How Employee Communication Apps Promote Restaurant Agility

Restaurant, hospitality, and convenience store operating environments are constantly shifting. Reductions in operating capacity, changing operating hours, limited menus, and an emphasis on different sales channels are driving fluctuations in labor forecasts and employee schedules. These changes can lead to disruptions, creating new stresses for both managers and team members. In an uncertain environment, consistent communication can make all members of an organization feel more secure and more productive. Restaurant management software can help promote open channels of communication while still maintaining a professional environment. 

Although the Covid-19 pandemic is now behind us, the restaurant industry has learned many important lessons along the way. Below, we will outline how restaurant management software with communication capabilities helped restaurants respond quickly to changing circumstances so to protect profitability and the customer experience. 

Communication is key

At a time when transaction volume had been reduced by over 40% because of pandemic-related closures and hours reductions, usage of TeamworX Message Center communications went up 31% since the beginning of March 2020, with over one million messages being sent. 

Here's a handful of the kinds of communications we saw at the start of the Pandemic:

• Changing store hours - With changes in local restrictions and consumer demand, restaurants were having to change their store hours, which in turn meant that employee schedules were changing. As the pandemic progressed, some stores also changed their hours back to what was set before the pandemic. 
• Shift coverage -Stores were looking for additional coverage, either because of furloughs, employee’s sheltering-in-place, or because someone at a location contracted COVID-19, and thus the regular staff is unable to cover the store for a given period.
• Improved wellness programs - At least one client has added some new Mental Wellness options for their team members, and the location chose TeamworX as the way to make sure their entire staff was aware of these new options.
• Standards for re-opening - As stores began re-opening and requirements shifted, it was crucial for management to relay new expectations to staff. This included new uniform requirements (PPE), preparations for dining room openings, supply chain updates, and more. 
• Team appreciation - The first few weeks of the pandemic were uncertain and stressful for staff and customers alike. Restaurant management utilized communication apps to share their appreciation for staff, and positive “we’re in this together" messages.
  
  

Enhanced restaurant management software for ideal operations

The value of timely and consistent communication is imperative. Our product teams have set their sights on tools to aid labor scheduling and enable management to deploy more effectively in this post-pandemic landscape. We’ve continued to move full speed ahead by creating an all-new method to allow managers to flexibly distribute their task-based ideal labor hours within a shift. This enhancement allows management to smooth out peaks and valleys in their ideal hours. It also ensures the right number of employees are in the store at the right time, completing those mission-critical tasks.

Along with enhanced task management, we’ve made bi-directional communications between management and staff more flexible to help make restaurant communication more effective and to allow team members to feel more heard. 

Even now, years after the onset of the pandemic, Crunchtime has been continuously striving to create and improve restaurant management software that focuses on maximizing operational agility so that each restaurant is set up for success. 

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