Hospitality businesses looking for a trading boost from May’s three Bank Holidays will need to work closely with key staff to ensure they have the teams in place to deliver on customer expectations, says workforce management specialist Bizimply.
Despite a small dip in sector vacancies revealed in the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), most hospitality operators will still be facing serious challenges in finding staff across the unprecedented three Bank Holiday weekends.
Vacancies in the foodservice and accommodation sector, which includes pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels, were 139,000 from January to March, according to the regular ONS Vacancy Survey, compared to 140,000 from December to February.
Conor Shaw, CEO of Bizimply said: “Businesses across the hospitality sector will be hoping this small decrease in vacancies accelerates during the rest of this year and into 2024, creating a better environment for staff recruitment and retention after a long period of labour shortages.
“In the short term, however, many operators will be struggling to fill shifts over the Bank Holidays next month. These long weekends, combined with extended trading hours for the Coronation, are golden opportunities for our sector, and those businesses who can crack the staffing issue should reap the rewards.
“Ensuring that enough experienced staff are available for the peak trading periods, as well as scheduling shifts around team members’ own plans, will be essential to success.”
Bizimply’s technology helps hospitality businesses to deploy the right team members in the right place, at the right time, so every shift runs as smoothly as possible. For sites that are running with a shortfall in staff, making sure that existing employees are working effectively is more important than ever.
Automating time-consuming tasks such as creating staff rotas and payroll benefits both business and employees. Managers and supervisors have more time to spend front of house: Bizimply customers report saving up to two days per month on rota creation, as well as more accurate payroll when staff hours are transferred automatically, with their timesheet software factoring in overtime and Bank Holiday rates.
Meanwhile, employees are given their shifts further in advance, are able to control their availability for work via the MyZimply app, and receive their wages more promptly. Shaw says: “At a time when many employees are working longer hours to cover staff shortages, and good ones can move easily to another job, respecting their work life balance in this way can go a long way to motivating them and retaining them in your business.”
Bank Holiday staffing – Bizimply’s Top Tips
Plan for plans to change! Team members’ availability is likely to change, often at short notice, if they decide to go away for one of the long weekends, or watch the Coronation with family or friends. With three Bank Holiday weekend to cover, work with team members to ensure that shifts are fairly allocated, and keep an up to date log of staff who can fill any gaps that arise – or even better, let them record it themselves using the Bizimply app
Schedule multi-tasking teams: fill your rotas as much as possible with staff who can work across your business, so that they can be deployed flexibly depending on where you need help, and can moved even during a shift if required, if queues form at the bar, for example.
Make it fun: long, busy hours can still be fun for your staff. Coronations don’t come round often, so plan for them to watch the key moments on TV during their shift and think about an after-hours party for all the team to thank them for their efforts.
