Scheduling, we all have been there, sitting down to write our staff’s schedule and we see that five servers have requested the next week, 3 cooks can only work 20 hours and the entire host team has gone back to school. Once upon a time we would automatically think to give those available extra hours, and pay them overtime. However, with 2016 welcoming in new minimum wage regulations and 2017 welcoming in new overtime pay regulations, we will be forced to reconsider how those hours are distributed.
To help you transition into following these new regulations successfully, we have identified three tricks that we will ultimately advance your schedule writing skills. We are confident with these tricks you will be able to keep a strict schedule, that not only abide by the new labor laws but, that also keep your bottom line growing.
First, have a firm rule with all of your employees that everyone on your payroll must ask for time off 4 weeks in advance. Time off should be requested in one book that is kept in the same location at all time. When requested a manager should sign and date when the request was made. This will stop any employee from saying favorites are considered when time off is given/ allowed.
Second, write your schedule two weeks in advance. We know this seems like it is is impossible but, once you begin to do it on a normal basis it truly becomes second natural. Writing your schedule two weeks in advance allows your staff enough time to change their schedule around, with a managers approval should they need to change things around.
Third, we highly recommend using a scheduling writing computer system. Our personal favorite is HotSchedules. The program allows you complete control when scheduling your staff. You are able to set the amount of employees needed on a daily basis, change schedules with the click of a button and gain complete control over your employees schedule. HotSchedules has the options of iPhone and Android Apps and is extremely user friendly.
Lastly, we know the difficulties with hanging a large staff, if you are able to keep open lines of communications and make you staff feel valued the more likely they will be to respect you and your schedule.
