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Grosvenor Pubs & Inns – Case Study
Grosvenor Pubs & Inns – Case Study

Case Study - Operational Excellence Grosvenor Pubs & Inns Grosvenor Pubs Overview In 2024, we partnered with Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, rolling out the S4labour system and Operational Excellence Programme across the...

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Small habits, big impact
Small habits, big impact

Last year, I wrote an article on a few of the habits I wanted to embed in our two village Gastro pubs. I believe my focus at the time was on trying to implement three specific practices: hellos and goodbyes, never using the...

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Top-down labour management and training
Top-down labour management and training

As we all know, hospitality is a people business and people have emotions, views and habits which they may be resistant to changing. This means decision-making can be an emotive subject, and labour costs and targets are...

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February Sales Flatline Year-on-Year
February Sales Flatline Year-on-Year

The hospitality industry experienced relatively flat sales in February compared to the same month last year, with a modest increase of 0.3%, the latest sales data form S4labour reveals.   London saw sales increasing by a...

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Getting Ready for Labour Cost Increases in April
Getting Ready for Labour Cost Increases in April

April’s wage increases will soon hit in full force, leaving operators in need of smarter operational strategies to offset costs and maintain profitability. It will be no easy feat, with labour costs expected to increase by...

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Hospitality Sales See Modest Growth in January
Hospitality Sales See Modest Growth in January

The latest data from S4labour shows a slight increase in overall sales for January, with a year-on-year growth of 1.9%.  Sales in London experienced a significant rise, jumping by 8.6%, while non-London regions saw a...

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Setting off in January 
Setting off in January 

I suspect we are entering January 2025 with a slightly different mindset than usual. The cost pressures we’re facing in April mean we need an approach that differs from the norm. We need to be braver, more determined and...

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Hospitality sales up 8.5% in November.
Hospitality sales up 8.5% in November.

Inflation beating like-for-like sales growth for hospitality industry, but profit under pressure. The latest data from S4labour reveals that sales were up 8.5% in November 2024, compared to the same month last year. London...

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The True Cost of Stress in Hospitality

One of my team members recently asked for an article I wrote a few years ago on labour and sales growth. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find it, which means it’s time for a new—and hopefully better—version about the true...

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9 Habits for Successful Hospitality Teams
9 Habits for Successful Hospitality Teams

I always believed it took just four weeks to change a habit, but it turns out I was wrong. A few weeks ago, we had a training session in our office on the "lies we tell ourselves”, otherwise known as personal bias, led by...

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How to make hospitality teams more productive

Starting teams strong and ensuring they stay engaged is key to delivering the perfect shift.  Productivity is boosted, team communication is improved, and most importantly, customers get a top-notch service day in, day out....

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The Ops Manager Labour Process

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, if you are an ops manager, how do you organise yourself to deliver on labour in the most effective way, and in the least amount of time? The flippant answer is that it...

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Mastering September for Post-Summer Success  
Mastering September for Post-Summer Success  

For many of us who benefit from increased trade through the summer months, the beginning of September is a tough time. The kids go back to school, the summer holidays are over, and trade takes a dip.  I have been reading...

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Coping

I’ve been thinking about the word ‘coping’ recently. It is a word I dislike because it is used far too often, without thinking about its actual implications. Whenever I have watched service in my own restaurants at times...

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The Challenge of Youth
The Challenge of Youth

A few rather dangerous things seem to be coming together at the moment. Not long ago, I wrote about the challenges faced by the younger generation. As a result of Covid, educational attainment has fallen behind across the...

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9 Habits for Successful Hospitality Teams
iPad Tills

We have recently introduced iPad tills into our pubs at long last. Many of you are probably, and rightly, laughing because you did this ages ago. In fact, I have many unhappy memories of trialling mobile tills fifteen years...

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Dinner for five
Dinner for five

I recently had the most marvellous dinner debate with a few senior restaurant owners. There were five of us at the table, which allowed for a single, engaging conversation that covered a vast array of topics.  We started...

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Kitchens and tech
Kitchens and tech

In my view, the future of hospitality hinges on how we evolve our kitchens. As ready meals get better, and delivery from dark kitchens improves, we need to make sure the food from our kitchen team is up to scratch.   For...

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How have the Euros impacted June’s sales?
How have the Euros impacted June’s sales?

Like for like sales were pushed up 3.3% in June, the latest sales data from S4labour reveals.   The data showed an upswing of 6% year-on-year in London, whilst sites outside the capital were up 2.7%, marking a minimal...

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May sees LFL sales up 6.6%
May sees LFL sales up 6.6%

The latest data from S4labour reveals an increase in like-for-like hospitality sales in May, with an overall rise of 6.6% compared to the same month last year.  In London, sales were up 9.7% year-on-year and non-London...

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RFI documents- Help or Hindrance?

As a business, we often have the onus put on us to fill in an RFI document for our software. For those of you lucky enough never to have encountered this task, it is a document built by a company to ensure they get the...

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How single sites can be their best
How single sites can be their best

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...

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Bestway Retail partners with S4labour

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....

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April sales fall 12.9% year-on-year 

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%...

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Labour Training
Labour Training

I read an article in Propel recently on the lack of training in the hospitality sector. Research from the Economics Foundation suggests that spending on training has reduced by 35%, and that this is leading to a reduction...

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Plus One Management
Plus One Management

I love doing consultancy work. I find that the debate with other people really forces me to think, analyse and invent. And occasionally, it sparks a moment that I need to write down. Last week was one of those. ...

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The Beautiful Pubs Collective
The Beautiful Pubs Collective

Case Study 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...

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Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day

Over the last ten years, we have been trying to get Mother’s Day right, and I am still not sure we have. In terms of covers, Mother’s Day is our biggest day of the year. At our busiest pub, we had 753 booked this year....

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Lowest common denominator management
Lowest common denominator management

In our pub business we have recently been recruiting for a Deputy General Manager. During our interviewing, it has been fascinating to learn why so many staff want to leave the largest companies in the sector and come and...

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Gardner garages
Gardner garages

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.

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Labour management excellence

As a bit of a labour management nut, I often find myself frustrated by the people-approach of many operators across our industry, bemoaning the fact that we are amateurs when we should be professionals.     I worry that the...

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February brings 3.5% uplift to sales
February brings 3.5% uplift to sales

The latest sales data from S4labour has revealed that hospitality sales were up 3.5% overall in February, compared to the same month last year.   This uplift was driven by sales in London, which saw an increase of 8.5%...

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Overstaffing is the biggest enemy
Overstaffing is the biggest enemy

There is a myth in our industry that being understaffed is the biggest challenge to sales growth, and that is the missed opportunity. But the truth is that, while we all want to have the right number of staff, the bigger...

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