The reality of operating a pub or a restaurant is that there are peak times and slow times. The challenge is that your customers demand the same level of service at all times. Staffing levels play a key role in your ability to deliver excellent customer service.
In order to make sure you have the right staffing levels in place, consider these operational planning steps. Although they might seem obvious at first glance, it’s a worthwhile exercise to go through to ensure you deliver consistently great service to your customers.
Minimum Required Positions:
Develop a list of minimum jobs required during both slow and peak times to assist in determining the required staffing levels. What are your peak times and how long do they last? How many servers, dishwashers, and cooks do you need on a slow night? How many do you need on a busy night? Use these lists as a starting point for scheduling purposes.
Coverage:
Once you have your lists of minimum required positions, make sure there are enough people to cover breaks/lunches to give staff a rest. Not only are breaks required by law, they also provide an opportunity for your staff to re-charge to provide better customer service.
Desired Service Levels:
If you promise your clients fast and friendly service, this is your reputation so make sure that you have enough staff with the right skills to deliver on your brand promise.
Cross Training:
Consider cross-training all staff, or give scheduling priority to staff that is cross-trained. This would allow them to cover off more than one job and save staffing costs. For example, if you have a server that can cover off hostess and cashier responsibilities, you have much more flexibility in handling customer needs during shifts. This also helps when employees are ill or on holidays.
Desired Table Turnover:
How often are your tables turning over? Do you want them to turn over faster? Faster turnaround times might require having more staff in the kitchen and serving so take this into consideration when planning schedules.
Anticipate Peak Times:
No doubt this is every operator’s biggest challenge. However, it's important to consider all the factors that affect this because during busy times when there are not enough staff scheduled, both staff and customers suffer. Staff suffers because they are overworked and rushed, and the customer suffers by waiting longer or not getting the best service. Anticipate volumes for key shifts, such as Friday and Saturday nights in order to schedule the right amount of staff.
Carmine Morelli, instructor at Vancouver Community College in the Hospitality Management program recommends going back into your sales records to find out what your sales were in the previous year, say for the month of October, and looking at revenues generated, sales mixes, etc. “Over a given time period in the previous year, such as a weekend, find out what was selling, and at what time. Most point of sale machines has the capability of providing this information easily.”
“It is also worthwhile to do an analysis of your sales volume per hour. This information will tell you how many items you've sold during busy and slow times of the day. This will enable you to schedule your staff much more accurately.”
Furthermore, Carmine advises doing some research and finding out what special events are in your neighbourhood that might drive in extra customers. “If the Canucks are in town, or the Lions are playing and you’re in the neighbourhood, you need to plan for that. Even Monday night football games might drive in extra customers.”
“Weather can play a huge role as well, particularly in the winter. You may have a full house or nobody.” Find out what the upcoming forecast says, and plan accordingly.
By following these simple operational planning steps when determining staffing levels, your clients, staff and bottom line will win. With the right staffing levels, your staff will be in a better position to deliver excellent customer service and drive repeat business to your establishment.
