In April, the NLW (National Living Wage) will increase by 9.8% with an actual increase of around 11.5% to retailer’s annual labour spend when the increases to younger worker’s pay are taken into account. Without effective cost management efforts in place, this increase will have a big impact on retailer’s bottom lines.
Finding the right tools to save time and money is crucial, and S4labour are here to help.
Why is investing in cost management tools so important?
The ACS Local Shop Report for 2023 revealed that only 29% of retailers are investing in technology that can help drive efficiencies and better cost management in their stores.
These numbers indicate that over 70% of businesses are not saving time and money by optimising their workforce and operational efficiency using tech, despite labour being the second biggest cost.
With S4labour, businesses can streamline their people management, from H.R., to rota creation and through to payroll, which handles holiday pay and actual hours worked through our time and attendance system.
Effectively managing costs with the help of technology will not only reduce spending, but it will also allow retailers to focus on growing profits by getting more out of each hour worked.
Hear from leading independent retailers already using S4labour:
Rav Garcha, Nisa retailer: “It’s an affordable and efficient technology solution that is driving us further, and it is allowing us to invest in people.”
Ian Lewis, SPAR retailer: “It really has changed the way we work, and certainly saved on costs.”
Guy Warner, Upton on Severn, together with Morrisons: “In terms of efficiencies, it has driven costs down managerially. It is helping us manage our labour, control our labour costs and it is taking managerial time out of the process.”
How will S4labour work for your business?
S4labour’s tools provide visibility and control of rota cost before the money has been spent. Unexpected costs, such as NI, pension and holiday pay are included in a fully-costed rota, as well as accurate time and attendance, so there are no surprises in payroll.
Planning and scheduling teams is made simple, with rotas in one place that can be shared with staff on the employee app. There’s no more multiple versions and time-consuming rota-writing processes. Holiday accrual and requests are also managed from this single platform, saving you time on admin and allowing you to focus on activities that drive profitability.
Ahead of the NLW increase in April, finding ways to better manage and therefore reduce labour-related costs will be a gamechanger.
For more information, or to talk to one of our experts, please contact us:
