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 constant increases to minimum wage will cripple our industry and force prices up to levels that make going out unrealistic for customers. I also worry that staff cuts to save money will, in the end, destroy service and have the opposite impact. So, you can imagine my joy this week when I was able to spend time in a restaurant that runs operations in the top 1%. Instinctively, they were filling quieter points in the shift with non-sales-driven tasks, which we refer to as ‘slack’ tasks. Kitchen prep was being done in the afternoon, and they already knew not to have a pot wash during these troughs in service. And, they had minimised management tasks, doing so all in their stride. Their labour percentage would be the envy of the rest of the industry, including me! I really cannot tell you how impressed I was. When I started S4labour, I designed a postcard to send to people that said: “earn yourself a holiday”. I was trying to get people to realise that by managing staff cost well, it really was possible to earn enough to take an extra holiday. This was certainly true here. I was reminded that it can be done – excellence can be achieved. It just depends on how much effort and energy you want to put into getting there. Of course, we are all going to have to put more energy in over the next year, that is no secret. In an ideal world, we want to grow profits and cut costs as much as we can, without compromising our service or overstretching our teams. Saying as such may sound like a bit of a pipe dream to some, but it is entirely possible. The next year will be hard, but it does not need to destroy our profits. Finding the areas in your business where you can improve operations and then constantly applying them will make you better, even if it is incrementally. This particular business had two massive advantages to drive their excellence. Firstly, the management team knew how to cook – no chef was going to tell them how to run a kitchen. Any new chef gets inducted by them, and then taught the right practices to adopt. This kind of positive habit is exactly what I talk about when I refer to operational excellence. Embedding effective behaviours into your business from the outset, guarantees that specific ways of working stick. The second big advantage was that the management of the business ran shifts everywhere. They did not tell others what to do, they just did it, and led by example. Telling people what to do only gets you so far – working with them, doing it yourself, and showing them what ‘good’ looks like always achieves better results. Setting your sights on excellence is what we have to do, and it can be done. Alastair Scott is CEO of S4labour and Owner of Malvern Inns.