.
(17:02):
So they often realize that theyknow more than they thought
they did by the time we're readyto hand over and.
But I think the main thing isaround that excel confidence.
So that does put people offsometimes.
With the excel version, thiswill still need, I guess, a
certain level of maths basicunderstanding.
You're still going to need tobe able to to do basic
(17:24):
calculations, check yourworkings, which I would always
do.
I'd always check everythingI've done on a calculator to
make sure the model does what Iwant it to.
But you probably don't need asmuch of an in-depth knowledge of
excel and things like that.
So it's more intuitive.
It will help you along the wayexciting.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I mean it sounds brilliant.
Can't wait to see it firsthandand, yeah, you know, see how we
can help businesses movingforward.
Thanks, karen.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yes, it's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Well, that's it for Rethink.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Revealed I hope you found it insightful.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
And, like me, you learned something new.
You can find great podcastsfrom Rethink Productivity on our
website, which I'll link in theshow description, along with
the music we used today.
I'll hopefully catch you againsoon for the next episode of
Rethink Revealed.
Until then, bye, bye.
Welcome to Rethink Revealed a brand new podcast
series from Rethink Productivitythat will delve into the minds
of our productivity specialiststo ask the deepest of
productivity questions.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
And I'm your host.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
James Bradbury-Willis , Head of Business Development
at Rethink.
I'm a marketing and salesprofessional and I'm keen to get
the inside story from thepeople powering productivity
Today.
I welcome Karen to RethinkRevealed.
She is our Workload LabourModel Specialist, who has over
20 years of experience withinoperations and workload
modelling.
Her extensive expertise indesigning and implementing
(00:40):
workload models makes her theideal choice to get the podcast
series underway.
So let's get stuck in, Aaron.
Welcome to Rethink Revealed.
How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm good, thank you, are you?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah, very good.
It's a bit of a cold snap hereat the moment, but I'm keeping
warm, so that's good.
How about yourself?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Yeah, same here.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Oh, well done, well done.
Thank you for joining me todayon Rethink Revealed this brand
new podcast from Rethink.
We're going to start off, karen.
I just wonder if you couldintroduce yourself and just tell
us a little bit about yourbackground and how you became an
expert in workload labourmodelling.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yeah, so I'm Karen.
So I've worked with Rethink fora couple of years now.
So prior to that I spent 20plus years working for a leading
health and beauty retailer.
So during that time I completedvarious NVQs, did Prince II,
did a degree in business andfinance, and I guess I started
(01:36):
by spending a few years in storegetting the first-hand
experience of the retailenvironment, and I guess I was
lucky enough that I had thesupport office on my doorstep so
it was an easy transition forme to move there.
I completed quite a few roleswhen I moved to the support
office, mainly always around thestore operations function, and
(01:58):
the majority of that time I waseither looking after stock
operations or working on ormanaging the team that produced
the workload labour models.
So that was for both the UKbusiness, the ROI business, and
I helped out with the opticiansmodels as well.
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Well, fab, I mean that sounds very impressive and
I think would I guess that ifyou were going on something like
Mastermind, you would uselabour modelling as your
specialty question.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah, or.
Speaker 1 (02:26):
Excel.
So what led you to join Rethink?
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So when I worked at my previous company, I worked
with both Simon and Sue in thisarea, so obviously I had the
connections, which is a greatmove then when you move to a new
business, and I guess that'sthe role that I always enjoyed
the most.
So I've always enjoyed doingthe workload modeling bit the
majority of the time.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Leading on from that, then, what would you say is the
most rewarding part of your, ofyour role?
You know?
Speaker 2 (02:53):
I think when you get to hand over a completed model
to a customer and you get totrain them and help them
maintain it, so the feedbackthat they give you as well is
always really great about whatit's done to improve their role.
So often people will alwayspick up on how quickly they can
now do scenario modelling, andit really helps with that.
(03:15):
I guess what their businessagenda is, and I guess for me
personally.
I always love it when I cancrack a really complicated
formula that I've been workingon for ages and I know I need to
do something, but I can't quitework out how to do it, so
actually cracking that is quiterewarding as well.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Nice, yeah, I can imagine the satisfaction there
of getting it over the line andobviously with those with the,
with your formulas, as you said,but also just seeing the
improvements that your model canactually give to a business, I
can imagine that is reallyrewarding.
Karen, we're going to move onto the quick fire questions
round and I just want reallyquick answers.
Are you ready?
Quick fire questions.
(03:54):
What's your most used excelfunction?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
I think the if function.
So it's if you do this, if youdo that, it just gives you
different options to build onecalculation in various different
ways excellent, excellent.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
If excel was a person , how would you describe them in
three words?
So I would say flexible anddependable and helpful, and if
you could only use one of thesethe rest of your life, which
would it be Copy, paste, undo orselect all?
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Undo.
You often need to undo becausethe calculations might not
necessarily do what you wantthem to, so it's a handy little
tool.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Oh gosh, it's amazing .
I'm a big fan of undo, but Icouldn't separate it from copy
paste.
Like what would I do withoutcopy a copy paste?
I have no idea what's one thingabout workload modeling that
would surprise most people.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
It's probably a lot simpler than people think it is.
So, yeah, I think people kindof probably over build in their
heads what it is.
So as long as you just followin a structure and you stick to
it, you're OK.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
So, Karen, thanks for that.
That's awesome.
We're going to move over to theQ&A and discussion, the main
point of the podcast today.
For those unfamiliar, can youexplain what a workload model is
and why it's so important forbusinesses?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Sure.
So a workload model.
It enables you to have theright number of people available
to complete all of your tasks.
So, for example, if you've gota target to process 1,000 TIL
transactions and it might takeyou a minute to complete each
transaction, then you'd need16.6 hours of colleague and if
(05:42):
that's then at £12.21 an hour,that's £203 a week.
You'd then look at all of youradd-ons.
So a made-up number.
If you need to add on 15% tocover things such as holidays
and sickness pension, ni, all ofa sudden that's £234 a week
that you'd need for that oneactivity.
So you need to build up foreach location and each activity
(06:03):
the number of hours that you'dneed for that one activity.
So you need to build up foreach location and each activity
the number of hours that youneed and then turn it into costs
and then you can use that toschedule your people in the best
way to meet the demands of yourbusiness.
So it isn't about trying tosave costs at all.
It's almost using what you'vegot and trying to distribute it
in the fairest way for yourpeople.
Speaker 1 (06:23):
And how do you use data provided by, sometimes by
clients or most likely from ourproductivity consultants, to
develop these models?
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So the Rethink study data is a massive part of the
model, so we need to beconfident that we've got this
right.
So that's both Rethink and thecustomer.
So we use the study data in afew ways so it can come up with
things such as one minute thatwe need for the till transaction
, and that would always includeindustry standard things on top.
(06:52):
So, as well as the time tocomplete that activity, we'd be
looking at allowances forcolleague fatigue, for example.
So all of that would be builtin, and so the study would then
also give us things such as howlong do you managers spend
managing versus how long do theyspend doing?
So that means that they're freeto do all the tasks.
So all of that can get builtinto the model.
(07:16):
And customers data is reallyimportant as well.
So we need to make sure thatfor every location that we're
building and for every week,we've got really robust volume
data in there to make sure thatwe've got something to build all
of the activities from.
So it's quite important if youcan phase it as well.
So if you end up with the samedata every week, it's not
(07:38):
necessarily reflective of what'strue in your business, so you
might have things such as higherfootfall at Christmas, or you
might be closed on all of yourbank holidays.
By building in all of thosevariables, we can give you a
weekly model.
So the data is really, reallyimportant.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
It becomes much more accurate then.
I suppose yeah, okay, great.
So what are some of the keysectors you take into account
when calculating your workloadmodels for a task or department?
Speaker 2 (08:07):
We might look at things such as does it apply to
everybody?
You might have tasks that youonly do in your big locations
versus your little locations.
You might need to look atthings such as is anything
coming along the line so we know, for example, in week 20, we're
going to roll out a newinitiative and that will alter
how we currently work.
(08:28):
And then, I guess, have we gotthe data to support those robust
calculations as well?
So that's both from our studiesand from the client.
Again, that data it alwayscomes back to.
That is a massive, massive partof getting the model right.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Can you share a recent example of how a labour
model helps a client?
Speaker 2 (08:47):
Sure.
So one of the things that weoffer is a subscription service
for our customers.
So that means that I build themodel but then continue to work
with them to update it for them.
And we had an occasion wherethe customer came back and said
we're looking at implementing anew initiative, but the finance
team wants to know reallyquickly what impact that
(09:09):
initiative is going to have.
So we sat down together to lookat the project and almost work
through the model and what taskswould change.
So it might be they might go up, they might go down, so what
impact will it have on hours andon people?
They might go down.
So what impact will it have onhours and on people?
So what that meant is they werethen able to really quickly go
back to the finance team andgive them a number that they
(09:29):
were confident to stand behindand were then able to put into
that investment paper.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Can labour models be used in other sectors, like in
all sectors, and if so, what'sthe process for ensuring these
models are adaptable?
Speaker 2 (09:41):
Yeah, so I guess we've worked across quite a few
different sectors.
So just the ones that I'veworked on myself have been
retailers, which is always themain one, pharmacies, opticians.
We've had vets, which isobviously quite different,
hotels, restaurants, warehouses,security teams.
So there's loads of differentsectors that we've worked with,
(10:03):
but the basic structure of amodel is always the same.
So it's always about that datagathering, coming up with your
rules, coming up with yourcalculations.
It's just then using that basicstructure and personalizing it
to the business.
So even if you've got tworetailers, they're not going to
be the same because everybody'sgot their own way of doing
things.
So it's adapting everything tomake sure that it's completely
(10:26):
specific to that company.
So when we start to build amodel, I'll sit down with the
customer and we'll have ascoping session and we'll flush
all of that information out sothat we can make it completely
specific to them.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
As you said before, although they follow the same
principles.
I like the fact that they mighthave the same structure, but
you are taking every singleindividual business, in
different nuances, into accountwhen building them.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, you almost start from scratch every single
time because you need to make itspecific for that customer.
Speaker 1 (10:59):
So how does a workload labour model contribute
to a company's overallproductivity strategy?
Speaker 2 (11:04):
So the workload model should be a key contributor to
the strategy.
So you'll know what you need todeliver and the model is a key
part of how you're going todeliver it.
So it will show you in realterms the labour hours and the
costs that you need to completeeverything that you're going to
ask of your people.
And if you can't afford it, youcan always look at well, where
can we remove things?
So how can we simplify thingsto remove cost?
(11:26):
Or, on the flip side, you mightactually have money to invest,
so where can you look for growthareas to put more money into
your model?
Speaker 1 (11:33):
We're going to move into what I'm calling really
originally top three tips.
So, karen, I'm just wonderingif you'd be able to give us your
top three tips for workloadmodelling, please In three.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Make sure whoever manages your model is really
confident in how it works andhow they're going to maintain it
.
So if they haven't got thatconfidence and understand it
fully, it almost gets forgottenreally quickly because people
find it easier to stick withwhat they know.
So make sure that your data isreadily available.
So it needs to be robust andyou need to make sure that
(12:12):
you've agreed who's responsiblefor updating it at regular
intervals.
So it might mean that you needto schedule time in people's
diaries so that they can get thedata for you.
I guess when you do get thatdata, you can't just load it.
You need to validate it.
So you need to be confidentthat that data is right.
So you might find that when youlook at it you've got
transmission failures which havegiven you a few dodgy weeks
(12:34):
with negative values or missingdata.
So you might need to sit andwork through, make sure
absolutely everything is spot onbefore you load it.
And I guess, as a side point,one thing that I always do is
keep a log of where I've got thedata from and what I've changed
in it, because a few monthsdown the line you are completely
going to forget what you'veloaded and why you changed what
(12:56):
you changed.
Number one tip so just keepyour model alive.
So many people say they've gota model but we don't really do
anything with it, so it's acomplete wasted opportunity for
them.
So if you know, you're going toroll out coffee machines into
your shops.
Well, have you considered howmuch workload that is for the
colleague on the shop floor tomaintain it, to clean it?
Who's paying for that?
(13:17):
So just make sure that it's inall of your conversations.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
So, Karen, with the launch of ReBudget, it would be
daft for us not to talk about it, and I know you've been heavily
involved in the development ofthe system, so can you tell me
what is ReBudget?
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, sure.
So I guess for years now we'vebeen offering our workload
labour model in Excel only.
So now what we're working on isa software as a service
solution, so it'll becloud-based, and that is
ReBudget.
A software as a servicesolution, so it'll be
cloud-based, and that isReBudget.
So it will basically give ourcustomers the ability to have
two workload labour modelsolutions that they can choose
from and pick the one thatgreater suits their needs.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Okay, so how does ReBudget help businesses manage
their workload?
Labour models.
Speaker 2 (14:02):
So ReBudget will give you a basic template and it
will help you walk through eachbuild stage.
So we'll start to build up therequirements which will create
your budget.
So, for example, we'll set upyour calendar, we'll put in the
first day of your model and thelast day do you want a daily
version or a weekly version?
And it will walk us through allof those stages until we've got
(14:24):
all of the requirements and allof the data that we need.
And then we'll start to usthrough all of those stages
until we've got all of therequirements and all of the data
that we need, and then we'llstart to work through all of the
calculations.
So it will take you throughstep by step and give you the
budget at the end of it, andit'll have different user
authorization levels within itas well.
So that might mean that I cancreate the budget and then I
could send it to you, james, toalmost review it and feedback,
(14:46):
and I can then either build yourchanges in or reject them.
So it gives us that greaterflexibility to work how you want
to work, and it will be able tofeed through to any workforce
management solution, as theExcel one does now as well.
Speaker 1 (15:03):
Right.
How does ReBududget offlinecompare with rebudget online,
and which version is best suitedfor different businesses needs?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
um, well, I guess both are amazing solutions worth
exploring and both will giveyou business massive benefits.
So it's what works for you.
So the excel version isobviously tried and tested.
It's quick to use and, being inexcel, it means you can adapt
the model to include whateveryou want it to and you can
almost make the look and feelmore specific for you as well.
(15:38):
So the online rebudget solutionbeing a software solution, it
will have a bit more of theprofessional look and feel about
it because it is that softwaresolution and it will come with a
little bit less flexibility forthat reason.
But it's one that we can almostdevelop as we go and as users
give us more insights into it.
(15:58):
So it's got that greater levelof security, which will
obviously be big news for the ITteams.
They will obviously prefer thatgreater level of security and
the fact I mentioned that we'llbe able to build in the access
levels so we'll know who's in itand what they're allowed to do
and what they're not allowed todo.
I guess sometimes people canfind Excel a little bit scary
(16:19):
and hard to use.
Often I'll be at conferencesand people will say, oh, we did
have a model but we've notupdated it.
It's a bit hard to maintain.
We don't use it too much, sothis will probably give people a
lot more confidence becauseit's walking you through each
step.
It's a lot more intuitive, soyou don't need as much of the
Excel knowledge.
(16:40):
In terms of how easy then isReBudget for someone who is
completely new to workloadmodelling then is rebudget for
someone who is completely new toworkload modeling so it's very
easy to use.
Obviously we'll always be onhand to help and to offer the
training and support so nobodywill ever be on their own.
Um and people, whether it's theexcel or the rebudget version,
they're part of that journey.
So customers validate it alongthe way.
(17:02):
So they often realize that theyknow more than they thought
they did by the time we're readyto hand over and.
But I think the main thing isaround that excel confidence.
So that does put people offsometimes.
With the excel version, thiswill still need, I guess, a
certain level of maths basicunderstanding.
You're still going to need tobe able to to do basic
(17:24):
calculations, check yourworkings, which I would always
do.
I'd always check everythingI've done on a calculator to
make sure the model does what Iwant it to.
But you probably don't need asmuch of an in-depth knowledge of
excel and things like that.
So it's more intuitive.
It will help you along the wayexciting.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
I mean it sounds brilliant.
Can't wait to see it firsthandand, yeah, you know, see how we
can help businesses movingforward.
Thanks, karen.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
Yes, it's going to be good.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
Well, that's it for Rethink.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
Revealed I hope you found it insightful.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
And, like me, you learned something new.
You can find great podcastsfrom Rethink Productivity on our
website, which I'll link in theshow description, along with
the music we used today.
I'll hopefully catch you againsoon for the next episode of
Rethink Revealed.
Until then, bye, bye.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.