Gordon Biersch Streamlines Workforce Management, Communication with New Solution Rollout

Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group completes the implementation of HotSchedules' Enterprise Edition workforce management and labor scheduling solution, including the Manager's Digital Logbook, to its entire brand of restaurants. Operating in 37 restaurant locations across 19 states, Gordon Biersch's portfolio of restaurant brands include Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, Big River Grille and Brewing Works, Seven Bridges Grille and Brewery, A1A Ale Works, Ragtime Tavern and Seafood Grill, and Bluewater Grille. Gordon Biersch began the rollout of the HotSchedules solution in August 2008 and was fully deployed by September 2008.
 
After outgrowing its previous employee time and attendance solution, Gordon Biersch knew it needed a restaurant workforce management solution that could keep pace with the growth of the business and improve on employee retention and communication, while showing a positive impact on labor savings. With HotSchedules, Gordon Biersch hourly employees can now access their schedules 24/7 online or via phone, as well as pick up shifts, request time off, send messages to managers or other employees, and receive email and SMS text message notification when shift changes are approved by the manager. 
 
"We had heard the industry buzz on HotSchedules, and knew right away this was the type of labor scheduling solution we were looking for. Within weeks of launching HotSchedules, we've reduced labor by .5 percent," says Robert Werk, COO, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant Group. "Furthermore, HotSchedules has provided the means of communication to build on community and culture in our restaurants. We're committed to catering to the lifestyle of our staff, as well as the increasing Generation Y by offering innovative features like schedule requests and confirmation via text message. Hotschedules has been a tremendous asset in further leveraging us as the employer of choice in each market in which we operate."
 
Online labor management
For Gordon Biersch managers, HotSchedules online labor management tools have significantly reduced the time it takes to create schedules and approve shift changes. HotSchedules' easy-to-use Digital Logbook provides Gordon Biersch managers with a reliable web-based communication logbook to keep track of shift notes, staff journals and maintenance issues. At the corporate level, Gordon Biersch has utilized HotSchedules for chain wide employee communications, including promoting its open enrollment for the company's 401K program.  Additional features of the solution allow managers to:

• Create schedules that avoid both understaffing and overtime using labor forecasting and overtime reports, and to schedule the best combination of employees that will provide the optimum level of customer experience 
• Create labor plans on sales forecasts with regional oversight
• View reports to measure and compare actual vs. scheduled hours and dollars, as well as variances in actual projected sales
  "Efficient labor scheduling is one of the most important pieces to running a successful restaurant business," says Werk. You have to consider sales forecasts, staffing levels and the amount of productivity needed to meet your service level standards. In addition, you have to take care of staff by providing fairness and balance in their financial well-being and work/life balance. HotSchedules has provided us with the tools to handle these tasks quickly and in a cost-efficient manner."