The importance of shift management in the hospitality industry.

Accurate and efficient shift management is an essential element of the hospitality industry. Whether you have a small restaurant or multiple fast food brances, you need to ensure that you can meet customer demand by having the right number of staff rostered on. Automated rostering software is the easiest way to ensure that your shift management meets the demands of your hospitality business.
Challenges in shift management
Finding suitable shift management software begins with identifying any current issues you have with your roster scheduling. Some of the challenges you face may include inadequate staffing; compliancy with awards including qualified staff, breaks or leave; staff unable to access rosters; management dealing with staff changes; and catering for a range of workplace agreements and shift preferences. Advanced shift management software like Humanforce is the easiest way to meet these challenges. To enable a customised and effective platform your Humanforce consultant will take you through the following steps.
Strategic Goal Setting
Identifying challenges allows you to begin some strategic goal setting for your hospitality business. To maintain high levels of staff retention and staff satisfaction, shift management needs to work for both staff and customer. Some of your goals towards efficient roster scheduling should include:
- Ensuring shift cover is easily available and accessible for staff who are unable to work their roster.
- Staff leave requests are approved or extra shifts provided where requested.
- Wages budgets needs to be adhered to.
- Payment is commensurate with shifts for every pay period.
- Appropriately qualified staff are rostered where required.
- Metrics and analytics are on the same platform as rostering schedules
- All software platforms are synced.
Internal Structure and Employee hierarchy
Analysing whether your internal structure is working effectively is the next stage in developing a successful shift management strategy. High staff absenteeism and low retention are both signs that management strategies and employee hierarchy may need attention. Analytical software can provide metrics around team performance and help you identify where improvements can be made.
Plan a course of action
Roster scheduling software will streamline the shift management process and create accurate rosters, with a range of features that allow staff input, free up management and ensure consistently exact pay. Your plan of action should include how to address any of the issues you are struggling with. Humanforce and other quality shift management software provides full consultation on how best to meet the needs of hospitality roster scheduling.
Implement the action plan
Once you have established the functionality, features and metrics of the shift management software that will work best for you, you can simply input staff information and shift requirements. The software will then create shifts that meet the needs of customer, staff and branches. Staff can use the system to arrange their own relief shift worker or let other staff know they are available. Timekeeping can be linked with bank accounts and other information for reliable and accurate wages, keeping to budgets.
With Humanforce shift management software, increased staff satisfaction will be reflected in happy customers and increased productivity.