The silly season is nearly upon us, and while we expect to see increased customer volumes compared to other times of the year, staffing conditions will also change.
This may be due to staff requesting leave, wanting to work different hours than usual, or falling sick. With continuing staff shortages in the hospitality industry, planning shifts can be even more difficult than usual during this period, so making sure your venue is adequately staffed will be especially important this year.
As well as providing staff scheduling services, Planday by Xero offers real-time insights into your labour force, such as how much you spend on labour and how to optimise staffing levels based on your historical data.
Here are several ways that Planday by Xero can benefit your business during the busy holiday season.
Increased flexibility
One thing that workers are demanding at the moment is flexibility, wanting their work hours to accommodate for their personal commitments. This is especially true during the holiday season, with workers wanting to attend parties, family events, or take a break during the busy season.
However, juggling these requests can be overwhelming, resulting in poor planning and strained workplace relations.
Planday by Xero allows for easier staffing changes, ensuring that your business is well-staffed while making sure your workers can enjoy the festive season at the same time.
Staff are also able to take flexibility into their own hands, with the option to organise shift changes, pending manager approval, within the Planday app.
The multi-platform nature of the Planday app also allows for flexibility from the management end, allowing managers and operators to adjust shifts and respond to leave requests at whatever location is convenient to you. In addition, Planday by Xero has a customer who has saved between 2 and 4 hours on average a week on shift management, time that can instead be spent managing other parts of their business.
Seamless compliance
Compliance is an important aspect of any employer’s business, but keeping track of hours, wages, and occupational health and safety documentation can be difficult, especially if these records are kept in hard copy or across multiple platforms. This is further complicated by public holidays and overtime.
With an app-based clock-in system, staff can mark the exact moment they start work, allowing managers to keep a keen eye on workplace efficiency.
It also integrates with Xero Payroll, allowing timesheets to sync for easier payroll processing, as well as provide useful data on staffing costs.
Easier communication
We are more inundated with messages and emails than ever. Rather than working across multiple email, text, and messaging platforms, Planday by Xero keeps all your communications in one place. Staff are able to view their schedules and communicate with their managers and co-workers in the same platform. With features such as required reply, management teams can tell if staff have seen important or time-sensitive messages and plan accordingly.
These features can also help with training and morale-building exercises, with the ability to schedule staff events such as end of year parties or training days.
While the festive period can be a stressful time for the hospitality industry, efficient planning can help venues make the most of increased customer volumes and changed spending habits.
Find out more about Planday by Xero and sign up for a free trial.