As the colder months creep in, so does the familiar challenge for care home managers – keeping the rota running smoothly through winter illnesses, festive leave requests and unpredictable weather. It’s a time when gaps appear fast, a potential to see agency cost rise and stress levels follow.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. With forward planning and the right digital tools, care homes can avoid last-minute panics and ensure continuity of care through even the busiest periods.
In this blog, we’ll explore how planning your winter rota ahead can keep care home operations smooth and stress-free.
stay ahead of the winter staffing chaos.
The key to a stress-free festive period? Forward planning.
CoolCare’s digital rostering lets you get ahead of the chaos by building your rotas in advance, factoring in holiday requests and staff availability with ease. Instead of manually juggling spreadsheets or worrying about short-notice sickness, managers get real-time visibility of which shifts need filling and who’s available to cover them.
Better still, it doesn’t stop at one location. For care groups, CoolCare allows you to share resources across multiple homes – so when staff are stretched in one home, support can come from another without a hitch.
bank on your own care team.
No one likes relying on costly agency staff, especially when continuity of care is at stake. That’s where CoolCare’s staff management tool comes into its own.
CoolCare customers have seen a 31% reduction in agency shifts compared to the previous year, with the shift-request feature gaining even more traction. Its usage has increased by 14%, helping care homes fill gaps with their own trusted team.
It’s simple to set up and even easier to use. You’ll have a ready pool of familiar, trusted staff to call on – without the additional expense or onboarding time that comes with agencies. Staff can register their interest in available shifts and managers can see who’s likely to respond quickly to cover.
empower staff to manage shifts.
Last October, CoolCare data revealed a spike in shift requests made through its rostering tools – showing that care home teams were proactively preparing for the winter months.
This year, that trend has strengthened.
In September 2025, CoolCare saw an average of 269 shift requests sent per home, saving up to 18 hours per month on chasing cover.
Effective communication becomes even more important during winter. Shift changes, sickness cover and holiday approvals need to be shared quickly and clearly. With CoolCare’s staff notifications, updates go straight to your team in real-time. That means no more missed voicemails, no need to manually chase responses and a lot less admin time spent repeating yourself.
Everyone sees what they need to know, when they need to know it.
make the most of the holiday season stressfree.
From Christmas to New Year’s, staff need time with their families and you need to keep the home running.
CoolCare takes the guesswork out of holiday management. You’ll see who’s off, who’s requested leave and who’s still available, all in one view. Automatic alerts mean no leave requests get missed and you can approve or decline with just a few clicks.
It’s transparent, fair and ensures no one is left covering more than their fair share.
Winter pressures don’t have to derail your staffing. With CoolCare, you’ll have the tools to plan, communicate and adapt – so your team stays happy, your shifts stay covered, and your residents get the consistent care they deserve.
Make the smart move – avoid the rota chaos. Get winter ready with CoolCare.
To find out more about our rostering tools, visit our website for more information.Or, read our latest blog and find out more about our invoicing feature that can transform your care home’s billing process.
