The best time to control labor cost is in advance. The key to advance control lies in efficient scheduling, and efficient scheduling requires an understanding of the quantitative and qualitative aspects of each job category and the forecasted level of business activity. One cannot forecast without knowledge of what transpired in the past and the conditions which impacted sales activity.
Once labor cost has been incurred, it cannot be lowered or recovered. If you were overstaffed yesterday, you cannot recover the cost by under staffing tomorrow. Therefore, you must schedule only the amount of labor hours needed for the forecasted volume of business activity.
“Precontrolled” implies advance planning compared with “after the fact” corrective action.
About the Author
The advice in this article is based on over 30 years of experience consulting with restaurant start ups and existing restaurant owners throughout the United States. Every restaurant project is unique. If you would like to discuss your specific situation with Ron, please visit our Contact Us page or call us at 866-903-5875 to schedule a confidential consultation.
