Labor is always a hot topic of conversation in restaurants because optimizing labor costs is a never-ending quest. Avero’s restaurant software tools make managing labor costs much easier, allowing managers at every level to take ownership and make better business decisions, driving profits and success.
- Create the optimal schedule: Don’t forget the power of historical performance — utilize Avero like day and seasonal trends to determine the optimal schedule by hour for your operation. Consider the sales you are bringing in relative to the labor dollars going out at each hour of the day, and then pull together the ideal schedule for each day of the week. Re-assess the schedule regularly to ensure there have not been shifts in volume, and always ask yourself if you are utilizing every employee in the best way possible.
- Easily monitor employees “milking the clock”: Creating the perfect schedule is pointless unless you have a way to ensure your employees stick to it. Reviewing the Avero time clock report by job class weekly will easily allow you to see employees who are consistently punching in early or punching out late. You can drill down further on individuals to see how often this behavior is occurring — 15 extra minutes on a consistent basis really adds up over time, and we all know every restaurant has better ways to spend its money.
- Proactively prevent unnecessary overtime: We know that restaurants have a lot of moving parts and no matter how well you plan, needs change. Avero’s overtime report can help you make informed decisions on the fly. Have the report sent towards the end of the labor week so that as people call out or you need to call people in, you have the insight you need to make smart staffing decisions. This will help you prevent overtime before it occurs, even when last-minute changes need to be made.
- Consider adjusting your hours of operation: Avero’s hourly labor reports and can quickly show you over a large period of time the cost-benefit opportunity to opening as early as you do and closing as late as you do. Whether or not you make changes, this is important information to understand about your operation.
Make sure you’re evaluating your labor to the metric you have budgeted or goals you have set — whether it’s labor dollars, labor as a % of gross sales or covers per labor hour, Avero’s labor tools have 35+ metrics to help you hit your goals. Learn more and get started today.
