Restaurant Rota Software
Restaurants and bars require many employees with different roles.
A missing team member can cause havoc with service. One of the most difficult daily tasks for any site manager is maintaining a well-organized schedule with full visibility that can deal with the unexpected. Historically, many restaurant managers used spreadsheet programs like Excel to do this job. Some still do!
Rotas Online vs Rotas on Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are slow, and can be complicated! An online restaurant staff scheduling system makes it easy to develop an efficient rota that will make certain all your shifts are covered by the right people. Labour costs are best tracked online.
With our platform Opsyte, you can create your team roster online. From there, you can develop a daily, weekly or monthly list of people and shifts - top tip, by using our templating tool you can do this in just a few clicks!
Because your staff members have individual access to the program through our website and app, they can see their up to date rota and schedule straight away.
Staff can also participate in the scheduling process: they can request holiday, days off, shift patterns, and can even swap shifts with their co-workers! All of which results in fewer staff no shows. Staff scheduling should always be this easy.
Our rota software for your restaurant will also improve communication between your team members. The manager or owner can broadcast shift notes to individual staff members or to the whole group at once!
Team members can also communicate with one another and with management. If someone needs shift coverage, they can swap their shifts easily and quickly.
Keep Track of Time and Attendance
Our Staff Scheduling platform comes with an integrated time and attendance feature that allows managers to check employees working hours in no time. If someone has to leave a shift early or stay late, our rota approvals make it simple to edit staff hours and reflect any time changes.
We recognize that busy hospitality businesses do not have time to learn a whole new scheduling system. Even though spreadsheets are frustrating and slow, people stick with them because it is what they know.
We have designed our program to be simple for both management and staff. You will notice our rota system has been designed around the functionality of Excel. You will not spend hours learning the details. Instead, you will quickly save time by moving to an online format.
We also recognize that the needs of small to medium-sized organizations are different. Other scheduling apps are designed for the complex needs of large establishments. Our competitiors focus on a multitude of industries, but we just focus on hospitality. We live and breathe hospitality and love working the great pace that this entails.
The extra features and expense of these apps make them unwieldy for smaller restaurants. Our web based app has the features you need to keep your business in motion.
Succeed at Staff Rotas
Creating your staff rota isn’t as straightforward as it might first seem. Labour costs are some of the highest costs in a restaurant in today's age. Good rota software is key to getting this right.
There’s more to consider than just adding employee details to a generic rota template. A good rota will incorporate the needs of both you and your employees. So without further ado, here’s what you should consider when building your rota.
Look for Accuracy
Your rota should be something you can adapt and use time and time again. Hospitality businesses thrive off well staffed premises. Your rota should be accurate and dynamic enough so you can adjust it in line with quick changing demand and employee requests, as well as keeping it tight enough to stick in line with budget. Manage your weekly shift requirements and keep your staff happy.
Make it easy to amend across multiple locations
Last minute changes are guaranteed, but you don’t want that to result in you having to rebuild your rota from scratch. Find yourself a product with a drag and drop interface, so any changes you have to make can be done easily and in real-time, and you don’t have to go back to the drawing board whenever an employee requests to change their shift. You need to manage your staff availability across multiple locations as easily as possible.
Incorporate staff preferences & skill sets
A good rota software should take into account employee needs and preferences, as well as their skill set. It is not just a case of filling shifts, it should be about having the best person for the job, all whilst incorporating employee preferences and availability. Allow staff to swap shifts, but still keep control.
Ensure compliance
Your rota needs to account for legislations such as Working Time regulations, the GDPR and Data Protection Acts. Some scheduling software, like Opsyte, provide this as part of the package, giving you one less thing to worry about.
Account for varying demand and time off requests
Footfall to hospitality, retail and leisure businesses can vary due to a number of different factors, for example due to weather, football fixtures or large events. It is important that your rota takes these into account and that you are not just copying and pasting your rota each week.
Use data from other areas of your business
Where possible, use insight from other areas of your business to inform your staff schedules. A well managed rota can give you great insight into how your restaurant business is performing, as well as your wage spend.
For example, with an integration between your rota software and till system you will be able to predict future sales and upcoming demand based on past and present data. You can be sure you always schedule the perfect number of staff to meet demand on any given day. Opsyte integrates with some of the most popular till systems to get you the right data into your rota, automatically.
Make the rota easy to share
Last but not least, your rota should be easy to share will colleagues. No one wants the aggravation of trying to share paper based staff schedules or making sure everyone has the latest version of your spreadsheet based rota. An online rota is less time consuming for all parties. Putting the rota onto the wall, and then having someone change, either means re printing or scribbling. Not ideal!
A rota that is easy to share and update in real-time is going to make everyone’s life a whole lot easier. Good scheduling software is incredibly important.
And here’s what your staff will look for in a good staff rota …
Easily accessible.
Providing your employees with the means to view their upcoming shifts at any time and from anywhere, will not only make their lives easier but will result in less admin time for you.
Visibility over upcoming shifts, manage your labour costs
Be sure to share your staff rota well in advance so your teams can make plans around their upcoming shifts, without having to come to you to ask when they’re next working. Manage your wage spend in advance!
