Utilizing restaurant technology to implement labor forecasting in your scheduling process can reduce manager workload, increase employee retention rates, and improve profit margins while facilitating growth. The bottom line: restaurant labor forecasting matters because it saves money.
Crafting a comprehensive schedule can be a difficult assignment to tackle. Allocating hours in a way that keeps your employees happy, maintaining a high level of service during peak business hours, and ensuring that your staff can remain productive during their downtime is a tricky balancing act that can be costly when not executed effectively. Labor remains one of the leading costs of operating a restaurant, so learning how to effectively manage your employees’ time on the clock can pave the road to higher profit margins. Who doesn’t want that?
A wide range of tools and techniques have become available in the past decade that enable the success of restauranteurs, one of which is restaurant labor forecasting. While restaurant labor forecasting may sound like an unnecessary step in an already complicated process, taking the time to understand the implications of forecasting can breathe new life into your business.
Why Does Restaurant Labor Forecasting Matter?
The answer is surprisingly simple: it saves money. In the restaurant industry, every penny saved matters. Things like menu engineering helps, but it only goes so far. Understanding how the individual cost of your employees stacks up against fluctuating sales patterns can make the difference between a restaurant that retains employees and consistently satisfies customers and a restaurant that loses money until they are forced out of business for good. No matter how great your menu or location is, incorporating restaurant labor forecasting into your scheduling process can improve your guest experience and solidify your success in the following ways.
Improve Employee Retention
According to The National Restaurant Association, employee turnover across the entire restaurant industry is as high as 61%. Further, the cost of losing a single employee can be as much as $5,864, according to research conducted by the Center for Hospitality. Yikes!
Forecasting restaurant labor is a great way to make sure that your staff isn’t constantly being overworked and overstressed. A happy team is going to be more motivated to retain their jobs than a team who feels overworked and underappreciated, which will improve your guest experience and help your business grow.
Increase Profit Margins
As a general rule, restaurateurs who manage their staff well also run restaurants that turn higher profit margins. Whether your staff is composed of industry veterans or your employees consist mostly of college freshmen looking for extra cash on the weekends, leveraging restaurant labor forecasting can improve your profits and facilitate growth.
Reduce Manager Workload
Whether you self-manage every aspect of your business or you delegate responsibility to members of your staff, utilizing restaurant technology that can automate the scheduling process will save tons of time. Look for software that can be customized to meet your needs without charging for unnecessary features; software that provides customized sales and profitability reports and offers solutions that can be implemented in specific locations or across an entire chain. When managers have more time to spend on the floor with your staff and guests, they can facilitate positive guest experiences and convert casual diners into loyal advocates for your restaurant.
No matter the size of your restaurant, labor forecasting gives you the power to create an engaging work environment for your staff and a pleasant dining experience for your guests. Investing in restaurant technology that curates reports and automates scheduling can improve your profit margin and help secure a successful future for your restaurant.
