Staffing remains an important focus for restaurant brands, who continue to face perpetually high turnover, high labor costs, and even higher stakes when it comes to labor compliance.
Scheduling the right number of employees every hour of every shift is no easy feat. Managers must understand how to best schedule teams and respond swiftly to fluctuations in demand. But without the right technology, this becomes much more difficult to accomplish.
The 2023 Restaurant Operations Report surveyed more than 200 decision-makers and influencers in the industry, who indicated that 38% of shifts are insufficiently staffed, with 23% being understaffed while 15% are overstaffed.
This inefficiency in staffing often results in locations either losing revenue by scheduling and paying employees they didn’t need that day or, conversely, leaving restaurants understaffed and employees scrambling to keep up with everything that needs to be done.
Another finding from the survey is that the average location spends about 7.5 hours per week creating and managing schedules. According to the report, about 3.8 hours per week are spent creating the staff schedules, while another 3.8 are spent managing any needed schedule changes.
At this year’s Restaurant Leadership Conference, three leading members of the industry joined Crunchtime’s Innovation Forum panel to discuss strategies and best practices for navigating staffing and scheduling.
Beth Brewer, Executive Vice President of Burgerville, works closely with all stakeholders throughout the fast-casual chain to ensure all available IT and operations systems are properly integrated. With 40 corporate-owned and operated locations, Burgerville has partnered with Crunchtime for nearly a decade, utilizing the following solutions:
- Inventory Management
- Labor & Scheduling
- Learning & Development
- Operations Execution
Pro Tip #1: Use a Scheduling Platform for Forecasting
Brewer recommended leaning more toward scheduling platforms, specifically when it comes to forecasting. She mentioned that Burgerville had committed to enhancing its forecasting abilities, and since making that an area of focus, it can now consistently forecast its needs, which allows the brand to have much more accurate staffing.
This frees up a huge chunk of the shift that managers can now commit to other tasks around the workplace. A scheduling platform that not only factors in availability but also factors in the forecast in the recommended schedule makes it much easier for managers to accommodate changes to the schedule on short notice.
Josh Kern, Chief Executive Officer of SPB Hospitality, is an accomplished executive leader with over 20 years of experience in business leadership and operational management, specializing in the restaurant industry. SPB Hospitality is a multi-brand restaurant operator with more than 500 locations including Logan’s Roadhouse, Old Chicago, Krystal, J. Alexander’s, and 10 other brands. SPB utilizes Crunchtime solutions for:
- Inventory Management
- Labor & Scheduling
- Learning & Development
Pro Tip #2: Extensively Cross-Train Employees
During the panel, Kern recommended extensive cross-training to mitigate staffing and scheduling challenges. By cross-training and having employees proficient in several different areas rather than specialized roles, scheduling becomes much easier, and it is more feasible to fill in for people when they may have to miss work.
Ross Groeneweg, Chief People & Strategy Officer of Pizza Ranch, works in a variety of areas but is most predominantly involved with human resources and operations. The casual buffet dining chain utilizes Crunchtime’s Learning & Development solution across its 220 locations.
Pro Tip #3: Focus on Retention
Groenewg explained how Pizza Ranch provides employees with learning and development opportunities from day one to make them more successful in their current jobs and prepare them for their next role. Through its commitment to training and development, Pizza Ranch proves that its employees are not just a ‘cog in the wheel,’ but actually a part of the brand’s legacy and strong future. When frontline workers feel they’re invested in, they’re more likely to stay with the company and continue growing a career with the brand.
Each of the panelists noted that, in recent years, their brands have been able to massively reduce the number of hours they spend on staffing and scheduling thanks to Crunchtime’s scheduling platform. In some cases, past managers would commit half of an entire shift to scheduling, whereas now it takes an average of one hour per week.
To learn more about Crunchtime’s Labor & Scheduling solution, click here.
