Questions & Answers:

We asked over 50 operators to join a webinar all about improving profit margins – here’s the top questions they wanted answered… 

We recently hosted a webinar on how hospitality operators are improving profit margins in today’s market. The session sparked some fantastic questions, so we’ve pulled together the top five every operator should be asking. Plus, see how one customer grew their sales with strategic labour management. 

Asked by you and answered by experts

1. What would you class as accurate forecasting? Within 10%?

Absolutely – 5% up or down is great. From the projects we’ve done we find a lot of operators are typically 15% out, and usually over forecast. But being under forecast is equally as bad for the profit line. A lot of GMs will go “we smashed budget last week, beat forecast by twenty grand” – but the question we ask back is, “but how much did you leave on the table for being understaffed?”. 

2. What is the most common mistake you see operators do with their labour and teams?  

Block rotas and shift briefing. Typically, managers will have the whole team in for 12 o’clock, because they need to do the shift brief, but they’re actually not needed in the business at this time, so it’s damaging spend and sales.  

By staggering shifts and having a decent shift briefing sheet available to your team, you avoid overstaffing and the negative impact on your profit line.  

3. How long does it take to see results by staff thinking and focusing more on labour spend?  

Once you get into the detail of your rotas and start asking questions like: “why have we got this team member on at this time?”, the results are absolutely immediate.  

Actually, the real question shouldn’t be how quickly you’ll see an impact, but how quickly can you get in to make the difference? The process takes a while, but the results are quick.  

4. What is the percentage aim for FOH net labour to net sales?  

This one is massively dependent on service style, business type, layout, etc. Some sites will have a much higher base cost, therefore when they’re off season, their spend is going to be higher and you just need to plan for that. So, base and flex budgeting is key.  

5. What are your top team retention tips?  

Empowerment for managers, training, and inductions are a good starting three. First impressions set the standard – so be realistic about what the job is going to entail. There’s also nothing that will upset your team more than having to cope on a shift – so deploying your teams properly is crucial.  

Real Results from Real Operators

Using S4labour, Thorley Taverns are driving up profits by making proactive, sales-driven decisions that improve productivity and profitability.

In this short video, Robert Bridger from Thorley shares how they’ve done it — and the difference it’s made to their business.