Restaurant owners and managers know that the success of their establishment relies heavily on the dedication and hard work of the entire team, not just veteran staff. One area that often poses a challenge is the scheduling of weekend shifts. Crafting balanced, fair, and equitable schedules in such a competitive industry is tricky, but it’s well worth the effort it takes to make it happen.
In this article, we will explore the concept of rotating weekend schedules for your restaurant or organization. We will first discuss what it is and how it works. We will also dive into why it’s important, including the challenges that rotating weekend schedules pose as well as the benefits to be derived from implementing such a schedule. Next, we’ll provide actionable steps that will help you implement a rotating weekend schedule.
This restaurant scheduling guide may also be helpful. Let’s go!
Understanding the Rotating Weekend Schedule
You probably already know how challenging it can be to create and manage a schedule that meets the needs of your business while also accommodating your employees’ preferences. Rotating weekend schedules are becoming increasingly popular in the industry, allowing for fair distribution of shifts and equal opportunities to have weekends off on a rotating basis.
But what is a rotating weekend schedule?
Definition of the Rotating Weekend Schedule
A rotating weekend schedule is a method of scheduling that gives each employee a turn to work specific weekends and to take off others, distributed fairly. Rotating weekly schedules are commonly used by restaurants that operate on weekends. Done properly, it shares responsibility equitably and ensures sufficient staffing levels to meet your organization’s or restaurant’s demand.
That’s not to say that employees can’t or shouldn’t be allowed to trade shifts as the need arises; however, you as a restaurant manager or owner are ensuring fair distribution of the weekend shifts so that employees can stay happy and productive at work. You will have done your part to prevent burnout of any one employee who might otherwise consistently work weekends (even though they would prefer to have it off).
How Does a Rotating Weekend Schedule Typically Work?
In this arrangement, employees take turns working weekends, often alternating every couple of weekends before taking a weekend off. This allows everyone to share the burden of weekend work, while also sharing in the benefits of getting time off on weekends.
This rotation system typically follows a predetermined pattern, such as a rotating schedule that outlines which employee will be working on a specific weekend. For instance, if a retail business has a team of ten employees, each member may be assigned to work every other weekend. This means that one week, five employees will be working on Saturday and Sunday, while the other five employees will have the weekend off. The following week, the roles would be reversed.
This alternating pattern helps to maintain a balanced distribution of weekend shifts amongst the staff. Ideally, your rotating weekend schedule will have a consistent rotation (this reduces confusion over which shifts will or won’t be worked and empowers employees to plan their work obligations and personal time accordingly). Nevertheless, how you map out your rotating weekend schedule can vary depending on the needs of your restaurant and your employees.
The Importance of Implementing a Rotating Weekend Schedule in Your Restaurant
So, now that we’ve discussed what a rotating weekend schedule is and how it works, you’re possibly asking yourself, “Why should I care about implementing a rotating weekend schedule?” There are countless reasons out there, but let’s highlight just a few of the benefits.
Benefits of Rotating Weekend Schedules
Increased flexibility for both restaurant and employees
Introducing a rotating weekend schedule in your restaurant or organization can significantly enhance flexibility for both the establishment and its employees. It allows staff members to take turns working weekends while ensuring ample time off for everyone. You can more evenly distribute the responsibility of working busy shifts while effectively balancing business needs and the well-being of staff.
This flexibility also allows you to adapt to fluctuating business demands more efficiently. During busier weekends (especially if there are special events locally), the establishment can ensure appropriate staffing levels while preserving the work-life balance of their employees.
Increased employee morale and job satisfaction
When weekend responsibilities are divided fairly, the burden can feel less heavy to employees as they know everyone on your team is taking their turn. They also feel valued and respected by their employer or manager because everyone gets an equal share of the best and worst shifts. They also get experience with different shifts. This can enhance employee satisfaction and lead to happier, more positive employee attitudes, which in turn drives smooth operations and exceptional customer service.
Improved work-life balance for employees and prevention of burnout
By implementing a rotating weekend schedule, you are actively fighting burnout because the physical and emotional strain of working on weekends is lessened, allowing employees to recharge and perform at their best during busy periods. They can have a personal life outside of work, and this is key to ensuring employees feel seen, recognized, and appreciated, reducing stress and enhancing their overall job satisfaction.
Enhanced productivity and efficiency in the workplace
It’s no secret that when job satisfaction increases, productivity increases. But that’s not the only way to increase productivity. Rotating weekend schedules promote cross-training and skill development.
By exposing employees to different shifts and job duties, they can experience a wider variety of responsibilities. This exposure not only enhances their skills and knowledge, but they can also experience working both in the hectic rush hours and the slower periods, enabling them to develop a versatile skill set. This also helps employees to better understand the needs and demands of the operation, leading to increased efficiency and productivity and a more holistic understanding of the business.
Many employees appreciate the chance to increase and use their skills because they feel more empowered at work and that they’re able to add skills to their repertoire and resume. Cross-trained employees also experience less frustration and waste less time waiting for another, more skilled employee to take on a specific task. Finally, cross-training prepares employees for unexpected situations, such as absences or emergencies, ensuring that operations continue smoothly.
Higher levels of team camaraderie
Rotating schedules also promote teamwork and collaboration. When employees have the chance to work with different colleagues regularly, they can establish stronger relationships, communication channels, and a sense of camaraderie. This teamwork positively affects the overall atmosphere and work dynamics in a restaurant, which, in turn, leads to improved efficiency.
Availability of New Opportunities and Boosted Engagement
Rotating weekend shifts also create an environment that encourages employee engagement. Employees are more likely to feel valued and motivated when they are given the opportunity to learn and grow in various roles. They are constantly faced with new challenges, which keeps their work fresh and exciting. This variety in their job duties helps to prevent boredom and burnout, resulting in higher job satisfaction and overall engagement.
Overall, a rotating weekend schedule is of great significance in the restaurant industry as it fosters fairness, work-life balance, employee satisfaction, productivity, and collaboration.
Challenges of a Rotating Weekend Schedule
We would be remiss if we failed to mention that there are certain challenges that come with scheduling weekends on a rotating basis. Today we’ll go over the following:
Difficulty in adjusting to changing schedules. Rotating weekend schedules can potentially put strain on employees’ personal lives. Because employees’ weekends rotate from being on and off work, they are forced to adapt to changing work hours, making it difficult to maintain a consistent routine or plan ahead for personal commitments (To be fair, however, as long as you make this rotation consistent, employees should be better able to plan).
Impact on sleep patterns and overall well-being. While rotating shift schedules do help many employees feel more satisfied at work thanks to less sleep deprivation, some employees may find it challenging to maintain a regular sleep schedule with a rotating weekend schedule.
Furthermore, some employees may struggle to engage in activities that promote their physical health and mental well-being. The constant readjustment to varying schedules can lead to increased stress, fatigue, and difficulty in managing personal responsibilities outside of work. And we haven’t even touched the disruptions to sleep from overnight shifts for 24-hour operations!
Difficulty in measuring impact on employees. The reality is, even with your best intentions and efforts, it can be difficult to know for sure if your decisions are having the desired impact on your employees and operational efficiency or if there’s something else at play. Your employees will face mental health and self-discipline battles on their own time regardless of what you do, and some may even struggle regularly with those challenges.
How to Implement Rotating Weekend Schedules in Your Restaurant
There are countless ways to implement a rotating schedule (without even getting too far into the weekend shift scheduling). It can get pretty complex fast, so it’s important to determine what your business needs and how your employees’ availability and preferences can meet those needs.
Here are five simple steps that will help you implement a rotating weekend schedule in your restaurant. For simplicity’s sake, we will approach this as if you are planning for the weekend first (and this is the approach we recommend). We will ignore the rest of the week for now because you may already have an idea of how you want to divide the work.
5 Steps to creating a rotating weekend schedule:
- Know the needs of your restaurant. To successfully run a rotating weekend shift schedule, you need to have a thorough understanding of the needs of your establishment. The basics include your hours of operation, which employees have what skills and experience, and your peak hours (when customer demand is at its highest).
- Divide the weekend into shifts that meet those needs. Dividing your weekend into shifts ensures continuous coverage at the highest level of productivity, especially if you schedule shorter shifts. Make sure you also plan for time between shifts. Ideally, continuous coverage will be achieved with up to 8-hour shifts. Longer shifts like 12-hour shifts (or even 24-hour shifts, for that matter) can cause more challenges than they’re worth. Going back to the time between shifts, your scheduling strategy may have to include some shift overlap
- Divide your employees into teams that will work these shifts. This division can be complex, because it involves careful consideration of various factors, such as availability, skill sets, fairness, and balance. The key here is to ensure that your staff can handle all tasks assigned to them or that there is someone available to help them learn.
- Design a rotating weekend schedule. Whether you rotate your teams weekly, every other week, monthly, or some other schedule, make sure it’s consistent to prevent confusion. Also, make sure it plans adequately for employee needs and preferences (because the last thing you want is an employee calling out on weekends, causing short-staffing in your restaurant).
- Implement the schedule. Ensure that employees know the schedule ahead of time and are willing to follow it. Monitor the schedule regularly in every way you can (talk to employees about the schedule and how they are feeling, watch for subtle indications of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the schedule, check attendance and other data, etc.). As needed, make adjustments.
These steps are pretty straightforward but can be challenging to implement. Here are a few considerations for you while making that rotating weekend schedule.
Key Considerations When Creating Rotating Weekend Schedules:
When creating rotating weekend schedules for restaurants, there are several key considerations to keep in mind.
- Automation. Employee scheduling software can streamline the process and save valuable time.
- Rotating shift schedule templates. Templates ensure fair shift assignments and prevent perceived favoritism or unfairness because you create and follow a specific shift pattern.
- Mandatory overtime. Scheduling correctly prevents mandatory overtime when, for example, staff take an unplanned day off because they have to work undesirable shifts.
- Employee roles, credentials, and skills. Matching the right employees to specific shifts based on their expertise can ensure efficient workflow and customer satisfaction.
- Payroll budget. By balancing the number of staff members and their working hours, the restaurant can effectively manage costs while still meeting operational demands.
- Staff scheduling tools. Technology can greatly assist in creating and managing rotating weekend schedules. These tools offer features such as shift swaps, time-off requests, and employee availability, which can streamline the scheduling process and reduce conflicts.
Taking all these considerations into account can help restaurants create effective and efficient rotating weekend schedules, ensuring smooth operations and employee satisfaction.
Conclusion
Savvy business owners and managers in the restaurant industry are constantly reading through data, communicating with employees, and seeking proactive strategies that will help their restaurants run smoothly. When they find a perplexing situation they just can’t figure out, they seek expert advice and advanced tools to resolve it.
As part of this, these same owners and managers also focus on flexible weekend schedules that prioritize optimal employee contributions to the restaurant while enabling employees to have a social life outside the restaurant.
Balancing weekend shift scheduling preferences with business goals has challenges and benefits, but you must implement a flexible, fair, balanced scheduling strategy. It’s not an easy task, but it is worth every effort. Your restaurant will see fewer struggles and more success and your employees will appreciate your decision.
SynergySuite has software that can help with that.
