AS A HOSPITALITY MANAGER, HOW DO YOU MAKE THE RIGHT STAFFING DECISIONS?

Managing a hospitality venue isn’t an easy task – there are a lot of things to think about every minute of every day.

The constant juggle between efficiency vs effectiveness vs costs is most probably the greatest challenge in any given day.

And of course, the result of that equation has a direct impact on both venue profitability and importantly – the customer experience.

Let’s think about one of the big two costs (and probably headaches) “STAFFING”

There are a lot of decisions to be made in the day in the life of a Hospitality Manager. One of the major costs and therefore one of the major decisions is about staffing.

For many years wage costs have probably been the hardest to manage, as often overstaffing has only been identified retrospectively, “after the event” has occurred.

With staff – it should not be management by “moving the deck chairs on the Titanic”. It should be about allocating the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time in the right numbers to not only achieve efficiency and keep costs under control but also achieve this without compromising a great experience for your customers.

Gone are the days of “gut feel” particularly for larger establishments. The real key to operating a venue at optimum staffing levels is to be armed with “real time” information, and it is then you can make the best decisions with the information available.

The accuracy and impact of these decisions can mean the difference between a healthy and not so healthy bottom line.

And …. if only you could clone the Duty Manager

It is not easy for one person to be everywhere at any one time and be across all that is happening throughout the venue.

Without discounting the importance of “walk throughs”, access to accurate “real time” information together with observation can allow the manager to identify and most importantly act on situations as and when they arise.

Having confidence to make the right call can only really be made when you have the right information at your fingertips. This information should be easily available at “the touch of a button” at any POS terminal, so staff discussions and decisions can be implemented immediately and efficiently.

Information is Power

A system that manages, tracks and reports on staffing allows venues to keep an eye on which staff are on duty are more productive and bringing in more $ per hour – great information for incentivising or motivating – whichever is required.

A system should also guide you on how to maximise your profit and ensure you’re complying with relevant awards and if you are not, what the ramifications are of doing so. It should also clearly and accurately show that staff are taking breaks and working to award conditions.

Therefore, a Workforce Management System has become such an integral part of day to day operations – it supplies the relevant information and can really be your “insurance policy” for staff management.

Staff forecasting with accuracy

No “crystal balls” required – the collection and analysis of valuable information via a Workforce Management system can assist in more accuracy when rostering staff within the venue. By choosing a period of history like last week or this week last year, you can use this information to more accurately forecast staffing levels. You can ensure the right staffing levels, refining daily and seeing instantly what the impact of your staffing decisions will have on the bottom line. You should also be able to ensure that your most efficient staff are operating in the busiest areas.

Paying the Staff on time and accurately

We all know that any information that is entered manually is open to human error.

With no systems integration, entering valuable data into a payroll system takes time and resources and therefore incurs extra cost. That is why it is so important to eliminate error and reduce payroll costs by having a system that can automatically transfer the data into your payroll.

Yet another investment worth considering that will pay for itself in no time and less errors and timely wage equals happy staff.

So, what does this all mean?

Having a Workforce Management Tools is a must!

Making the right staffing decisions is all about having accurate information when you need it, not after the event. Your venue needs this information readily available at any time of the day or night?

If you haven’t got a Workforce Management System, it’s time to act. It is a worthwhile investment – no longer a luxury.

Click Here for more information on H&L’s total Workforce Management Solution.