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Planning the staff requirement is a crucial aspect of managing any food and beverage outlet. It involves understanding the restaurant’s layout, the menu, and the guest capacity. In this blog, we will discuss the factors to consider when planning the staff requirement for your F&B outlet.
Importance of Staff Planning
Efficient staff planning is essential to ensure the smooth functioning of a restaurant. Overstaffing or understaffing can lead to several problems like decreased productivity, unsatisfied guests, and increased labor costs. Therefore, it is important to plan staff requirement carefully and accurately.
Factors to Consider While Planning Staff Requirement
1. Restaurant Layout
The restaurant’s physical layout plays a critical role in determining the number of staff required. The layout includes the seating arrangement, the bar area, the kitchen area, and the service stations. An efficient layout ensures that the staff can perform their duties with ease, leading to better service.
2. Guest Capacity
The guest capacity of the restaurant is directly proportional to the number of staff required. The more guests a restaurant can accommodate, the more staff it will need. It is important to consider peak hours and seasonal variations while planning the staff requirement.
3. Menu
The menu plays a significant role in determining the number of staff required. If a restaurant offers an extensive menu, it will require more staff to handle the preparation and service. Additionally, specialized menus like wine and cocktail menus may require specific staff.
4. Service Style
The type of service style adopted by the restaurant will also determine the number of staff required. A fine dining restaurant will require more staff compared to a fast-food outlet. Moreover, the type of service, such as table service or buffet service, will also impact the staff requirement.
5. Staff Skills
The skills of the staff members also determine the staff requirement. For instance, a restaurant that specializes in cocktails will require a bartender with the right skills and experience. Similarly, a restaurant that offers live cooking will require a skilled chef.
Staff requirement calculation
The staff number and organization of an outlet depends on its type and size. The service design and the standards to be maintained determine the skill levels of the staff. But the number is always about the number of covers to be served. This is also known as the “staff ratio”.
Points to keep in mind whole staffing an outlet are as follows:
- Kitchen efficiency
- Service design and its complexity
- Equipment and modern techniques used
The staff requirement for an existing outlet can be calculated by the formula given below:
Total covers forecast per shift = Number of staff required /Average productivity per shift
Total Covers Forecast: This figure can be achieved by analyzing the past sales records or guest flow reports. This number may not be accurate all the time. But with experience and practice, we can predict a very close to the actual figure.
Average Productivity: This can be measured by analyzing sales per waiter over a given period or a shift. The other commonly practiced method is to calculate the covers served by a waiter over some time.
Total covers served in a shift = Average productivity per shift / Number of waiters in a shift
The above formula might not be effective for a new outlet and fresh requirement. The reason is that average productivity cannot be calculated for a newly established outlet. So, the best way to conclude on staff requirements is to follow the standard guidelines.
The general guideline for specialty restaurant is, for every 30 covers, tow stewards and one supervisor are required, again these numbers are greatly influenced by the complexity of the service design. A 50- cover coffee shop operation may require only three stewards and one supervisor per shift. Because the services offered here are more casual and fewer staff members are required per shift. The objectives of a service professional while staffing are as follows:
- To minimize staffing as low as possible.
- To maintain restaurant standard high.
- Minimizing staff turnover by providing a better work area.
- To maintain a friendly and cooperative attitude among all the staff members.
Staff planning is a crucial aspect of managing a food and beverage outlet. It is essential to consider the restaurant’s layout, the guest capacity, the menu, the service style, and the staff skills while planning the staff requirement. By doing so, restaurant owners can ensure that their staff is efficient and productive, leading to better service and guest satisfaction.