by Abby Henson | Sep 11, 2017 | Blogs
S4Labour are exhibiting at the Bar & Pub Show at Olympia, London, from October 2nd – 4th.
Come and find us next to the Bar & Pub Hub
The three-day event, part of the wider Hospitality Show 2017, will bring together professionals from all sectors of the industry.
We are exhibiting from stand WF51, situated right next to the Bar & Pub Hub at the heart of Olympia’s West Hall. It will, as these events always are, be a pleasure to come together with so many people who are as passionate about our industry as we are.
We will be delighted to speak to any operators about their labour challenges and how S4Labour can help, and would like to invite any existing customers in attendance to come and catch up. It’s always great to renew acquaintances with clients old and new and discuss how we can continue to support their businesses to drive sustained success.
Attendance is free for those who register in advance.
We look forward to seeing you there.
by Abby Henson | Sep 8, 2017 | Blogs
The champagne corks were popping as two S4Labour customers saw off stiff competition to take wins at the Great British Pub Awards 2017.
Temple Brew House’s award has taken pride of place amongst their beers
City Pub Company’s Temple Brew House, in London, came out on top in the prestigious Beer Pub/Bar of the Year category, while Rumba, in Macclesfield, part of DV8 Bars, was crowned a worthy winner of the Turnaround Pub of the Year award.
City Pub Company signed up to S4Labour in January 2016, and use the system to control costs and drive sales across all their 33 sites. Co-founder John Roberts is a particular fan, saying “Your labour system is doing wonders at the City Pub Co – well done!”
DV8 became S4Labour clients the same month. The year and a half since has been an excellent period for the company – who operate cocktail lounges in Cheshire – culminating in success at last night’s awards show at the Hilton, Park Lane.
In total, no fewer than eight S4Labour customers were vying for trophies across five categories.
We are dedicated to helping the best operators from across all sectors of hospitality get even better. Catton Hospitality’s Director of Customer Services Andrew MacDonald hailed the success, saying, “It’s a pleasure too see our clients reap the rewards of the hard work and dedication, which coupled with S4Labour’s insight and support, is always a winning formula.”
Congratulations to the winners. We’re already looking forward to more in 2018!
by Abby Henson | Sep 5, 2017 | Blogs
We are delighted to announce the appointments of three new senior members of the S4Labour team.
This news was also reported in industry-leading publication Propel Info.
S4Labour is the fastest-growing labour scheduling solution for the hospitality industry. As more and more first rate operators are realising the value it brings to their business, we are dedicated to bringing the best people into ours. This will ensure that our products stay the best on the market, and that the quality of the service we provide to our clients remains as high as ever as we expand.
Chris Wells
Chris Wells and Tobias Collison have been appointed to the role of Account Director, in which they will be responsible for overseeing the S4Labour usage of a number of our highest-profile clients.
Both have a wealth of industry experience having completed the graduate training scheme at Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), operator of almost 1,800 pubs, bars, and restaurants nationally across several well-known brands.
Chris went on to spend three years as an Area Manager for sites within M&B’s Premium Country Dining concept. He more recently worked as an Operations Manager for Tortilla Mexican Grill, who operate around 30 sites nationally. This gave him an intimate understanding of the quick service retail sector, which positions him ideally to work with S4Labour’s customers within this sphere.
Tobias Collison
Tobias managed sites within M&B’s popular All Bar One and Premium Country Dining brands.
He gained a wealth of restaurant sector experience as General Manager of Jamie’s Italian’s prestigious site in Birmingham’s Bullring development, before being appointed to the role of Operations Manager for Pizza Express. He was responsible for overseeing the profitable operations of their restaurants throughout Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire.
Gareth Thomas has been appointed to the position of Business Development Manager. He will primarily be responsible for developing the relationships between S4Labour and new and existing network partners, including EPoS providers, training companies, and property management systems, with an aim to ensure seamless workflow across S4Labour and its many complementary platforms.
Gareth Thomas
Also with roots at M&B, Gareth spent eight years working within the Premium Country Dining brand, both as a General Manager and overseeing new site openings.
He went on to manage The George at Backwell, Catton Hospitality’s pubs division Malvern Inns‘ debut site, where he gained first hand knowledge of working with S4Labour to ensure tight controls on labour spend and excellent service levels.
More recently he worked for Punch Taverns, who operate some 1,300 pubs nationwide, including time as an Area Operations Manager within their Falcon Division.
All three are enthused at the opportunities ahead with S4Labour:
I am delighted to have joined S4Labour at what feels like an incredibly exciting time for the company. Over the last five years as an Operations Manager, I have used several different labour systems in both full and quick service restaurants, and I can honestly say that I wish I had had the opportunity to use S4Labour as a tool. My aim is to help to provide a level of customer service far beyond what is expected, and to provide operational insight wherever possible. – Chris Wells
I’ve worked in hospitality since my sixteenth birthday and quickly became hooked. I’m incredibly passionate and energetic about customer service and driving efficiency within operations, and looking forward to demonstrating this to S4Labour’s many clients. – Tobias Collison
I’m hugely excited to build key relationships with our valued network partners, and show them what sort of opportunities our S4Labour system offers organisations to optimise their labour controls. In my previous positions, from General Manager to Operations Manager, the challenge of delivering a P&L budgeted labour cost was constant. S4Labour gives operators the key to achieve this. – Gareth Thomas
by Abby Henson | Sep 4, 2017 | Blogs
As new people join your business, or are promoted internally, there will be a requirement to create new higher level users within S4Labour.
This is a simple process that typically takes under 30 seconds and can be carried out by any Level 5 (head office) level S4Labour user following the steps below.
Step One
Step One
Hover over the Spanner Icon at the top of the S4Labour screen and select Create New Users, which is the second option on the list.
Step Two
Step Two
You will now see a form with fields into which to input the new user’s details. Fill out these fields with the user’s details. The fields for Forename, Surname, Mobile Phone, Email Address, and Password are mandatory and must be populated.
Step Three
The next field in the form is Level. This determines the level of access the user gets to S4Labour. Typically user levels are structured as follows:
Level 2 – Assistant Manager
Level 3 – General Manager
Level 4 – Area Manager
Level 5 – Head Office
Select the appropriate level for your new user.
Step Four
Step Four
Next, you will see three optional settings, which can either be denied or allowed. As standard, these should all be set to Deny.
The Fixed Tasks option should only be allowed after consultation with your S4Labour account manager.
The Labour Breakdown and Edit Employees options are only applicable to Level 2 users. They will allow Level 2 users additional powers – the ability to view the Payroll Export and to edit employees’ details respectively.
Step Five
Step Five
At the bottom of the new user set up is the option to select which site(s) the user will access. This can be done by clicking the plus icon next to the relevant sites, or in the case of a user who needs to view all sites within your organisation, by clicking Add all.
Step Six
Click Save to complete the user set-up. The new user will now be able to log into S4Labour using the email address and password you entered in Step Two. If they wish to amend their password, they can do so using the Forgot Password link on the log in screen.
by Abby Henson | Sep 1, 2017 | Blogs
Are you looking to take on new sites to grow your hospitality business?
If the answer’s a resounding “yes!”, you’re in good company – 60% of UK pubs are now managed by multi-site operators, while in recent years the restaurant sector has seen a rise in the number of chain operators coupled with a decrease in the average number of sites per chain, suggesting a vibrant market full of opportunity for those looking to expand.
Adding new sites can be a fantastic way to increase revenues and profits, as well as create a recognisable brand image that will contribute to a business that is healthy and sustainable in the long term.
Here are our top tips for how to best approach your expansion, giving your new empire the best chance of success.
Cheers to expansion!
Mean Business
It’s natural for operators of single-site enterprises to think of themselves as publicans or restaurateurs. As your business grows, it’s necessary to move away from this and into the mindset of the company director. This may mean you have new concerns, like detailed budgets and structured financial planning, that were not previously a significant consideration. Be sure that you and the people around you are able to effectively take on this responsibility before committing to growth.
Focus on Sustainability
Expansion that is not sustainable will damage your reputation and in the worst cases could spell the end for your business. It’s important to prepare very thoroughly, making plans and contingencies for your short, medium, and long-term future. Before adding a new site, you should be entirely confident both in its viability as a single enterprise, and as part of your wider brand, without overstretching your resources.
Reconcile Systems and Processes
Like the biblical house built on stone, it’s important that as your business is constructed its foundations are strong. Having effective and scalable systems and processes in place is crucial. In our industry, this means trusted EPoS, labour scheduling, reservations, and payroll systems should be implemented and reconciled across all sites as soon as humanly possible. This will save time and money in the long run and allow for easy employee transfer across your growing estate with minimal retraining required.
Time for a dramatic change?
Consider your Offer – Do you Stick or Twist?
It’s important to take an honest look at your offer. You might have a fantastic brand, but if you’re essentially a one trick pony, you may need to think very carefully about geography when expanding. Even the biggest industry players can fall foul of pitfalls here; in the last two years JD Wetherspoon has put more than 80 of their worst-performing pubs on the market, citing their proximity to other Wetherspoon sites. If looking to acquire new sites within close geographies, consider fresh ways to give each site unique character, opening up new pools of potential customers without pulling trade away from your existing sites.
Leverage your Fanbase
If you’re in the position where expansion is a viable option, you must be doing something right, which means your business will already have a corps of loyal customers. Make the most of this in your marketing efforts for your new sites by promoting them heavily on your existing mailing lists and encouraging your fanbase to share details of your new locations on their social media profiles. This serves to organically create a reputation for your business in its new areas, which can be just as helpful as direct marketing.
Create a Great Culture
You may be used to working as part of a small, close-knit team that feels more like being among friends than colleagues. That’s brilliant, and one of the reasons we love this industry, but that closeness can be diluted as your company grows. Try not to let this happen and focus on building a great company culture across all your sites. Organising social events that bring different sites’ teams together and offering employees incentives to visit your other sites can be very effective ways of making sure staff feel they are part of something worth being part of, and want to produce their very best for your business.
Trust your People
The more sites you acquire, the tougher it will get to manage them all closely. Multi-site operators are well-advised to embrace this fact and be willing to let go of control. Be thorough in your recruitment; leave no stone unturned in finding the best site managers, but then be prepared to back off. Invest your trust in them to run a tight ship without the need for you to oversee their every move, and the returns will be great.
Expansion can be hard but there’s a world of opportunity out there. Following the guidance above will put you in the best possible position to conquer it. Go and build your empire.
