by Abby Henson | Apr 7, 2025 | Sales Figures
Data from S4labour has revealed that March saw an overall decrease in sales of 0.7% when compared to the same month last year. Sales show contrasting trends, with dry-led sites up by 2.1% and wet-led sites down 6.1% year-on-year. The report also highlighted London saw sales increase by 2.7%, however outside of the capital sales were down 1.7%. Richard Hartley, Chief Growth Officer at S4labour, commented:
“The overall drop in sales underscores the unfavourable position of the industry, however the decline year-on-year could in part be due to Easter falling in March last year. London continues to show growth, but this is likely driven by more people heading back to the office.”
by Alastair Scott | Mar 28, 2025 | Thought Leadership
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 word ‘ok,’ and what I refer to as ‘restaurant eyes.’
Our results using habits
Now enough time has passed, I am pleased to report that the implementation of the first two has gone pretty well. Now, I never (I know, brave word), hear the word ‘ok’ in our pubs. Albeit, admittedly I have heard a few substitutes! Really, what we are trying to get to with this habit is asking open-ended questions. “Would you like another glass of wine?” or “how is your fish and chips?” are much better than asking “are you ok for drinks”, or “is your food ok?”.
The second habit, hellos and goodbyes, has also gotten much better. Earlier this week I heard the best ‘hello,’ in fact. Rachel (who will be reading this) was behind the coffee machine and she peered out, gave a great ‘hello’ to the guests as they were walking in. I could see how warm and welcome they felt immediately. Good job!
Sadly, however, mission restaurant eyes was a complete failure. In truth, this was my fault. My idea of ‘restaurant eyes’ is actually a load of things rolled into one – actively making eye contact, not avoiding eye contact, looking around more, and so on. Perhaps this one was not communicated well enough to the team to enable them to focus on it. But I suppose, two out of three is not too bad, so I will take it.
So, has all of this work resulted in anything? In all honesty, not everything can be measured and analysed. While our guest satisfaction scores seem to remain about the same each month, and sales growth, while ok, has not been exceptional, these habits are the right things to do. We also gave each habit a long period to embed, around 3 months. This made a big difference when it came to sticking, and now we will not have to repeat the same process for some time. If you recall, we based our theory on the 66-day rule to form a habit – we loved it so much we even did a podcast on it! It means that if someone is working 5 days a week, it is a 13-week implementation.
What’s next?
This term, we have added three new habits to focus on, in an attempt to hold onto the previous two and make further progress on our service skills. The new habits are as follows: smiles, FIFO, and the four-foot rule.
The first, smiles, is pretty self-explanatory. I am pleased to say that a few weeks ago, I gave out one of our ‘management recognition’ tokens to Doruta. Doruta has been with us for a long time, and she gave the best smile on Valentines Day that I have ever seen from her.
FIFO of course has many meanings. But rather than first in first out, here it means full in full out. This is trying to get our staff, as they return from anywhere, to look for empties to collect along the way, making us more efficient and touching the guest more often. We are far too good at letting the food runners run food only, rather than picking up empty plates as they return. While we do not give the food runner iPad tills, they can quickly find someone else with an iPad if someone wants another drink or anything else.
We have combined this habit with the four-foot rule, which is that you must at least look at the guest if you are within four feet of them and preferably smile and say something. This is a much better first element of ‘restaurant eyes’ as it is more specific for the team as to what they have to do. We will of course have arguments about what is four feet, and whether they all need to do it as they pass a busy table, but at least it will help deliver ‘heads up’ service, rather than trying not to look at the guest in case they ask for something.
Final thoughts on habits in hospitality
So, all in all, this is a process that is here to stay. Each term we will pick the habits we feel we want to drive and try to remain focused on those only for the whole term and then move on to a new one. Even though I am on the old side of the industry, I am still learning to do things better. How I wish I had adopted this decades ago, rather than trying to solve everything too fast and ending up solving nothing. Maybe I am not an Old Dog after all!
Alastair Scott is CEO of S4labour and Owner of Malvern Inns.
by Alastair Scott | Mar 14, 2025 | Thought Leadership
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 probably one of the most sensitive areas to address. Opinions vary widely on what constitutes the ‘right’ labour cost, making it one of the most hotly debated topics in the business. While some managers believe that senior management’s cost-cutting measures hinder sales, especially during peak periods, others argue that excessive spending leads to inefficiencies and wasted resources. Striking the right balance is no small feat.
Often when these managers leave the business to run their own, they immediately invest in labour with the sound knowledge that their business will thrive. They see an opportunity to prove themselves right and show their previous bosses to have been mean, corporate profit chasers. But typically, after about twelve months of investment in labour, which often translates to losses, they hit the cold economic reality that they cannot afford as many staff and have to cut back. In doing so, they may inadvertently undercut their own operations, leading to reduced service quality and, in some cases, the collapse of their businesses. These experiences impart a hard-earned lesson: overstaffing is far riskier than understaffing.
The key takeaway from these scenarios is that effective labour management requires precision. A corporate target for labour costs is futile if managers lack the training to achieve it. Understaffing and overstaffing are symptoms of the same problem: a failure to manage labour strategically. For instance, running a shift with five team members can produce dramatically different outcomes depending on the quality of leadership and planning. Without effective shift leadership, even the best resources can be underutilised, leaving teams feeling overwhelmed and wrongly attributing poor performance to understaffing.
This is where the importance of top-down labour management and training really becomes noticeable. Setting standardised labour practices and clear expectations alongside introducing feedback loops and hands-on training will be extremely effective in embedding better labour practices into the business.
A poorly managed afternoon shift, for example, might neglect critical slack tasks, setting the evening team up for failure as they struggle to catch up. This domino effect not only impacts operations but also affects team morale and customer satisfaction.
This underscores the industry’s pressing need for labour management training. Training not only equips teams with practical skills but also helps change entrenched habits that hinder progress. Poor habits, such as inefficient time management or inadequate task prioritisation, are pervasive. Training teams, managers and ops managers to be better is the only way to help them. But how? Breaking these habits requires a carefully balanced approach that combines enforcement with support—what might be termed the ‘carrot and stick’ method. Tightening rotas without providing the necessary training leaves employees frustrated and ill-prepared, while training without enforcing changes risks making the effort redundant. It is only by combining these two elements that businesses can break free from the cycle of poor service and high staff turnover.
The path to improvement cannot be rushed. Effective change requires targeted training that addresses specific aspects of labour management. For example, quieter shifts present unique opportunities to reset and prepare for busier periods, but these opportunities are often wasted without proper training. Similarly, kitchen management demands specialised training to ensure efficiency and coordination in one of the busiest and most critical areas of any hospitality business. Each aspect of labour management comes with its own set of challenges, and each requires a tailored training programme to address them effectively.
Ultimately, the success of any labour management strategy hinges on a commitment to investment—not just in staffing but in training. A well-structured training budget is not an expense; it is an investment in the future success of the business. Approaching labour with the same mindset as before but with fewer people is a recipe for failure. Instead, the focus must shift to delivering the right training, supported by precise execution and a willingness to adapt. This is the path to long-term success in an industry where the demands are constantly evolving.
Alastair Scott is CEO of S4labour and owner of Malvern Inns.
by Abby Henson | Mar 11, 2025 | Sales Figures
As the National Living Wage hike looms on the horizon, a recent survey has unveiled that half of operators are not adequately prepared for the changes. The survey, conducted by labour management experts, S4labour, reveals that 51% of respondents admitted they had not yet calculated the additional staffing costs their businesses will incur due to the NLW increase next month, which is estimated at around 10%.
The survey also questioned hospitality leaders on how they plan to offset the NLW increases in their business. Increasing menu prices and improving productivity were the two most popular options, receiving 32% and 30% of votes respectively.
Reducing staff hours came in as the third most popular solution, with 23% of votes. 12% of respondents indicated they would pause recruitment or lay off staff and the remaining 4% revealed that they are not sure on what measures they will be taking in April.
CEO of S4labour, Alastair Scott, commented: “This gap shows that operators need to review their labour spend and plan for these additional costs, which we estimate will be around 8.3%. However, this increase is just the starting point, to retain talent and ensure fairness, many operators will feel pressure to raise wages across the board, not just for those on the NLW. This could lead to a significant overall increase in labour costs, closer to 10%.
“It is crucial for businesses to be aware of the impact that these changes have on their bottom line and to take steps to mitigate any potential financial strain.
“By proactively planning for these additional costs, businesses can better position themselves to navigate the challenges and ensure the continued success of their operations.”
If you are interested in assessing your own business’s readiness for the challenges ahead, why not take the April Readiness Assessment quiz? Visit https://assess.s4labour.co.uk/april to gain valuable insights and identify areas for improvement. Let’s navigate these challenges together and emerge stronger on the other side.
by Abby Henson | Mar 11, 2025 | Sales Figures
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 robust 4.4%, whilst areas outside of the capital saw a decline of 1%.
The data also highlights the varying performance between wet-led and dry-led sites. Drink-focused establishments, saw a 3% drop in sales. Meanwhile, dry-led venues were up 2%.
Richard Hartley, Chief Growth Officer at S4labour, commented: “Both January and February saw robust year-on-year growth for London at 8.6% and 4.4% respectively. Numbers outside of London have told us a different story, with like-for-likes down by 0.1% in January and 1% in February. As April approaches, all operators will be looking to maximise revenue.”
by Abby Henson | Feb 20, 2025 | Thought Leadership
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 around 8.3% in total, before additional increases outside of legislation.
“This increase is just the starting point, to retain talent and ensure fairness, many operators will feel pressure to raise wages across the board, not just for those on the NLW. This could lead to a significant overall increase in labour costs.”
Alastair Scott, CEO of S4labour and owner of Malvern Inns.
Supervisors often earn just a bit more than their team, and sometimes assistants, working more hours, earn less. This issue also affects kitchen staff, putting pressure on the industry to maintain pay differentials, which is unsustainable.
We estimate industry pay could rise by 10%, depending on factors like the proportion of young workers and under-21s paid at higher rates.
Differentials aside, for an average site that takes £20,000 a week on a 30% labour ratio, this will be an increase of roughly £25,896 a year. Tackling this cost alone will require operators to plan labour more effectively, to stay on target every week and drive productivity in teams enough to keep reporting profit and not loss.
As a pub or restaurant operator, how do you plan on approaching these increases?
In our guide, we want to help you get ready for April by helping you face the upcoming cost increases with the smartest operational strategy. We cover everything from forming new habits (and what habits to form), to utilising data.
Download and read now:
