by Alastair Scott | May 17, 2024 | Thought Leadership
As I journey around the industry, I am fascinated by who is successful and who is not. In particular, I love to see the success that single sites can have. My sister and her husband run a very successful single site near York (The Alice Hawthorn for those who know it – John is an amazing chef!) I was even more surprised when my sister said that she enjoyed reading my articles – and not just because she never compliments me! It is true that some people are just great single site operators – they have their own procedures and routines, and for the most part, tend to stick to them.
I have recently been talking to another single site operator quite close to me in Harrogate. They have no wish to be a multiple, either because they earn enough money, or are settled in how their lives work, hopefully it is both. As I observe single sites though, I find that their biggest challenge is how they avoid getting set in their ways, and how they seek out best practice.
Reading, attending conferences, and having a good network of similar local business is important, and should never be underestimated. So is using suppliers and even the ‘dirty’ word, consultants. Some of the above are free, and some cost money, whether that is time away from the business, or the cost of employing someone else.
The hard bit when you are a single site operator is challenging yourself to get better, to try and change, and try things that might not work. The danger is that slowly but surely you become less competitive and less profitable until it is too late and the cash to be brave has run out. And, sometimes, this should also happen right at the start of your journey.
I am constantly frustrated by newcomers to the industry who listen too much to their head chef, and run a menu and a cost structure that doesn’t work! These are probably two of the biggest risks for single site operators: going into a business with some key skill gaps and relying on the wrong people, and then having a successful business and not initiating enough change.
We want to help operators recognise where their operations may need to be adapted and show them the best ways to enact these adjustments. This is why we decided to launch an operational excellence programme on labour management for single sites. We are also keen to help facilitate more programmes on the subject matters that we are not experts in, because we understand the value of shared knowledge. We are constantly learning new ways to help operators to be their best and plan to continue doing so.
I really hope that we can help a nation of single site operators become better and better.
by Abby Henson | May 17, 2024 | Convenience Stores
Leading rota, people and payroll supplier, S4labour has announced its partnership with Bestway Retail Limited.
S4labour are now the preferred supplier to Bestway, which is comprised of over 3000 stores across the U.K. Operating under three fascia groups – Costcutter, Best-one and Bargain Booze, all Bestway stores will benefit from the labour and cost management tools, designed to save them time and money.
Leanne Matthews, Head of Central Operations at Bestway Retail, commented: “Bestway is excited to announce this partnership with S4labour. We are always striving for our retailers and forecourt operators to save more money and grow profits, and S4labour provides the tools needed to do just that.”
The end-to-end software streamlines all labour-related processes, providing retailers and forecourt operators with the right tools to optimise scheduling, timekeeping, and payroll.
Garry Craft, Managing Director of Retail at S4labour, commented: “This partnership with Bestway is a great milestone for S4labour. We are really be pleased to be the recommended software for thousands of retailers, helping them to manage all of their labour-related processes in a way that saves them time and helps them to grow sales. We have great momentum in the industry right now, with our Nisa strategic partnership last September, and now this. We are really proud to be working with the best in the industry.”
S4labour will be at the Bestway Retail Expo on Wednesday 15th May in Coventry. They can be found in the innovation area, ready to meet and discuss any questions regarding their time and money-saving tools.
James Legget, Operations Manager at Zola Ltd, commented: “The tools S4labour provide have helped us save 15 hours per store, per week in our staffing hours, and allowed us to accurately manage holiday and sick pay. As a result, we have already seen the payback from using the system.”
“The real advantage of having S4labour is it just takes care of everything – from staff rotas to the payroll systems. The investment into S4labour was well worth it because it saves me a lot of time and makes it all more accurate as well because people can see on a day-to-day basis what hours they’ve worked; what their holiday entitlement is – everyone just knows where they are.” – Peter Patel, Costcutter Retailer
by Abby Henson | May 14, 2024 | Sales Figures
Like-for-like sales were down 12.9% in April compared to the same month last year, the latest data from S4labour reveals.
Outside of London, sites saw a drop of 15.9%, whilst the capital saw a very slight uplift of 0.7% year-on-year. Across the country, dry-led venues saw a decline of 10.4% and wet-led sites witnessed a marginally larger decrease of 17.8% in comparison to last year.
For the months of March and April combined, year-on-year data showed that overall sales were down 1.9% in 2024, compared to the same two months in 2023. For the same periods, London sales were up 2.7% in 2024, but down 3% outside of the capital.
Chief Growth Officer at S4labour, Richard Hartley, commented: “With Easter falling earlier than usual this year at the end of March, last month’s sales were up by 11.6% compared to 2023. As expected, this meant that April’s like-for-likes would appear lower this year, hence the drop.”
by Alastair Scott | May 3, 2024 | Thought Leadership
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by Alastair Scott | Apr 19, 2024 | Thought Leadership
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by Abby Henson | Apr 15, 2024 | Customer Stories, Multi Site
The Beautiful Pubs Collective
Beautiful Pubs Overview
The Beautiful Pubs Collective partnered with S4labour towards the end of 2023. The Leicester-based business operates three sites: Knight & Garter, The Forge Inn and Rutland & Derby, all offering great food, drink and service.
With over 90 team members and three very busy sites, Beautiful Pubs wanted a solution that could help them schedule their teams the most effectively to help save time and grow sales, without overspending on their labour budget.
“With effective deployment, we are able to match sales demand hour-by-hour, which means we do not overspend.”
People and Experience Manager, The Beautiful Pubs Collective
Before S4labour, the team at Beautiful Pubs were not using a workforce management system for their rotas, H.R. and payroll.
When it came to scheduling their teams, this meant that they were not always aware of their live spend, which sometimes led to unexpected labour costs.
Their employees were signing in and out on paper documents, meaning their recorded hours were not always accurate. In turn, this impacted labour costs and payroll at the end of every month.
Managers were being approached by staff members about absences, time off requests and holiday accrual in person, which was time-consuming and led to more admin.
What were they looking for in a solution?
When moving to S4labour, Beautiful Pubs were looking for a solution that could help them to streamline all their operational processes.
They wanted to be able to manage their labour in line with sales demand, to achieve excellent service and maximise sales across the business.
Now using S4labour, everything they need to manage their teams to be their best, is in one easily accessible place.
With effective deployment, the team at Beautiful Pubs are able to match sales demand hour-by-hour so they aren’t overspending on their labour.
With S4 Manage, their manages have real-time in-hand control over the day-to-day running of each site. They can view and analyse site performance, and amend staff rotas as operational needs evolve, as well as record any absences with ease.
Using S4 Insights has given them collective visibility of forecasts, budgets and sales across all three sites.
Using the employee app, S4 Connect, has given their teams complete access to their rotas, including shift briefs, slack tasks and incentives for every day. Teams are able to see booked and accrued holiday, as well request future holidays and ‘not available’ shifts. Staff members also have access to all their personal information and documents, including contracts and RTW, all in one place.
by Alastair Scott | Apr 12, 2024 | Thought Leadership
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by Alastair Scott | Apr 5, 2024 | Thought Leadership
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by Abby Henson | Apr 3, 2024 | Sales Figures
The latest sales data from S4labour has revealed that hospitality sales were up 11.6% overall in March, compared to the same month last year.
Outside of London, sales saw an increase of 13.4% year-on-year, ahead of the capital which saw a marginal uplift of 4.1%.
Across the country, sales in dry-led sites were up 12.4% and 10.2% in wet-led businesses.
Chief Growth Officer at S4labour, Richard Hartley, added: “This year, March was a five-weekend month and Easter was earlier, so March saw the trading of Good Friday and the rest of Easter weekend. As a result of the bank holiday and additional weekend, an increase was to be expected, albeit it is still a pleasant surprise to see them up by over 11%. The increase here, and in February (3.5%), are indicators of a promising start to 2024.”
by Prisha | Mar 22, 2024 | Convenience Stores, Customer Stories, Multi Site
How Gardner Garages manage labour cost using S4labour
About Gardner Garages
“The Gardner family have been fuelling the Gloucestershire motorist for over 50 years.”
Gardner Garages joined S4labour almost a year ago. The forecourt business own and operate 6 petrol stations (Texaco and BP fuel) and one town centre convenience store, all with Londis and Budgens fascia.
Emma the Managing Director of Gardner Garages Limited has ran the business for over 25 years. Emma oversees the operations of the company, ensuring that the businesses run efficiently and cost effectively while ensuring they get the most sales and profit from their sites as they can.
“We wanted something that made running the business proactive rather than reactive and can address any concerns with labour costs with Managers before they become an issue. Since we have started using S4labour we have far more day-to-day control over labour costs as we can see all seven sites on one dashboard and act accordingly.”
Managing Director , Gardner Garages
Escaping Spreadsheet Limitations
One of the major problems managers faced prior to using S4labour was that everything was done manually- rotas were produced on excel worksheets, printed out and displayed on the staff noticeboards. Payroll was manually processed using Sage, and was then imported into excel, which was then emailed across on payroll processing day. This made the process time consuming and often resulted in input errors.
Gardner Garages found communicating shifts confusing as they are subject to change, making it difficult to communicate over texts messages. Doing things manually and on spread sheets made it difficult to get real visibility over how much they were spending on labour. Since using S4labour the business can see fully costed rotas which includes holiday pay, NI etc and the system is the one version of the truth everyone can trust.
Empowering Engagement and Efficiency
With the introduction of S4labour, the team are more engaged with work as they can see their shifts on their phones at any time, there are no grey areas about start and finish times because time & attendance are automated. Employees can manage and requests on their phones when it is convenient, rather than during a shift. This makes tracking their actual hours worked a lot easier.
The holiday requests and management on the App has also been an extremely efficient and useful tool. This feature has helped with scheduling holidays and ensuring that the whole team can see holidays, which has resulted in a smoother operation of the business.
Most importantly this has helped the business avoid unexpected costs and ensures accurate payroll. Before S4labour Gardner Garages had never considered a system for payroll. An in-depth demonstration of the system helped them understand how it can the positive impact the overall working of the business.
Emma also commented “We talked to fellow retailers that had already implemented S4labour and who shared their positive experiences with us. The S4labour team were a great ambassador for the system and were excellent in supporting us in the early implementation stages”.
Results
Since making S4labour a part of their business, Gardner Garages has more time to prioritise customer satisfaction, as they have more time to focus on activities that generate profit rather than doing administrative work.
Emma further commented on how investing in S4labour has led to increased staff retention: “We have invested in our employees this year with the implementation of S4labour. The system has had a positive impact on our relationship with our employees as it has demonstrated greater engagement and efficiency for us all”.
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