Why You Need to Use a Daily Schedule Template for Your Restaurant

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The Importance of a Scheduling Template

Running a restaurant is basically like running a business that never sleeps. Demands range from product quality to inventory maintenance to hospitality, plus a plethora of other important factors that cannot be neglected. Another important task that cannot go left unnoticed is employee scheduling, as it is imperative that all of your employees stay on top of their game while also presenting optimal customer service.

However, you should also bear in mind that your employees are also people, and they have their limitations. When the work schedule becomes overbearing and you're go-to employees are unavailable, you will inevitably require replacements to cover those shifts.

Having a well-prepared shift-based plan will ensure that your restaurant business continues to run smoothly. However, preparing the schedule spreadsheet for a restaurant can be quite taxing and there is a lot of tedious paperwork involved. In addition, you need to be quite wary of your allowed budget in regards to overstaffing and understaffing.

Leveraging on new technology, fondly referred to as an employee scheduling software, can be a great way to relieve yourself of the daunting task of having to dedicated almost a day's worth to organizing and preparing your employee schedule. This can give you enough time to focus on other areas of your business, which would also greatly boost productivity.

If you've yet to try a software solution program, you can ease into the process and begin with creating a daily schedule template. Using a set schedule template keeps you and your employees on the same page, as every one of them would be informed and in the know of their shift times or changes to the schedule.

In this article, we will be delving into the core reasons why a daily schedule template will help you save time and money, while also boosting productivity amongst you and your team.

What is a Schedule Template?

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A schedule template is somewhat like a shift-timetable. It takes the form of a calendar because it is meant to facilitate shift scheduling at workplaces, such as a restaurant where each employee is assigned a shift. This template would contain the functions and shift-time of each employee for the week.

An employee schedule template can ease the scheduling process, especially in the restaurant workplace. The application the daily schedule template is offered through typically also allows employees and management to communicate through the platform. It can also be used as a reliable tool to notify when a last-minute change occurs.

Furthermore, using a customizable digital template is far superior than a handwritten template. With a digital template, you can set the shifts to suit the needs of your restaurant to match the availability of your employees. Once the daily schedule template has been created, you can disperse the schedule either through email or through the application. You also have the option to print and post the schedule in a visible area of the restaurant.

Because the schedule template also provides employees an overview of their daily and weekly activities assigned for the week, employees will also be aware of who they will be working with, as well. In addition, because the schedule is sent out in advance, employees also have enough leeway to trade shifts with coworkers if necessary. This will allow your restaurant to run more smoothly and avoid employees neglecting responsibilities or employees mistakenly not showing up for scheduled shifts.

How to Merge a New Schedule into an Existing One

If you plan to implement a new schedule into an already existing one or perhaps replace it altogether, you should consider giving your employees pre-notification regarding the intended changes to be made in the schedule. An altered employee schedule shouldn't take effect automatically as it may likely affect your employees' preset plans.

Instead, you can start by sending a message through the app, which will then send a notification to your employees of the upcoming changes. This will give your employees enough time to readjust. When giving notice, ensure you do so allowing at least a week in advance, so it won't disrupt your employees lives outside of work. When you're consistent, your employees are less likely to miss a shift when the new one takes effect, and this will also prevent turnover.

How to Prepare Your Employee Schedule Template

There are some factors you should take into account, prior to creating your daily schedule template. These factors would ensure the seamless scheduling of your employees and high quality work.

1. Avoid churning out new schedules every week
Your daily schedule template should bear some basics. For starters, your schedule should have set start and end times. With this as a standard, you can easily make adjustments, so if an employee asks for time off or calls in sick, you can quickly fill in for that shift with a replacement.

2. Create an avenue for employee input
Creating a workplace environment where employees can also submit their time-off requests would tremendously aid the preparing of your employee schedule template. It would also avoid employees not showing up for their shifts, because they decided to take the day off, regardless of management approval. However, requests for time-off submissions should have a deadline as time is of great essence. Meeting in the middle offers a great solution.

3. Leverage on tech to make your employee scheduling seamless
Leveraging on technology to create an employee schedule template ensures you make data-influenced decisions instead of relying on sheer intuition. Using garnered data to make decisions saves you both labor and time costs.

The need to have a daily schedule template cannot be overemphasized as it is quite crucial to the productivity of your restaurant's business and well-being. The cost of not having a working template can be dire, as you won't get to keep track of your employees' time worked, which will fall back on poor management.

Harness an employee schedule template today and run your business effortlessly.

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