Case study · Retail & hospitality workforce
Everything frontline staff need, on their own phone
Frontline employees rarely sit at a computer, so rotas, payslips and company news reach them late or not at all. This is how we built an employee app that brings shifts, swaps, payslips, announcements and training together, connected to HR systems.
Project overview
An employee app for people without desks.
- Industry
- Retail, hospitality, care
- Client
- Confidential
- Solution
- Employee app
- Platforms
- iOS + Android
- Timeline
- 12–18 weeks
- Team
- 5 people
- Integration
- HR, payroll, scheduling
- Sign-in
- Single sign-on
- Languages
- Multi-language
Expected business outcomes
What the client set out to achieve
Engagement and admin reduction are the measures.
-
60–80%
Of staff active monthly
Rotas and payslips give people a reason to open it.
Target range after launch
-
Fewer
Unfilled shifts
Open shifts and swaps handled in the app.
Where managers approve swaps in the app
-
Faster
Reach for announcements
News and policy updates read on phones.
Read rates tracked
Business challenges
Where the client started
Information reaches staff through notice boards and group chats.
Rotas
Printed on the staff room wall or sent as photos.
Swaps
Negotiated in WhatsApp groups, managers find out late.
Payslips
Paper or a separate portal nobody remembers the password to.
News
Emails to addresses frontline staff don't check.
Training
Compliance training chased by managers.
Proposed solution
What the app covers
Useful daily features first, communication second.
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Rotas
Personal shifts and team rotas synced from scheduling.
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Shift swaps
Swaps and open shifts with manager approval.
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Payslips
Secure payslips and pay information.
-
Announcements
Company and site news with read tracking.
-
Training
Short training modules and compliance reminders.
-
Secure access
Single sign-on and device security.
Project requirements
What the client asked us for
The request was better communication. Adoption comes from usefulness: staff open the app for rotas and payslips, then see the news.
Privacy and personal devices are handled carefully, since many staff use their own phones.
What the project had to deliver
- 01Rotas on every phone
- 02Swaps with approval
- 03Payslips in one place
- 04News that gets read
Key challenges & considerations
What made it harder, and what we did
-
Staff using personal devices
What we did
The app ran on personal devices without taking control of them.
-
HR and scheduling APIs
What we did
Rotas and pay were read through the HR and scheduling systems' APIs.
-
Multiple languages
What we did
The content was delivered in the languages the workforce used.
-
Staff turnover and onboarding
What we did
Sign-up took minutes, so new starters were live on their first day.
What we watched for
- Launch with rotas and pay
- Respect personal devices
- Support multiple languages
- Keep onboarding simple
Development process
Useful first, then social
Rotas and payslips launch first to drive adoption.
-
Discovery
Frontline workers interviewed across sites.
-
Integrations
Scheduling, HR and payroll connected.
-
Launch
Rotas and payslips released.
-
Communication
News and swaps added.
-
Training
Training modules and compliance reminders.
Technology stack
Employee app on existing HR systems
The app is a front end for systems the company already has.
Mobile
- React Native or Flutter
- Native modules where needed
- Offline storage
Backend
- Node.js or .NET API
- Azure or AWS
- Push notifications
Quality
- Automated UI tests
- Crash reporting
- Staged releases
Delivery
- CI/CD to App Store and Google Play
- Feature flags
Quality assurance & deployment
Tested on real devices, in real conditions
Mobile apps fail in the hands of users, not on a developer's desk. Testing covered real devices, poor networks and interrupted sessions before anything went to the stores.
- Automated tests for the app logic and the API
- Testing on real iOS and Android devices across the agreed versions
- Offline, poor-network and interrupted-session scenarios
- Code review on every change
- Store guideline checks during the build, not before submission
Deployment
- 01CommunicationNews and swaps added.
- 02TrainingTraining modules and compliance reminders.
- 03Beta and store releaseA beta group used the app first; store submission followed, with a phased release.
- 04Monitoring and warrantyCrash and performance monitoring from launch, and six months of free bug fixing.
Final deliverables
A workforce that's connected
Staff see their shifts, swap them with approval, read payslips and company news on their phones.
Managers spend less time on rota admin and chasing training.
- Rotas and swaps
- Payslips
- Announcements
- Training
Handed over to the client
- 01iOS and Android appsPublished in the client's store accounts
- 02Source codeIn a repository the client can access
- 03Backend and adminDeployed and documented
- 04Release processBuild, signing and store submission
- 05Six-month warrantyFree bug fixing after delivery
Success metrics
How success is measured
| Measure | Outcome | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Of staff active monthly | 60–80% | Target range after launch |
| Unfilled shifts | Fewer | Where managers approve swaps in the app |
| Reach for announcements | Faster | Read rates tracked |
Verified reviews
What clients say about our mobile app work
Verified reviews from our clients on the same kind of work, published on Clutch.
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Mobile App Development
Web & Mobile App Development for a Software Company
Their communication skills and industry knowledge have left a strong impression on us.
Alec Wenzowski
President, Button Inc. Jan 2022 – Ongoing
-
Mobile App Development
Software & Mobile App Development
They were great people with great work ethic.
Henry Popp
Co-Founder, Codedge LLC Aug 2021 – Jan 2023
-
Mobile App Development
Mobile App Development for an IoT Company
The project manager does an excellent job, and the team is always available during the project.
Arjen Schoneveld
Co-Founder, Dexels BV Jun 2021 – Oct 2022
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