What’s Up with Staffing in the Restaurant World:

Human resource management is tough. You’re responsible for finding the right balance for everything (talk about a tall order), in the hopes that each day is a success.

Some might say workforce scheduling is the backbone of your operations. If you don’t get it right, you could end up with a very stressful, messy, unpredictable, and costly shift. Some might also say that scheduling sucks.

For those that choose to manage this responsibility with sticky notes, checklists, Excel spreadsheets, random emails, or a notepad at the host stand, you’d probably agree with that previous sentiment. Whether it’s:

• An employee complaining about not getting every Saturday night off.
• The new employee who requires training on top of your other daily responsibilities.
• Everyone complaining come December that they need/want/must have a raise.
• The bartender who called out five minutes before his shift began.
• The unexpected costs of overtime because schedules weren’t confirmed with the team far enough in advance.
• The random bits of information about your employees and the restaurant left around on Post-It notes.

It’s just too much, and you’re doing your restaurant a great disservice by not using the proper tools to run it.

The Solution

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

Scheduling is an essential piece of your restaurant’s success, so why make your job all the more difficult and stressful by using antiquated tools and methodologies? Learn from your mistakes and tackle these 3 suggestions to get your workforce scheduling on the right track:

#1: Throw out your pen and paper. Okay, that might be going a little too far, but you get the point, right? Post-Its are not your friend. And neither are notebooks. All they’re doing is increasing the risk of losing what may potentially be very important information and cluttering up your space.

#2: Get rid of Excel. Spreadsheets are great for keeping yourself organized as well as for reporting purposes, but any sort of over-reliance on them should be reconsidered. If you’re spending extra time maintaining a schedule, employee records, and other regularly updated documentation in Excel, move it to a cloud-based platform.

#3: Move to the cloud. If you’re not there already, get your management systems into a cloud-based program or software like the Better Chains solution now. Integration, consistency, and always-on access are key to scheduling (and managing most everything else) like a pro.

With a paperless HR solution, you can manage:

• Templates to allow for more streamlined scheduling each week or month.
• Digital profiles for each employee, including their scheduling preferences and availability.
• All schedules as near or far out as you prefer.
• Time-off requests and schedule changes, with input from your employees (who also have access to the system).
• Shift swaps among team members (with your approval).
• Overtime warnings, so you know when it’s coming.
• Trends in staff attendance, early departures, days off, etc.
• All of this, anywhere and anytime you have Internet access.

End Results:

In order for any business to succeed (and that includes restaurants), automation and a more streamlined operation is essential. Lower stress, more time, increased sales, and (possibly!) greater employee satisfaction – what’s not to love? If you haven’t done so already, get your scheduling into the cloud now and start reaping the benefits.