Strategic staff planning in hospitality: how to get started

1. A suitable strategy for your business model

As an entrepreneur, you operate according to a specific formula, an intentionally designed concept. You set goals because you have a vision of where you want to take your business. If you don’t do that, take the time regularly to work on your concept. That way, you know what you want to achieve and when, and you can make any necessary changes. Your staff planning should be aligned with this business formula.

2. Future-focused entrepreneurship

In step 1, you look at the current situation. But the future is close. It is essential to steer based on key KPIs that arise from your daily operations. And not only that; you also take market developments into account.

• Trends: every niche is evolving at record speed. Hospitality even more so. It’s always good to stay up to date with the latest developments, whether that’s the right technical tools or your product range. You decide whether you want to be a leader or a follower. And this influences your staff planning.
• Labor market: we have been facing a significant staff shortage in hospitality for years. Qualified workers are hard to find, and every business seems to be looking for new employees. How many staff you have available determines your capacity and therefore influences your hospitality staff planning.
• Economic and social developments: when we talk about uncertain factors, this is one of them. We have all experienced it over the past few years. When the economy and society are flourishing, consumers will dine out more often. If things worsen, the opposite applies.
• Events and current weather forecast: information about events and the current weather forecast is visible 24/7 in the staff planning software. Will the weather be bright and sunny or is there an event nearby? Then you need more staff! And if the weather suddenly changes? Adjust your schedule and prevent unnecessary staffing costs.

3. Staff-to-cost ratio

Too many or too few staff can cost a lot of money. If you have a good understanding of your organization through steps 1 and 2, you can determine how many employees are needed to deliver perfect hospitality. Staffing costs are often the largest expense item. That’s why it’s important to take expected revenue and staffing costs into account.

Hospitality staff planning software helps you plan strategically and gives you continuous insight into your staffing figures. For example, day, week, month, and year budgets immediately show how your current schedule aligns with your cost control goals.

4. The right people in the right place

Not only do you want to plan as well as possible for your revenue, you also want to ensure a great guest experience. For example, you don’t want your guests to wait too long to place an order.

Your staff is the business card of your company and determines the success of your venue. That’s why it’s important to have the right employees in the right positions. For example, having Milou, an experienced bar staff member, behind the bar rather than in the kitchen, and using a younger weekend helper as a runner. In DISH Staff Planner, you can link departments and skills to employees so that you always ensure the right positions are filled by the right people.

5. Extra opportunities to make your hospitality staff planning a success

Be aware that optimal staff planning has a huge impact on your success. Online planning software is packed with features that are too valuable to ignore:

• Employees schedule themselves via the app: the staff app makes it possible to send push notifications about open shifts that employees can fill themselves. They can also easily request time off or swap shifts with each other.
• Track hours via the clock or app: keeping track of worked hours, meaning recording start and end times, is made very easy. This can be done through a time tracking clock or employees can do it themselves via the app.
• Integrate with payroll administration: thanks to a connection with your payroll software (e.g., AFAS, Exact, or Unit4), the data on worked hours and salaries is automatically transferred to the right place. Error-free and fast, so you’re ready to process payroll immediately.