Labor Management Tools Can Ease Economic Pinch
Restaurant operators continue to feel the pinch of the current economy. The National Restaurant Association recently reported that the Restaurant Performance Index fell to a record low during the month of December, with 41 percent of restaurant operators expecting economic conditions to worsen in six months. In the current economic climate, restaurant operators are looking for savings anywhere they can find them, and next-generation labor management has emerged as a key technology for helping lower costs.
HotSchedules, a provider of online restaurant labor management solutions, is confident that companies armed with its intelligent, affordable labor management tools, will see instant labor cost savings and efficiency, as well as enhanced employee satisfaction and retention.
Reduce labor costs
Labor is second only to food and beverage as the largest controllable expense for restaurant operators. The National Restaurant Association recently reported that federal minimum wage has increased 26 percent since 2007, and predicts that the industry will see an additional wage increase of 11 percent by July 2009. The restaurant industry will be heavily affected by these wage increases since more than half of their staff typically works "back of house" (i.e. dishwashers, line cooks, etc.) and service support (i.e. busboys, hostess). Additionally, the restaurant industry is notorious for high turnover which increases operators' new hire training expenses, ultimately increasing labor costs. By using an intelligent restaurant labor management tool like HotSchedules, businesses can standardize their staff scheduling and management process and significantly lower labor costs.
Improved communication
Restaurant labor management should include much more than just employee scheduling. It should also play an integral role in enhancing communications to further strengthen the company culture. Additionally, it should enable management to provide employees with the visibility, control and tools they need to maintain a positive work-life balance, which increases employee retention.
Feature-rich labor management solutions can provide managers with the ability to communicate quickly and easily with all employees, from corporate executives to hourly staff. Employees can 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 text message notification when shift changes are approved by the manager. Additionally, these tools enable management to distribute important messages or surveys to employees in particular locations or chain-wide, such as crisis communication or sharing discounts from corporate partners.
Enhanced employee scheduling, management
Labor management solutions allow managers to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate weekly employee scheduling - from hours to minutes. HotSchedules typically sees a reduction of 75 percent in the time it takes to create schedules, often within weeks of beginning to use the tools. These solutions include easy-to-use features such as comparing expected costs with actual expenses and integrating with point of sale (POS) and time-and-attendance systems to enforce scheduled shifts. Additionally, labor management tools provide overtime warning reports that consider actual labor plus upcoming projected hours to notify managers of potential overtime scenarios before they occur.
HotSchedules, a provider of online restaurant labor management solutions, is confident that companies armed with its intelligent, affordable labor management tools, will see instant labor cost savings and efficiency, as well as enhanced employee satisfaction and retention.
Reduce labor costs
Labor is second only to food and beverage as the largest controllable expense for restaurant operators. The National Restaurant Association recently reported that federal minimum wage has increased 26 percent since 2007, and predicts that the industry will see an additional wage increase of 11 percent by July 2009. The restaurant industry will be heavily affected by these wage increases since more than half of their staff typically works "back of house" (i.e. dishwashers, line cooks, etc.) and service support (i.e. busboys, hostess). Additionally, the restaurant industry is notorious for high turnover which increases operators' new hire training expenses, ultimately increasing labor costs. By using an intelligent restaurant labor management tool like HotSchedules, businesses can standardize their staff scheduling and management process and significantly lower labor costs.
Improved communication
Restaurant labor management should include much more than just employee scheduling. It should also play an integral role in enhancing communications to further strengthen the company culture. Additionally, it should enable management to provide employees with the visibility, control and tools they need to maintain a positive work-life balance, which increases employee retention.
Feature-rich labor management solutions can provide managers with the ability to communicate quickly and easily with all employees, from corporate executives to hourly staff. Employees can 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 text message notification when shift changes are approved by the manager. Additionally, these tools enable management to distribute important messages or surveys to employees in particular locations or chain-wide, such as crisis communication or sharing discounts from corporate partners.
Enhanced employee scheduling, management
Labor management solutions allow managers to reduce the amount of time it takes to generate weekly employee scheduling - from hours to minutes. HotSchedules typically sees a reduction of 75 percent in the time it takes to create schedules, often within weeks of beginning to use the tools. These solutions include easy-to-use features such as comparing expected costs with actual expenses and integrating with point of sale (POS) and time-and-attendance systems to enforce scheduled shifts. Additionally, labor management tools provide overtime warning reports that consider actual labor plus upcoming projected hours to notify managers of potential overtime scenarios before they occur.