Partner Insight
WFM and Food Services
Merge Time, Lda has been working for several years on the implementation of Workforce Management (WFM) projects in collaboration with companies dedicated to restaurants, bars, and hospitality, developing strategies to improve human resources management.
One of the challenges this sector faces is high staff turnover. Based on the analysis conducted over these years of consultancy in the area, this turnover can be attributed to a variety of factors, including: Inadequate salaries; Unfavourable working conditions with excessive workload; Lack of opportunities for personal development and skills related to hospitality; Lack of recognition and rewards for the productivity of the work performed; Negative and often toxic organisational culture with no communication between managers and their teams; Challenges in balancing work and personal life; Lack of proper training to enable employees to improve their productivity and thus be recognised; General dissatisfaction with management and colleagues.
Any of the situations described above can lead employees to seek more satisfying environments. Our goal is to share these values and facts with the entrepreneurs so they can implement strategies and policies aimed at talent retention, with a view to creating a positive work environment and meeting employees’ needs.
The process we have developed with clients to help the food services sector reduce turnover through WFM is identified in several phases, depending on the state of organisation the client already has. The client may already have a maturity in data analysis of their operation regarding sales, customers, working times on certain tasks, forecasted working hours considering absenteeism or holidays, monitoring planned vs. executed schedules, among other information that can help better understand the business and where it can be optimised. Indeed, what each client expects at the end of the month is to serve customers well, to sell more at the lowest operational cost, thus increasing productivity.
To achieve this, we use a WFM tool that can present all this data in a single place, accessible with a click.
Defining strategies for:
1. Planning an efficient weekly or monthly schedule
How:
Using Historical Sales and Customer Traffic Data:
Workforce Management (WFM) can accurately predict peak and low-demand periods by analysing historical sales and customer traffic data. This allows restaurant managers to adjust work schedules according to these fluctuations, ensuring adequate staffing during busy times and avoiding overstaffing during quieter periods.
There are various ways to use each employee’s work hours to avoid paying overtime.
2. Proper resource allocation
How:
Understanding Employees’ Capabilities and Skills:
WFM can assist in the efficient allocation of resources by understanding the specific capabilities and skills of employees, ensuring that each team has the right mix of skills at the right time and cost to handle different situations. This increases operational efficiency and reduces unnecessary workload on employees.
3. Improving internal communication:
How:
The tool allows employees to request shift swaps or time-off, which are presented to their manager.
Managers can simulate the request in the tool to assess its impact on daily management. Upon approval and updating the schedule, employees receive this information on their mobile device.
This approach helps keep employees informed about schedule changes, policies, and procedures, which can enhance transparency and job satisfaction.
4. Flexibility in work schedules
How:
Offering flexibility in work schedules can be a valuable tool for retaining employees. Workforce Management (WFM) can facilitate the management of flexible schedules, allowing employees more control over their shifts. We embrace the concept of humanising schedules, where managers, before finalising the monthly work plan, can accept employees’ shift change requests to better align their personal lives with their professional commitments.
5. Training and skills development
How:
WFM can be used to identify skills gaps among employees. By implementing targeted training programmes, managers can enhance employees’ skills, increase job satisfaction, and make them more likely to stay with the company. These training hours will be recorded, and we can associate the acquired skills so that in the schedule, there are fewer gaps during times when we need employees with specific skills. I always bring up an example of language skills. If you have only two employees who can speak English, and one is on leave while the other is on vacation, how do we schedule when we know we have a table reservation for a group of English speakers next Friday!
6. Performance Monitoring or talent retention
How:
Using performance data, WFM can help managers identify and recognise employees’ good performance. Positive recognition can increase motivation and job satisfaction, and even lead to salary increases because we understand that having them on the team boosts sales.
7. Balanced Shift management and allocation
How:
Avoiding excessive overtime and ensuring employees maintain a healthy work-life balance are key benefits of WFM, contributing to employee satisfaction and reducing the risk of burnout and turnover. Employees can participate in the development of work schedules and see that changes suggested by them, the proposal generated by the system according to labor laws and service needs, will be a challenge to manually create schedules. The WFM can automatically generate a schedule proposal that includes all these premises
Partners Insights is a place to highlight the valuable contributions of our partners each month through articles, opinions, and experiences that reflect the latest trends.
This month, we are pleased to present an article by Nuno Nogueira, CEO of Merge Time.
This partner, specialising in diverse business areas and based in Portugal, stands out for its innovative approach and excellence in optimising the efficiency and quality of companies’ services. Merge Time operates in a range of areas including Grocery and Specialised Retail, Healthcare, Industry, Call Centres, and Hospitality.
Would you like to learn more about our partner? Click here to visit the Merge Time website.
