Christmas is a brilliantly terrifying time for hospitality. As friends and families make to plans to gather and be merry, they do so in your bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels.
So what should you be doing to prepare your operations and your team over the Christmas period.
Schedule in advance
It may take more time than usual, but making your rosters and schedules ahead of time will give you a better idea on your labour cost forecast, as well as giving your staff time to know when they will be needed to facilitate some cheer for your customers, amidst their own celebrations.
Use your shift log
In Bizimply, we offer a premium feature called “Shift log”, where you can track various sales areas, guests, checks, accidents, reservations, no-shows and keep a view of metrics like wastage, tips, takeaways and deliveries. It’s a busy time for your business, so it’s important to know which wheels are turning the most!
Keep a close eye on your labour cost
With people having a few more Irish Whiskeys than usual after dinner in your restaurant, or to those asking for the sought-after “lock-in” in the warmth of your pub; that may mean staff will be going the extra mile and staying back longer than their schedule.
This means your forecasted labour costs may be completely incorrect, and you end up paying out a lot more than you thought. So take this into account when forecasting.
Set targets and smash them
Get stuck into our “targets” section, and set up some goals for December. If you haven’t used this app before, we have plenty of articles on it in our help centre.
Check your sales for last year and set targets to beat them this year, and why not try and shave your labour costs down too?
Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.
If you are an admin, why not set up some custom roles for your employees and give them the Christmas gift of responsibilities. (Employees cheer from afar.)
Some businesses at this time get different employees to access and run certain aspects of the system. I.e one employee can keep an eye on waste, one can handle the daily check lists, one can keep an eye on any inventory, and one can be in charge of making sure accidents are reported on. Run your business this holiday season with precision!
And a final tip is to enjoy yourself, have a great holiday season, and enjoy our snowy time station in December ❄️
