How to improve employee performance in a restaurant

How to improve employee performance in a restaurant
Written by
Daria Olieshko
Published on
1 Feb 2024
Read time
9 - 11 min read
Have you ever experienced using a restaurant scheduling app? If not, perhaps it’s time to consider which processes, assignments, and routines could be managed with specialised software for personnel management in restaurants. Gain expertise from Shifton’s developers to utilise the best features of such products in your workflow.Being a restaurant manager is an ongoing hustle. You have to juggle multiple tasks and, at the same time, oversee a diverse staff from chefs and sous-chefs to couriers, suppliers, cleaners, and more. Additionally, unexpected emergencies can disrupt your day, and it’s entirely your responsibility, even though routine tasks can’t be postponed. All of this, alongside daily tasks from scheduling to payroll to reporting, can become overwhelming.Yet, you’re not alone in this unending routine, as Shifton assists restaurant managers in making their lives easier with a single tool that can act as a master key for you.You likely won’t be surprised by automation in the restaurant industry. However, a dedicated app for restaurant management can allow you to spend more time doing what you love while saving your sanity.

Restaurant management tips for happy employee benefits

Whether you’re using sales forecasts and labour targets to create restaurant employee rosters or handling payroll, Shifton provides you with the tools needed every step of the way. With Shifton’s scheduling app for restaurants, you can automate and execute the following processes in a streamlined manner:
  • Accurately track working hours for each employee;
  • Reduce time theft and buddy punching in your restaurant;
  • Empower your team members to provide your customers with the best service possible.
The best way to ensure a happy team is through communication. In a single restaurant, it’s already challenging as everyone is constantly on the move. What then about chain establishments? With Shifton’s restaurant management application, you provide your staff with a communication channel to connect with one another and also with you. You can observe in real-time how communication in a shared environment reduces misunderstandings, leading to fewer drawbacks, and improving staff loyalty and happiness while maintaining a consistent workload.

Enhance your team's performance with work schedule tips

For a restaurant, having a clear and well-thought-out schedule is essential. You need your chefs and their assistants to be at work at the appointed time. Suppose you don’t schedule your cleaners to prepare the restaurant’s hall to be at its best for visitors. You need waiters to be ready to promptly start serving customers. Your reputation is at risk if any aspect of this operation fails due to scheduling errors.Using an automated restaurant staff scheduler is like a magic key. It helps boost employee productivity and increases your revenue. Let’s consider how to choose the right type of schedule for your establishment and which tips to use to make it work flawlessly.

Scheduling software for restaurants

Software for personnel management allows you to create a basic set of scheduling policies and adhere to them. This forms the foundation for the entire operation, assisting in managing how far in advance you release schedules and the timeline for employees to make time-off requests. You can also set minimum hours for each employee or designate specific shifts as high-traffic (and therefore better for tips) using a scheduling app for restaurants.As a result:
  • You give your team a clear understanding of their upcoming work and the number of shifts/working hours they are required to complete.
  • You demonstrate your proficiency in time management, affirming your professionalism in the eyes of your employees.
  • You inspire your staff to opt for high-traffic shifts to earn more tips.

Employee engagement

Now, we move to the next step. You need to maintain maximum engagement from your team to ensure seamless restaurant operations. With an automated system for restaurant management, you can provide your team with immediate feedback on their performance, timely advice, and gather their feedback. Restaurant management software like Shifton offers managers and employees a convenient communication channel that helps your team feel supported and engaged at work.

Employee retention

In the restaurant industry, employee turnover is common, but it’s a significant challenge because finding and hiring reliable professionals is difficult. Managing your restaurant efficiently involves showing your employees that you respect their time and appreciate their skills, encouraging their engagement and loyalty to their job. An effective restaurant management system is crucial for creating a positive environment. Thus, don’t overlook the staff you have but simultaneously evaluate their performance to determine whether to strengthen the team by hiring new staff or motivating current personnel to improve productivity. With Shifton’s restaurant management software, you can assess each worker’s efficiency using various parameters, including working hours, overwork, customer satisfaction levels, etc.

Fast notifications and reminders

Do you want your staff to perform their duties perfectly? Is it essential for them to handle multiple tasks you assign? Don’t allow any chances for missing something or forgetting assignments. Automated shift reminders integrated into restaurant scheduling software can significantly reduce no-shows or missed tasks. Simply create notifying text messages or push notifications and configure settings to send them to employees' mobile devices at specific times. The same applies to alerts for emergencies, notifications about corporate events, or upcoming team-building meetings if you hold them.

Collect data and utilise it wisely

At the end of each day, jot down notes on how your staff handled their daily routines, which issues were crucial, and which tasks deserved recognition. You can also analyse the effectiveness of each shift to determine if you’re consistently understaffed or overstaffed during a specific shift. All that data is easily tracked in Shifton’s restaurant management system. Just access it and use the data to adjust your schedule accordingly, develop your management strategy, and report the results to the restaurant owner.

Boost productivity with high-tech solutions embedded in the Shifton restaurant scheduling app

Restaurant management tools benefit your entire team, from hosts and waiters to cooks. By maintaining higher operational efficiency and smooth communication through software solutions, you create a conducive work environment for everyone.What types of technologies safeguard the restaurant business? Let’s explore.

Employee scheduling software

With automation, you can put aside painstaking work with spreadsheets, tables, paper schedules, and plans.Instead, restaurant employee scheduling software, which utilises cloud technologies, offers you and your staff the following features:
  • Quick schedule development with just a few clicks, which is available in Shifton as user-friendly templates.
  • Easy distribution of information about rosters and shifts among your employees.
  • Flexible adjustments and changes to the schedule, which you can implement online from anywhere in the world.
  • The convenience of tracking working hours, overtime, missed shifts, or days off.

Task management software

Assigning tasks using specialised staff management software? That is undoubtedly the best way to keep your restaurant functioning smoothly. In Shifton, you can establish checklists for every employee from chef to server, and oversee their completion. From cleaning cooktops to restocking sanitizers, it’s easy for tasks to be overlooked.That’s where task management software proves beneficial.
  • It’s a brilliant way to streamline your tasks, with separate checklists for each role and shift.
  • It allows you to monitor your team’s productivity.
  • It helps reduce errors and checks for missed or forgotten tasks. Task management software keeps historical data of completed tasks, enabling you to review it and obtain the necessary information.

Employee communications tools

When it comes to employee communications, texting and phone calls are the most popular channels. Yet, they are unsuitable for restaurants where each worker is constantly on the move and doesn’t have time to check messages or answer calls. The best solution is to give your employees a shared platform to communicate with you and each other. Within a restaurant management system, it is beneficial for the following reasons:
  • You can easily contact each employee.
  • They can communicate with one another to prevent misunderstandings and buddy punches.
  • You can monitor the entire working process simply by reviewing the information your employees share with others. If something goes amiss, you’re among the first to know about it.
Shifton offers a secure, business-focused communication tool that enables the instant sharing of schedules and announcements. It also simplifies employee requests for time off and addressing payroll issues like missed punches.

Timekeeping for restaurants

Timekeeping restaurant software is an essential tool. With time-clocking software, employees can clock in and out with a single touch. Additionally, the software syncs directly with your payroll system to automatically calculate hours worked.Restaurant time-clocking software can also help prevent early clock-ins, thereby reducing labour costs. It addresses issues with enforced break times and shift lengths. The software will swiftly calculate overtime and maintain secure records of your team’s hours.

Payroll automation

Using restaurant employee management software is a great alternative to hiring a payroll specialist or providing your accounting department with an additional workload to calculate wages. Instead, you have all working hours tracked and payroll calculated instantly in Shifton. This automates wage calculations, overtime pay, and tax and benefit withholdings. There’s no relying on manual calculations, so you’ll have fewer payroll errors and spend less time at the computer.As every type of software we mentioned is useful, having all of them in one tool is a godsend. That's what Shifton offers to restaurant managers. Payroll software syncs directly with your time clock and scheduling software in Shifton, and you get a unified environment for most management tasks and operations.

What are the benefits of restaurant management software?

The most significant benefits of Shifton for restaurant management objectives are as follows:
  • A shared environment for managers and employees to communicate and provide instant feedback.
  • A one-size-fits-all tool that combines the features of time management software, task management tools, HR tools, shift scheduler, and a communication channel.
  • It offers adjustable multi-level access to its functions, which can be utilised by managers and staff at different levels.
  • It automates most processes you previously had to remember or perform manually.
Thus, by using restaurant management software, you enhance the whole restaurant business operation, reduce the possibilities of mistakes and drawbacks, and manage your team more easily. The results are beneficial for you as a manager, as you work efficiently and hassle-free, and for your team, as its members can satisfy their customers and receive fair rewards for their efforts.
Share this post
Daria Olieshko

A personal blog created for those who are looking for proven practices.