The Schedule Guide for Beginners #2: The What & When

Staff and guests enjoy a proper schedule

The What of Scheduling

What am I going to schedule? Scheduling, traditionally, leans on experience and gut feeling. This belief pervades the minds of seasoned managers who pride themselves on their intimate knowledge of their business's ebb and flow. Data does more than just reflect on past trends; it acts as a crystal ball, offering foresight into future demands. By analyzing patterns of customer traffic, identifying peak hours, and evaluating employee performance, managers can strategically place their team where they'll shine brightest. You need to know your what before you can hope to get the when right.

Consider this scenario. You need to write a schedule for a lunch shift that starts at 11am and ends at 2pm and is expecting to do $1000 in sales. You normally schedule 3 people from 1030am - 230pm and have not had any issues. What would you schedule for that example? Your answer based on those data points are a guess based on past experience. Now consider this. You have to write a lunch schedule for a Monday morning on an average summer day in July. You know that your sales for the first 3 hours of business tend to average $200, $500, then $300 for the last 4 weeks. You also know that your average guest spends $12.50 and your average table size is 3 people and stay for 1 hour. You also know that your average server can handle up to 6 tables before going in the weeds. It also only takes you 1 hour to open the dining room by yourself and 30 minutes to close it. Would you still schedule 3 people in at 10:30 and leave at 230? Or would you use your new data to schedule based on the needs of the business.  My scheduling system teaches you how to determine your "what" needs and implement them quickly and effectively. In the example above, my system would save you at least 4.5 hours of labor, PER SHIFT without decreasing guest services.

The When of Scheduling, The Myth of More

 Imagine a schedule where everyone is in their place at the right time and able to effectively maneuver rushes and slowdowns without negatively impacting your costs or the guests experience. A common fallacy in scheduling is equating more staff with better service. This misconception is often heard in the corridors of retail and food industries. Overstaffing can unnecessarily bloat your labor costs, turning a well-intentioned move into a costly misstep. Conversely, understaffing can lead to diminishing service quality and placing undue strain on your hardworking employees. It's about striking that perfect balance, where every staff member's presence is not just felt, but is impactful. I can teach you how.

In my scheduling example above, we can gather that each server can handle $225 in sales per hour. How do we know that? Each guest spends $12.50, there are 3 guests per table, each table stays for an hour, and your server can handle 6 tables before crashing. Doing the math ($12.50 x 3) = Sales per Table x 6 tables gives us $225 per hour. This is the MOST they can handle but offers no flexibility. What if we said the servers are happy with 4 but can go up to 6 tables? Now we have a sales range of $150 to $225 per hour because we multiplied the sales per table by 4 tables instead of 6. That means that each server in the store can handle between $150 (4 tables) to $225 (6 tables) in sales per hour. Three servers can handle 3x that amount or $450 - $675 per hour. Using a comfortable table count instead of the max allows for "Pops" to happen and not effect guest services because you know your people can handle up to $675 if they need to but you only planned on $450. You just used data to help write a schedule!

Your Next Step

Mastering the art of scheduling is about harmonizing experience with data, intuition with analysis. It transcends the mere act of assigning shifts and has many more moving parts than just understanding the above.

Are you ready to enhance your scheduling strategy? Let me assist you. By understanding the 'why' behind your scheduling choices and integrating this with data-driven insights, we can forge a schedule that not only meets but elevates your business's needs. Move beyond guesswork and hope. Let's embrace scheduling with purpose and precision.

Continue by contacting me below or reading the rest of the "Beginners Schedule Guide For Beginners" series.

Eager to revolutionize your scheduling strategy? Reach out, and let’s tailor a scheduling system that’s as efficient and effective as your business itself.

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