Lower Your Labor Cost: How to Control Management's Natural Tendency to Overstaff

There are lots of situations restaurant managers don't like and one at the top of the list is being caught in a rush and not having enough people on the floor. I personally know the feeling and agree that it's not my idea of a good time either.

As a result of this however, many managers over-compensate and take the easy way out by adding extra personnel and hour to the schedule, "just to be sure" they're covered. While this may make them feel more secure about being able to handle an unexpected rush, it's also one of the most expensive things you can do in this business. If the bump in sales doesn't materialize you're left with too many people on the floor and on the clock.

Many independent restaurants end up spending a lot more for hourly labor than they really need to, because of this type of mind-set and the lack of a good labor scheduling discipline.

Over the years I've had the opportunity to work with several sharp operators who have taught me a lot about stretching every labor dollar using a "purchase order" or "budget" approach to preparing their weekly labor schedule.