Knowing How to Get Staffing Levels Just Right

You have probably been in a restaurant where you have seen several servers just standing around. If you dine out frequently, you have probably also dined in a place where the servers were running ragged because there were not enough people working. Figuring out how many people to have working on any given night is the biggest challenge for any restaurant manager.

Information is the key to scheduling efficiently. Data from past sales, worker availability, hours already worked and reservations all need to be factored in when making out the schedule. Computer software which keeps track of all of this information can be a manager's greatest resource. Alerts can be sent when there is a big party coming up that will require extra staffing and most systems can also be set up to send alerts if a particular worker is close to going over 40 hours in a week.

There are always times when it is difficult to anticipate the size of the crowd on any given night but proper planning will certainly head off most problems. If you know the average number of diners who come to your restaurant on a Monday night, then you have a pretty good idea of how many people to schedule to work to handle the crowd. The key is to reaching the perfect balance of servers to patrons; you don't want to be paying people to work when they have nothing to do. You will be wasting money and the servers will be upset because they won't be making much in tips.

A computerized scheduling program also gives your workers a chance to request time off well in advance. This way you won't have workers trading shifts and trying to arrange a night off by themselves. Inevitably, something always goes wrong with that scenario and you are left trying to plug a hole in the schedule at the last minute. Electronically preparing the schedule will also mean that you have confirmation that it was transmitted to each individual worker and they can't say they didn't see the schedule that was posted in the kitchen.