Managing employees: POS labour controls

Feb. 4, 2013 – Whether the challenge is scheduling, security, training, or payroll, new
technology can simplify employee management and reduce labour costs.

Feb. 4, 2013 – Technology is streamlining operations today in every area of your business, extending its reach well beyond the point of sale. This is good news for restaurant operators and franchisors who face a range of challenges managing people and labour costs.
Whether the challenge is scheduling, security, training, or payroll, new technology can simplify employee management and reduce labour costs.


Labour scheduling. With accurate forecasting based on sales history, you can take a lot of the guesswork out of the scheduling process.
Security and loss prevention. It’s the end of the night and the till is short. How are you tracking the reason – or the culprit? The National Restaurant Association estimates that American restaurants lose $2 billion each year to employee theft. From inventory to coupons, it’s inevitable that someone in your restaurant will find a way to steal from you, but with the right alerts and cash controls at the point of sale, it’s possible to block or at least track and investigate most theft.

Records. Accurate employee profiles in the POS system can be a huge time saver when scheduling staff and managing labour costs. From job skills and availability to salaries and work restrictions, you can track and automate many employee management processes.

Time tracking. Set up your point-of-sale system to track employee hours as well as meal and break times. Even more invaluable, use POS reports and dashboards to compare sales versus labour and adjust staffing on the fly.

Availability. Knowing when your staff is available (or not available) makes scheduling easier and faster. The more staff you hire, the more complex building an efficient schedule becomes. Use the tools in your POS to track availability.


Clock in and out controls. Setting clock-in and clock-out controls can help prevent time clock abuse and ensure you pay employees only for hours worked. With a built-in time clock, you can set the number of minutes your employees can clock in or out before or after their shifts. You can also require a manager override to authorize overtime.


Performance management. Does your POS system let you track employee skills and training for promotions and pay increases? Use POS reporting to identify and reward star performers for individual sales performance.

Training and skills tracking. Your employees touch every aspect of the business, from the kitchen to the phones to the dining room – so whether they are interacting with guests or using your expensive equipment, make sure they are trained to do things right. Consider creating a training program that you stick to-and continually update as your business grows, or changes. Then use your POS to track employee skills, certifications, and training completion.

Carmen Vogel-McCombie is a marketing and trade show
co-ordinator at SpeedLine Solutions, Inc., and a contributing editor to On Point: The
Restaurant Technology Blog. For more on how to use your POS to cut labour costs and improve staff performance, download the free e-book: Restaurant Technology Field Guide: Employee Management.