As we near the end of August, the signs of Autumn are starting to creep back in - despite the continuing heatwaves! The evenings are getting noticeably shorter, the summer holidays are drawing to a close - and excitement for the changing seasons is building.
The prepared hospitality managers amongst us will have already started planning for the changing seasons.
Meet your customers wishes.
The arrival of Autumn means your guests will have a changing taste - hearty food starts to become a preference over those light summer salads, and there's a distinct shift in preference towards venues with a cosy atmosphere.
It's time to check in and ensure you're giving your guests what they want from the season ahead.
The problem that needs to be solved for hospitality businesses.
Hospitality businesses are still facing turbulent times. Managing staffing remains an issue, as managers continue to struggle to hire and retain great members of staff.
Naturally, the goal behind all of this is not only to have engaged staff, but to also turn over more money!
So, with summer holidays out the way, it is time to refocus on making sure you have the team behind you to ensure your Autumn/Winter season runs smoothly - with maximised sales, happy employees and the ability to meet demand!
How does HR and rota software help solve it?
Great rota and HR software will enable management to spend less time bogged down with time consuming paperwork and enable them to focus on what's really important - your guests, your staff, your sales, your training and ultimately driving your business forward!
But not only that - poor onboarding and poor scheduling are one of the main sources of staff unhappiness and a huge contributor to high staff turnover.
However, these are also some of the easiest issues in restaurant management to fix!
Great software will also help you focus in on those important statistics (like wage spend vs sales) - allowing you to maximise your profit even further.
This article will outline some key issues that your restaurant business may be facing, and explain how great staff scheduling software like Opsyte will help you combat them!
Problem 1: Your onboarding of new staff isn't optimised!
In the fast paced restaurant business, time is money! When an employees first day is spent laboriously completing paperwork that management then needs to scan, file and store - then you are wasting time.
Better alternatives are out there!
Great staff scheduling and HR software like Opsyte allow staff to complete their onboarding seamlessly.
Management can invite employees to join your Opsyte portal with just a few clicks and some key information - allowing your new employees to fill in their personal details and read and sign their new onboarding documents ahead of time!
In no time at all, staff will then have access to the scheduling software through their mobile app. Allowing them to view the staff rota, swap shifts, clock in, and manage their time off requests!
Completing a seamless staff onboarding also allows you to quickly focus on what matters... Giving your new team member the attention and training they deserve right from the start - creating a great workplace culture, and getting your new staff members up to date as quickly as possible!
Problem 2: Your rota constantly needs to be changed!
All sectors of hospitality have experienced this frustration. A rota is released, then staff request numerous changes - leading to more time wasting managing staffing.
Rota software like Opsyte can help with this too.
Great rota software will enable you to build staff rotas quickly, with tools such as templating and drag and drop you can create, amend and send your rota to your staff in minutes.
But rota software doesn't just save you time, a great staff scheduling app will reduce the need for making changes in the first place.
Once staff receive their schedule through the app, you can let your team use features such as controlled shift swapping, meaning that your staff can sort out any rota conflicts amongst themselves - whilst still allowing the person in charge to control who can swap shifts through the app and when.
Opsyte will also allow you to manage staff availability - by setting their non working days in the app you will be able to have full visibility of what your team can work, allowing you to schedule their shifts effectively (and not just rely on keeping the information in your head)!
Problem 3: You aren't considering your labour costs!
The Autumn/Winter months open up a great opportunity to make money - however, if your labour costs are a large percentage of your sales, you may not be doing as well as you think. Working to a budget for your wages boosts the potential for profit!
Great scheduling systems like Opsyte not only save time when creating rotas, but will also show you your sales and budget on screen while you build schedules!
You will also be able to check in on the actual labour spend by comparing your forecasted rota to your actual rota (which will show you any extra hours worked by your staff - on top of what they were originally scheduled).
To Summarise!
A great rota management system will help your company prepare for the busy Autumn/ Winter period by helping you be aware of (and control) your wage spend, by freeing up your management's time so they can focus on what's important!
