Spark Event Group: Powering the workforce at The Australian Open

Introduction

Spark Event Group is Australia’s leading supplier of event workforce solutions, delivering staffing and operational support for more than 1,000 events each year. Their workforce powers some of the country’s biggest and most iconic events including The Australian Open, The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix, The Sydney Royal Easter Show and global tours such as Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

With a database of more than 5,000 paid staff, Spark relies on Rosterfy as their end to end workforce management platform to recruit, screen, schedule, communicate and payroll their extensive casual workforce at scale.

The Challenge

Managing staffing for high profile, high volume events presents significant operational complexity. 

Prior to Rosterfy, Spark faced several challenges:

• Scheduling thousands of shifts across hundreds of roles with no automation
• Time intensive screening and interview processes, often exceeding 1,000 applicants for major events
• Limited ability to manage last minute roster changes or staffing fluctuations efficiently
• No centralised source of truth for communications between administrators working across multiple sites
• Manual timesheet collection and payroll processing
• Difficulty delivering consistent training, tracking attendance and progressing staff based on completion
• Complex reporting needs, particularly during large scale, constantly changing events
  

For events like The Australian Open, which requires more than 350 staff per day, these challenges were magnified and created enormous manual workload on Spark’s operations team.

The Solution

Spark implemented Rosterfy as an end to end workforce management system, leveraging advanced features such as customised checkpoints, automated workflows, integrated scheduling, SMS and email communications, training management, timesheets and comprehensive reporting.

Workforce scheduling for major events

For the Australian Open alone, Spark used Rosterfy to deliver:

• 4,386 shifts completed
• 593 casual staff scheduled
• More than 30,000 attended hours
• A 98.91% attendance rate
  

Checkpoints to automate recruitment and onboarding

Spark utilised Rosterfy’s checkpoints to manage role specific workflows, automatically progressing staff through every stage, including:

• Expression of interest
• Interviews (via Microsoft Teams integration or in person)
• Screening and credential checks
• Emergency contact collection
• Contract signing
• Payroll details
• Shift offer and confirmation
  

This automation significantly reduced administrative workload while ensuring a consistent, compliant and high quality process.

Training sessions were created as shifts within Rosterfy, enabling Spark to track attendance, manage progression and ensure staff were qualified prior to scheduling.

Managing last minute staffing needs

Staff could register interest for last minute shifts, and Spark used Rosterfy’s email and SMS tools to fill more than 500 additional shifts added during the tournament.
The platform gave all administrators visibility of communications, ensuring no duplicated work and complete transparency.

Timesheets and payroll

Staff checked in and out via Rosterfy, creating an accurate digital record of attended hours.
Daily timesheet reports were shared with the client and then used to payroll staff and invoice accurately.
“We don’t have to pull reports and drop them into another system – Rosterfy does it all which is great.”

“Having the ability to check in and out staff via Rosterfy and have a centralised record to the minute of when a staff member checked in and out has made timesheets and payroll so much easier. We don’t have to pull reports and drop it into another system – Rosterfy does it all which is great!” Battisa added. 

Reporting and bulk updates

Rosterfy’s powerful filtering and bulk update features enabled Spark to respond rapidly to changing event requirements.

The Impact

Operational efficiency

• Automated workflows significantly reduced manual screening, onboarding and scheduling time
• 98.91% attendance rate achieved across 4,386 shifts at The Australian Open
• Ability to quickly respond to last minute staffing requests
• Administrators gained a clear, centralised communication record, improving collaboration and reducing errors
  

Workforce experience

• Streamlined onboarding and interview processes
• Accessible training and clear progression
• Ability to easily accept last minute shifts and stay updated via SMS and email
• Fast, reliable payroll thanks to accurate timesheet data
  

Client outcomes

• More than 30,000 attended hours delivered with exceptional accuracy
• Consistent, compliant and highly reliable workforce operations
• Greater transparency and confidence through sophisticated reporting
  

Strategic advantage

Rosterfy provides Spark with a scalable system capable of supporting Australia’s largest and most complex events. Through automation, centralisation and advanced workforce tools, Spark can focus on delivering exceptional event experiences while ensuring their staff are engaged, supported and efficiently managed.