Restaurant scheduling is one of the most challenging parts of running a restaurant. With so many moving parts, it can be easy to get overwhelmed and forget about the little things that add up over time. At Humi, we want to help you avoid those missteps by providing some best practices for creating efficient restaurant staff schedules.
Why scheduling is important
The most important reason to schedule your employees is to ensure smooth and efficient operation. A well-managed schedule helps you manage employee attendance issues effectively, which in turn makes it easier for you to maintain a fair policy that benefits both you and your staff. Scheduling also allows you to effectively manage overtime hours by making sure that everyone gets their fair share of shifts.
Best practices to create a staff schedule
Creating a restaurant staff schedule is an important task, but it doesn't have to be difficult. Here are some best practices that will help you create a restaurant staff schedule that works for everyone:
Make the schedule as far in advance as possible
The earlier you can make your schedule, the better. If all of your employees know their schedules for several weeks in advance, they'll be able to plan their lives accordingly and avoid conflicts with other commitments or events like weddings or birthday parties.This also gives them time to finalize their schedules if any changes need to be made later on.
Set aside proper time to schedule
Before making any decisions about who should work which shifts at what times, take some time to think about how to best distribute responsibilities among staff members based on availability preferences, experience level etc. Also consider whether there might be any potential scheduling conflicts between different shifts. For example: Do two people want Mondays off? Is there enough overlap between shifts so everyone gets equal opportunities without feeling overworked?
Ensure you have all staff availability
Make sure you have all your staff's availability and book off requests noted so that you don’t miss any important requests for time off.
Deliver schedule on time and make changes quickly
When you deliver the schedule, make sure it's at least a week in advance. If you can't deliver the schedule on time, let your staff know as soon as possible so they have time to plan their schedules and aren't stuck with a surprise change of plans. If you make a mistake on the schedule, fix it quickly so everyone is on the same page.
Be open to feedback
When it comes to scheduling, there are two things you need to be open to: feedback and change. Your staff will have ideas about how they can make the schedule more efficient or improve on their own workflow, so listen when they speak up! If you're hearing from multiple employees that something isn't working well and making changes takes too long, then it's time for an overhaul of your scheduling process.
Getting started with Humi
Humi is a cloud-based restaurant scheduling and management platform that helps you easily manage your staff schedule. It can be used on any device, from smartphones to desktop computers, so you can access it anywhere and at any time.
With Humi's features such as the ability to upload or import employee information in bulk, create shifts with only one click, send notifications when employees are scheduled for shifts and more--you'll be able to get started right away!
Conclusion
We hope this blog has been helpful in teaching you how to schedule your restaurant staff. As we said before, it's important to remember that there are always going to be exceptions and unexpected problems that crop up--but if you have a solid plan in place (like using Humi for scheduling) and know what resources are available for when those situations arise, then everything will go smoothly!
