Last week, the RosterLab team joined thousands of innovators, clinicians, and digital health leaders at the Digital Health Festival 2025. This was an amazing opportunity for us to showcase our AI rostering platform on the buzzing show floor at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.
From the moment the doors opened, it was clear that healthcare is undergoing a profound shift - not just in technology, but in how people think about staff wellbeing, fatigue management, and working smarter.
Rostering is challenging on so many levels
Across two days of non-stop conversations, one thing came through loud and clear - rostering is hard - and it’s hard at every level. From shift workers feeling overlooked, to department managers managing last-minute changes, to leadership trying to meet safe staffing targets and retain staff - rostering pain points are everywhere.
We spoke with nurse managers, health IT leads, hospital executives, and scheduling coordinators - all facing increasing pressure from growing clinical demand and legacy rostering tools that no longer cut it.
“It’s not just a tech problem. It’s a people problem - a social and operational challenge rolled into one.” - DHF25 Attendee, Clinician and roster maker
What struck us most was the emotional weight behind these discussions. Staff shortages. Burnout. Unfair patterns. Manual fixes that never end. Ultimately, there was a shared recognition that you can’t fix a bad roster by patching it - you need to rethink it entirely.
Seeing their reaction to RosterLab’s true AI roster generation - which builds optimal, compliant rosters in minutes was a highlight for our team.
Lessons from the frontlines of healthcare
Between booth conversations and walking the conference floor, we left with some clear takeaways:
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Wellbeing Is Non-Negotiable
Healthcare leaders are demanding solutions that protect staff wellbeing, promote fairer work patterns, and prevent burnout - not just fill gaps.
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Visibility Builds Trust
Staff want to see why they’re rostered a certain way and feel - and to feel their preferences matter. Healthcare organisations are realising that transparency in rostering logic is key to trust, fairness, and psychological safety on shift.
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It’s not just a technical challenge, it’s also a social one
Rostering impacts real people, and any solution must earn trust by respecting staff work life balance and providing fairness.
“Seeing how fast digital health is evolving makes it even more urgent to fix scheduling - it’s the foundation for safe, scalable care.” - Daniel Ge, Co-Founder at RosterLab
Less time rostering, more time caring
Rostering is still one of healthcare’s biggest operational bottlenecks - and one of its biggest opportunities for impact. True automation is still rare. Many “AI” tools are manual behind the scenes, leading to frustration.
Beyond the tech talk, this trip was a reminder of why we do what we do. Whether chatting with nurses from regional hospitals or CMOs from major metros, the message was consistent: better rosters mean better care.
The RosterLab team at our DHF 2025 booth
We’re grateful for the many meaningful conversations, curious questions, and future-facing discussions. And of course, the team moments - from early-morning booth setup to debrief chats over dinner - made the experience all the more rewarding.
Want to see what we shared at the festival? Explore how RosterLab’s digital scheduling solution is helping healthcare providers optimise rosters in minutes, not days.