Deputy

Deputy: workforce management software for shift-based businesses

Deputy is a software platform aimed at organisations that run shift work. Its stated purpose is to make the difficult parts of shift work simpler, from the first hire through to final pay, using what the company describes as actionable AI. The product is presented as a way to improve profitability and simplify compliance across a business.

The company reports that it serves more than 320,000 workplaces internationally and describes itself as an award-winning global business. Its own account places the origin of the product in a staffing problem: Steve Shelley's growing business needed help managing constant schedule changes and employee administration, and Ashik Ahmed built a platform that automated scheduling and time and attendance management. That software reduced manual staffing tasks and, according to the company, allowed Shelley's business to grow to 1,500 people without additional IT or administrative staff. Deputy was officially launched in 2008, reached 100,000 users in 2015 and later raised a Series B funding round that the company describes as the largest for an Australian company at the time, backed by OpenView, IVP, Square Peg Capital and EVP.

Scheduling, time and attendance

The core of the offer is employee scheduling. Deputy lists auto scheduling, smart scheduling, shift planning, shift swapping, micro-scheduling and demand forecasting among its features, alongside a mobile app and task management. The scheduling module is presented as a way to place the right people at the right time across a business, and the platform extends to time tracking and a time clock app.

An AI agent for scheduling is part of the current product presentation. The company states that its AI models are used to optimise schedules, control labour costs and ensure precise staffing at every location.

Compliance and labour law tools

Deputy addresses regulatory risk with tools that automate key compliance requirements. These include break planning compliance, Fair Workweek compliance, overtime rules and custom pay rules. The company frames this as a way to stay audit-ready and reduce litigation risk. Labour law compliance and integrations are also listed among the platform's features.

HR, payroll and workplace communication

Beyond scheduling, Deputy offers an HR module covering document management, hiring, HR reporting, leave management, new hire onboarding, performance management and team engagement. Payroll software and workplace communication tools complete the suite. The company positions the combination as a single system spanning scheduling, HR and payroll.

Who it is designed for

Deputy organises its offer by business size and by sector. The size categories are single location, multi-location, franchise and enterprise. For larger structures it highlights scalable scheduling processes built around standard operating procedures, with roll-up and drill-down visibility at every level, and notes that easy-to-use apps are fast to implement and can help lower staff churn.

The industries served that the company lists are agriculture, call centres, charity, cleaning services, construction and engineering, education, entertainment, healthcare, hospitality, hotels and resorts, manufacturing and logistics, professional services, retail, security and supermarkets.

Ratings and company footprint

The site displays ratings of 4.6/5 based on 756, 746 and 316 reviews across different listings, attributed to the information available at the time of writing this profile. Deputy maintains offices in Sydney, described as its headquarters and home to design, engineering, product, sales, customer success, support and core operations teams; San Francisco, its US growth hub focused on go-to-market teams; and London, which leads its work for customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company also refers to remote staff across the US and Australia.

Deputy Corporation is registered at 548 Market St PMB 77267, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401. The company also lists Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom as markets. "Deputy" and "Spark Device" are trade marks of Deputechnologies Pty Ltd.