1) Look for Passion Over Experience
Yes, experience is very important. But an inexperienced-yet-passionate server who is willing to learn and grow can often make for a better hire than someone who’s just been around for a long time.
Sling Scheduling
Restaurant Staffing: 22 Tips for Building the Best Team
[```htmlRestaurant Staffing: 22 Tips for Building the Best Team
Your restaurant is decorated to the nines. Your bar is stocked with only the best. And your menu is a study in perfection. But even the best decor, liquor, and food in the world are nothing without the staff to serve it and show it off. Unfortunately, restaurant staffing is an oft-overlooked aspect of running a successful restaurant.
Getting the right person for the right job can help your restaurant stand out from the crowd by giving you a reputation for quality service. And that doesn’t just apply to the servers. Quality service includes everyone from the head chef all the way down to the dishwashers and everyone in-between.
How to Improve Your Restaurant Staffing
2) Lead by Example
Your behavior sets the model for everyone else’s behavior. If you want your front-of-house staff to treat the customers cordially and with respect, you need to treat the servers and hosts with that same cordiality and respect.
Manage Restaurant Staffing with Sling
Managing restaurant staffing is an important part of keeping your business on the road to success. Equally important is how you choose to conduct those management activities.
The Sling suite of tools can help you simplify and streamline your business and give you unprecedented control over the way your team works, including:
- Employee scheduling
- Labor costs
- Time tracking
- Attendance tracking
- Task management
- Communication
For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.
- Jordan Van Maanen
Shift Planning Software: Essential Insights and Integration Tips for Your Business
[Shift Planning Software: Why You Need It and How to Use It
Shift planning has become more streamlined with the advent of cloud-based scheduling software and workforce management tools. Moving away from the tedious task of manual scheduling, modern shift planning software offers robust features that make it easier to plan, control costs, and communicate efficiently with team members.
Table of Contents
- What is Shift Planning Software?
- The Benefits of Using Shift Planning Software
- How to Use Shift Planning Software
- Shift Planning Software for Restaurants
What is Shift Planning Software?
Shift planning (or scheduling) involves assigning employees to work specific jobs during particular periods. For example, in a restaurant, this means organizing cooks, wait staff, and support staff to cover all necessary hours from prep to clean-up.
The Benefits of Using Shift Planning Software
- Saves Time: Creating a perfect schedule in minutes rather than hours.
- Improves Access: Accessible from any device, anywhere, at any time.
- Minimizes Errors: Detects scheduling errors and provides notifications for changes.
- Integrates with Other Areas of Your Business: Syncs with payroll, invoicing, and more.
- Can Help You Grow Your Facilities: Optimize labor budgets, cut costs, and redirect savings into growth.
- Provides Data Security: Ensures strong security and encryption for sensitive data.
- Supports Employee Productivity: Cloud storage for easy access to necessary tools and data.
- Reduces Risk of Non-Compliance: Monitors compliance issues and provides alerts.
- Helps You Maintain Work-Life Balance: Enables more flexible scheduling to support work-life balance.
- Makes Transparency Possible: Facilitates clear communication and scheduling transparency.
How to Use Shift Planning Software in Your Business
- Build Shifts the Right Way: Structure shifts around your best employees to ensure peak efficiency.
- Plan for the Worst: Have a backup plan for no-call, no-show situations and other emergencies.
- Set a Labor Budget: Keep labor expenses under control with a set budget.
- Create a Template: Use scheduling templates tailored to your business needs for faster scheduling.
- Make the Schedule Easy to Read: Simplify schedules so employees can quickly understand their shifts.
- Use the Right Format: Format schedules as a table for easier readability.
- Color Code for Easy Data Retrieval: Utilize color coding for quick identification of shifts and hours.
- Allow Plenty of Time for Changes: Post working copies of schedules in advance to allow for conflict resolution.
- Take Advantage of Automation: Use software that automatically schedules based on set parameters.
- Allow Employees to Do Some of the Work for You: Enable self-scheduling with managerial approval.
Shift Planning Software for Restaurants
If you manage a restaurant, cafe, or other food-service business, choosing shift planning software tailored to your industry's unique needs can make a significant difference. Look for solutions that offer advanced employee scheduling, integrated time clocks, comprehensive communication tools, and useful integrations.
The best shift planning software simplifies even complex scheduling, allowing you to create, distribute, and adjust schedules effortlessly. Sling, for example, offers all the tools you need to optimize your workforce, control labor costs, and facilitate seamless communication.
For more resources and tips to manage your business more effectively, visit Sling today.
- Jordan Van Maanen
Sling by Toast: Revolutionizing Employee Scheduling and Team Management
[```htmlSling is now Sling by Toast! Learn more
Sling has now rebranded to Sling by Toast! This exciting change represents a stronger commitment to providing comprehensive solutions for team management and scheduling. Continue reading to find out more about our features and how they can benefit your business.
Key Features
- Labor Costs: Optimize your labor costs as you schedule.
- Task Management: Assign and delegate tasks per shift or employee.
- Time Clock: Accurately track employee work time from anywhere.
- Multiple Work Locations: Easily schedule and communicate across locations.
- Communication: Stay in touch with messaging, newsfeed, and more.
- Integrations: Manage all your work from a single easy-to-use platform.
More Features
- Employee documents
- Mobile time tracking
- Announcements
- Employee breaks
Industries
- Restaurants
- Entertainment
- Emergency
- Retail
- Call centers
- Caregiving
- Hospitality
- Education
- Security
- Healthcare
- Nonprofits
- Banking
Why Sling?
Shift Work: What It Is and The Industries That Use It
If your business is open for more than 10 hours a day, chances are you’re going to need to schedule some type of shift work.
But what exactly is shift work? What industries use it? And how can you set up shift scheduling for your business? The management experts at Sling answer those questions and more in this article.
What Is Shift Work?
Shift work takes place during times that exceed the traditional 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule. Shift work may involve morning work (e.g., 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.), night work (e.g., 2 p.m. to 10 p.m.), or a rotating shift schedule that incorporates both.
The Different Types of Shifts
- 1st Shift: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- 2nd Shift: 4 p.m. to 12 a.m.
- 3rd Shift: 12 a.m. to 8 a.m.
Part-Time vs. Full-Time
Most businesses build their traditional shifts around full-time work. But what exactly is full-time?
Full-Time
A 40-hour workweek didn’t appear in the common lexicon until 1940. Nowhere does it state that 40 hours equals full-time work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines “full-time” as 35 hours or more per week.
Part-Time
Full-time work is arbitrary, with most businesses setting the bar somewhere between 30 and 40 hours per week. Part-time work is a repeating schedule in which an employee works fewer hours than are required for full-time.
Novel Approaches to Shift Work
9/80 Work Schedule
A 9/80 work schedule consists of eight nine-hour shifts, one eight-hour shift, and one day off spread out over a two-week period.
Flextime
Flextime is a special arrangement in which employees can vary the start and finish of their shift as long as they are present during specific core hours.
Split Shift
A split shift is a type of work schedule in which an employee’s workday is divided into two or more distinct parts separated by two or more hours.
What Industries Use Shift Work?
- Call center representative
- Customer service representative
- Server
- Food runner
- Manager
- Housekeeping
- Cook
- Bartender
- Stock Clerk
- Cashier
- EMT
- Firefighter
- Police officer
- Security guard
- Nurse
- Doctor
- Bus driver
- Factory worker
- Warehouse worker
Key Aspects of Shift Work
Advantages of Shift Work
Shift work gives all your employees the opportunity to work both busy and slow shifts, keeping them engaged and helping them learn how to work during peak hours.
Disadvantages of Shift Work
The main disadvantage is that employees may want a more consistent schedule. Shift work can also impact employees' physical health, leading to sleep deprivation and other issues.
How to Set Up Shifts
For example, the 2-2 / 3-2 / 2-3 shift schedule for a coffee shop. Basically, everyone rotates through the same pattern of days, nights, and time off.
Use the Right Tool to Help Schedule Shift Work
Sling's cloud-based features make it easy for you to create and manage even the most complicated schedules.
- Jordan Van Maanen
Optimize Your Business with Sling by Toast: Simplify Team Management and Scheduling
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Sling is now Sling by Toast!
Optimize Your Business with Sling by Toast
Welcome to the new and improved Sling by Toast! Our platform offers advanced features to help you manage your team more efficiently. Learn more about our powerful tools designed to optimize labor costs, manage tasks, and enhance communication within your business.
Key Features
More Features
Industries We Serve
- Restaurants
- Entertainment
- Emergency
- Retail
- Call Centers
- Caregiving
- Hospitality
- Education
- Security
- Healthcare
- Nonprofits
- Banking
Customer Resources
The Gig Economy: An Integral Part of Modern Business
The gig economy is a segment of the labor pool that works on a contingent basis. It is expanding rapidly with the growth of on-demand services like Uber, DoorDash, and Airbnb. Learn all you need to know about the gig economy and how your business can adapt, evolve, and improve.
What is the Gig Economy?
The gig economy refers to a workforce that engages in temporary, short-term work arrangements, commonly referred to as gigs. This includes freelancers, consultants, and temporary workers who take on short-term projects or positions within a larger organization.
Industries That Benefit from the Gig Economy
The gig economy is flourishing in industries such as IT, software development, project management, accounting, finance, education, and more. It offers businesses the flexibility to hire freelancers for specialized tasks or projects, thereby optimizing operations without long-term commitments.
Business Benefits
- Low Overhead
- Less Need for Employee Benefits
- Minimal Training
- Agility
- Experts for Specific Projects
Challenges
- Maintaining Corporate Culture
- Supporting Worker Mobility
- Teams Can Be Harder to Manage
- Enabling Collaboration
- Assessing Workplace Needs
Streamline Scheduling with Sling
Scheduling in the gig economy can be complex. Sling by Toast simplifies the job of workforce management with features like powerful scheduling, comprehensive time-tracking, dynamic reporting, and more. Discover how Sling can optimize your scheduling processes and elevate your business.
Try Sling for Free- Jordan Van Maanen
Creating an Effective Restaurant Training Program: Tips and Best Practices
Sling is now Sling by Toast!
Optimizing your employee scheduling and workforce management has never been easier.
How to Create an Effective Restaurant Training Program
An effective restaurant training program is the driving force behind your business’s success. But how do you build a program that helps your employees make fewer mistakes, perform their job with greater competency, and serve your customers better?
In this article, the workforce management experts at Sling provide tips for creating a restaurant training program that really works.
Restaurant Training vs. Onboarding
Restaurant training and onboarding may seem similar at first glance, but there are distinct differences.
Onboarding
Onboarding starts the moment you hire a new employee and begins to expose them to various aspects of your business, including:
- Culture
- History
- Mission
- Goals
- Vision
- Organizational hierarchy
These activities don’t stop after the employee’s first day, first week, or even first year. Instead, they continue for as long as an employee is part of your team, evolving into more specific instructions such as on-the-job training.
Restaurant Training
Restaurant training is a more focused part of the onboarding process, providing new employees with skills unique to their position. Once you’ve begun the onboarding process, you can single out specific positions for further training, including:
- Servers
- Front of House
- Back of House
- Managers
- Bartenders
- Human Resources
Tips for Effective Restaurant Training
Start Small
If you’re implementing a restaurant training program for the first time, start with the basics and let it evolve as your team and business grow.
Inclusivity
Build your training program to be inclusive, accommodating all skill levels and ages.
Set High Standards
Your training should revolve around your business’s high standards and test whether new employees can meet those standards.
Focus on the Right Way
Communicate what to do rather than what not to do to better help trainees remember and maintain high standards.
Include Training in Your Employee Handbook
Include training information in your employee handbook so everyone can access it when needed.
Make Learning Fun
Incorporate video training, gamification, tablet training, and team-based training to make learning engaging.
Hire a Certified Trainer
Hiring a certified trainer can make your learning process more fun and efficient.
Setup a Mentoring Program
Pair new employees with experienced team members to continue learning and build a support system.
Build Your Team
Incorporate team training sessions to improve teamwork and group cohesion.
Good Scheduling: The Foundation of Restaurant Training
Consistency is key in building a strong and effective team. Use Sling’s scheduling tools to manage training sessions, shifts, payroll, and more to ensure your restaurant training is effective and runs smoothly.
Visit GetSling.com today to take your employee scheduling and restaurant training to the next level with Sling.
- Jordan Van Maanen
What Organizational Strategy Is and Why Your Business Needs It | Sling by Toast
[```htmlWhat Organizational Strategy Is and Why Your Business Needs It
Organizational strategy isn’t just for big business anymore. Even a startup coffee shop or catering business needs to plan strategically if it wants to grow and thrive. But what exactly is organizational strategy, and why does your business need it? We’ll answer those questions in this article, give you four key features of a good organizational strategy, and show you the best way to get started.
What is Organizational Strategy?
At its most basic, an organizational strategy (or OS for short) is a plan that specifies how your business will allocate resources (e.g., money, labor, and inventory) to support infrastructure, production, marketing, inventory, and other business activities.
When you sit down to create your organizational strategy, you should first divide it into three distinct categories:
- Corporate Level Strategy
- Business Level Strategy
- Functional Level Strategy
Think of each category as a building block in the larger organizational strategy that guides your business. Here’s a brief description of each.
Corporate Level Strategy
Corporate level strategy is the main purpose of your business — it’s the destination toward which your business is moving.
- Concentration
- Diversification
- No Change
- Profit
- Investigation
- Turnaround
- Liquidation
Business Level Strategy
Business level strategy is the bridge between corporate level strategy and much of the “boots-on-the-ground” activity that occurs in functional level strategy. Because of that, business level strategy is more focused than the corporate level strategy that drives it.
Functional Level Strategy
Functional level strategies are the specific actions and benchmarks you assign to departments and individuals that move your business toward the goals created by your corporate level strategy.
Why Does Your Business Need an Organizational Strategy?
1) Sets Direction and Priorities
An organizational strategy gives your business direction and priorities. It defines success and shows you what activities you should prioritize to move your business toward its goals.
2) Aligns Teams and Departments
Getting all your departments and teams pulling in the same direction is hard enough. Without an organizational strategy, it’s nearly impossible.
3) Clarifies and Simplifies Decision Making
With an organizational strategy in place, you can reduce the number of decisions you have to face and clarify which ones make the most sense based on your goals.
4) Allows Your Business to Adapt
Your organizational strategy allows your business to adapt to problems that arise along the way, so you can continue moving toward your ultimate goal.
Key Features of an Organizational Strategy
- Realistic
- Measurable
- Specific
- Limited
- Coordinated
- Focused
- Delegated
Examples of Organizational Strategy
1) Cost Leadership
The cost leadership strategy involves leading your particular market in regard to the cost of the goods or services you provide.
2) Differentiation
The differentiation strategy involves making your product or service different from and more attractive than those of your competitors.
3) Focus
Focus organizational strategies identify and target niche markets that are smaller than a business’s regular market but can be extremely popular once the business has established a presence there.
4) Growth
Growth strategy involves any activities that serve to increase some variable within your business, such as sales or geographical reach.
5) Rationalization
Rationalization may involve discontinuing a product, laying off staff, or streamlining operations to focus on what your business does best.
Don’t Set It and Forget It
No organizational strategy is perfect the first time, so don’t set it and forget it. Review the results, and tweak them if necessary to ensure success.
The Best Way to Create an Organizational Strategy
One of the best ways to start creating an organizational strategy is to examine your current procedures. Scheduling, for example, is notoriously complicated. Prepare your business for the changes to come by streamlining the process so your team can better adapt once you set your organizational strategies.
Few things can help you in that regard the way scheduling software can. Apps like Sling provide everything you need — an easy-to-use interface, powerful communications features, time clock, labor analytics, and more — to reduce the time it takes to schedule your employees.
For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.
- Jordan Van Maanen
