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 depends on a number of factors like the manager, the objective and on the ops manager themselves. But answering the question in this way is not entirely useful, so I am going to try and set out a few guidelines that will help to deliver this.
1 – Setting objectives for teams is essential, but they must be clearly defined so that progress can be measured weekly. In the past, this was often tied to labour percentage targets. Today, it is more likely to involve aligning with deployment goals that meet corporate objectives—or even hitting specific cash targets. Surprisingly, many large businesses still prefer managing at the cash level, despite having advanced deployment systems. While assigning objectives is common practice, the real challenge lies in achieving them!
2 – Establishing templates for business thresholds is more effective than relying on weekly signoffs. While you might expect weekly signoffs to be necessary, they demand excessive effort to make work and encourage sites to see if they can get away with it. This either results in a time-consuming overhaul or a repetitive process that drains resources. Managing fifteen sites could easily turn into a full day’s work. Instead, I recommend agreeing on templates for sales thresholds. Well-designed templates streamline the process and can be quickly adjusted, saving time.
3 – Schedule a weekly visit to adjust, refine, and discuss operations. This may seem like a big commitment, but it ensures each site has a deep conversation about labour roughly four times a year—a small investment given its impact on cost, service, and sales. The challenge comes if this process slips. Without regular review, template rotas become outdated, get ignored, and new, unapproved rotas will surface. If you are not careful, you will end up reverting to the process of weekly sign-off, which is time-consuming and destructive.
4– What does an effective process look like? It involves several stages, varying in length based on time and the quality of the team. Nailing these stages and embedding them into your business as best practice will really make a difference to how you deliver on labour.
Stage 1 – Tasks: First, identify all tasks within the business, categorise them, and determine whether they are fixed or slack. It is crucial to coach new assistant managers and managers on this properly, so that slack tasks do not become fixed, and fixed tasks do not get moved to pre or post opening times.
Stage 2 – Management Rota: Creating a solid management rota is key to ensuring proper leadership without overstaffing on slower days. By carefully structuring the rota, you can maintain a balanced and efficient operation.
Stage 3 – Deployment: Matching supply and demand is essential. A rota must be designed to align with these needs while delivering excellent service throughout the week. Keeping in mind that the worst service often occurs when you are the most overstaffed. The key is finding the right balance to ensure efficiency without sacrificing service quality.
Stage 4 – Shift Planning and Leadership: This is the most crucial step. By agreeing a shift plan, you focus on the essential tasks and the necessary structures to ensure the leadership team is actively managing the business. It is about organising operations to be guest-focused and effective. This level of detail is vital for maintaining a well-run, efficient operation, both on busy days and during slower times.
Stage 5 – Kitchens: Kitchens have always been the major source of overspend in our industry. Too often, we have sacrificed front-of-house teams to add more staff in the kitchen. Kitchens alone, with their challenges of line structuring, prep, and pot washing, require immense attention. In fact, effectively managing a kitchen could easily take a full day or more. But the rewards for getting it right – both in terms of cost control and operational efficiency – are substantial.
Maintaining these steps may seem challenging, but they are a crucial part of running a successful business in today’s high-labour-cost environment. By implementing these guidelines, you can create a more efficient operation that not only controls labour costs but also delivers great service across the board. It is all about putting the right systems in place to get your teams and your business set up for success.