It can be a challenge to handle a large workforce across units. A challenge that doesn’t get easier since the last few years has been marked by big uncertainty in the hospitality industry. Even after the restaurants opened back up again after Covid it’s been an increasing challenge to attract new employees and also to keep the existing employees.
So how do you ensure optimal staffing?
Our partner SameSystem has gathered a list of good advice to how you can ensure optimal staffing:
Accurate forecasts
Accurate forecasts (or forecasting as it’s also popularly called) have a big influence on how to make sure you have the optimal staffing. The forecast is based on data analyses and to make a fair forecast, first of all, you have to take a stand in historical data.
The more historical data you have, the more accurate forecast you can make. Here it can be worth looking at e.g. events, trends, seasons, or other things that could have an influence on the number of guests in your restaurant.
With an accurate forecast for optimal staffing, the restaurant will have a greater opportunity to adapt the logistics and staffing. With a database like that, you’ll have a bigger opportunity to know, when a potential peak load and you can plan according to that. This also applies to the planning of rosters.
A better roster
With a better and more accurate forecast, it will be a lot easier to make better rosters. A good roster can help to minimize employee costs and increase employee and customer satisfaction, which will create positive results on the bottom line. A good roaster can strengthen your employees and your business, whereas a bad roster can end up costing you money.
Better rosters result in more structure and a better overview for the individual employee. In this way, they’ll have a better opportunity to plan their time and it will affect their private life a lot less. Especially if you’re a part-time employee or a freelancer it can be hard to keep track of your income, if your work hours vary a lot.
Creating a better roster is also highly about choosing the right people at the right time. Hereby they can provide the best possible customer service and create customer satisfaction. Perhaps take a look at your opportunities for better roster planning with SameSystem’s rooster planning.
Employee satisfaction
Employee satisfaction has a great influence on engagement which is shown in the workplace. Happy employees are more engaged and this also makes them more productive. This is why it’s important to focus on a good work environment
A work culture that encourages friendships among the employees, and where the management expresses interest in the employee's well-being, is a safe environment. It’ll also help the employees to become more resistant if any problems or challenges should show up.
It can be a good idea to do something extra to strengthen collaboration in the workplace. Surveys, joint activities, or workshops can help give employees greater influence and commitment to perform better. So happier employees will lead to better service which will lead to a better guest experience and thus also greater sales. Read more about how SameSystem can help you increase employee satisfaction at the workplace.
Effective communication
A good way to maintain employees and achieve optimal staffing is by having a good relationship between leader and employee and this happens to a large extent through effective communication.
If you, as a leader, wish to create good and effective communication, it’s a prerequisite that you are prepared and can think ahead. Consider what your employees could ask of questions and think about how you’ll give them a clear answer. It’s important that the communication is clear, so you avoid misunderstandings. There are a lot of different communication tools you can use, such as WhatsApp or Slack. If you wish to gather all your internal business tools and communication channels in one place, take a look at SameSystem’s workforce management app, where everything is gathered – from roster planning, forecasting, and internal communication channels.