United Kingdom, July 20 2011
Hospitality sector is overstaffing & missing sales due to inadequate sales forecasting
The hospitality sector is missing out on vital sales opportunities and disappointing customers simply because they are not organising staff in accordance with accurate sales forecasting, according to a workforce management specialist.
A high proportion of hospitality outlets are providing poor customer service and losing sales or overstaffing due to inadequate or non-existent sales forecasting.
Managing director of RITEQ Jason Holdsworth is advising companies in the hospitality industry to schedule labour based on accurate sales forecasts.
He said: “The biggest danger is scheduling too many staff creating an increase in idle time ; this is when there are more staff working than is actually needed, leaving many with nothing to do.”
RITEQ has recently created a Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system that will help companies to monitor performance in individual sites, control staffing issues and reduce labour costs.
Using the system, headquarters instruct individual site managers of the amount of staff needed, giving site managers the opportunity to ensure the right amount of staff are working; increasing productivity and preventing idle time.
He added: “Our Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system will give full control to the management of hospitality venues and also give venue managers the opportunity to use the information they receive to give customers and staff 100% satisfaction.
“We use factors such as metrological data to forecast sales for any given day by using a correlation between the weather and previous sales trends.”
“By reducing idle time and having the right amount of staff on shift at peak times; companies can reduce labour costs and increase productivity.
“Venue managers can then update the system at the end of the shift giving the head office details about the venues performance - making it easy for them to see where improvements need to be made.”
The Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system also frees the time of venue managers meaning they spend more time with staff and customers; something that will increase customer service levels.
Jason continued: “The system as a whole will help outlets to function efficiently and help head offices to highlight areas for improvement.
“In a way it makes monitoring performance easier and allows management to set targets that are realistic.”
RITEQ begin the process by holding a consultation with companies looking to use the Collaborative Workforce Optimisation system.
The key focus is recognising the company’s goals to determine a corporate labour model and get the most out of the sales forecasting software.
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