Online Restaurant Scheduling Software Saves A Life …Literally!

27 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

16992969-professional-burglar-in-black-mask-opened-a-small-safe-holding-hand-gun-and-aimingHundreds of thousands of robberies occur each year, and many of the criminals who commit these crimes target restaurants late at night. A lone manager with maybe a few employees at best, lots of cash, and the darkness of night to slip away into is an alluring temptation for these perpetrators. They enter the building after it’s closed to the public, hold any remaining people at gun point and demand all the cash and valuables that they can forcefully take.

Sometimes they leave without a shot fired, but other times the victims unfortunately turn out to be casualties. whether from being locked in an industrial refrigerator overnight so the criminals can get away unabated, or from violent assaults — through force or weaponry. Either way, it’s no secret to any restaurant manager that working late at night, alone in their business, can be a dangerous situation.

To my surprise, we were recently contacted by one of our clients, wanting to thank us for saving his life. Saving his life — seriously? I’ve always been very happy and proud to know that our online restaurant scheduling software makes our clients’ lives easier, but I never thought it would actually save a life!

He explained that he’s always had to stay at his restaurant all alone until quite late at night to complete the weekly work schedule. He had apparently done this for most of his career — until he signed up for our online restaurant scheduling software.

Two masked intruders, armed with shot guns, recently robbed his restaurant. When he and his owners later looked at the security cameras, they saw the two men violently breaking through doors and smashing everything in sight. At one point, when they were near his office, it appeared that the robbers heard a noise.

One of the men turned quickly and fired a shot.

“I normally would have been there alone, working on my schedule at the time of the robbery. I had only left moments earlier to work on it from home instead,” he told us, with growing emotion in his voice. “Instead of being the victim of a violent crime, I was home with my family because of your software.” At that point his appreciation and thankfulness poured out.

Online restaurant scheduling software not only allows you to create your schedules more efficiently from anywhere you please, but it also changes your life in ways you can’t even imagine.

Sign up for online restaurant scheduling software from www.whattimedoiwork.com today and enjoy the convenience of scheduling whenever and wherever you please. Cause it just might save your life someday!


Restaurant Employee Scheduling Software Proves Who The Real Liar Is!

25 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Employees are constantly challenging their managers — pushing the limits of what they can get away with. They continuously keep managers and owners on their guard for the next scam being sent their way. They can have quite a gift for exaggeration and a flair for the dramatics when going down these paths.  “Trust me!” is something I’ve heard time and time again.

After speaking with a former employee of many years ago, Tony, he mentioned one such incident that has always stuck in my mind — the day that our restaurant employee scheduling software proved he was not a liar.

restaurant employee scheduling softwareHe had a troublesome co-worker who was constantly trying to create a rift between him and his general manager in never-ending ploys to get what she wanted. Time and time again he would be put into frustrating situations when she would blatantly lie about issues that had no proof on either side. Each time these uncomfortable moments would occur, it would leave another scar on Tony’s name, ruining his reputation with his general manager and the owners as well. Even though Tony could not prove that he was telling the truth when explaining his side of the story, he also could not prove that the troublesome employee was lying either. The question would then remain with the general manager and owner as to who was the real liar and who was telling the truth.

One day his general manager approached him angrily, questioning his ability to follow the requests in their restaurant employee scheduling software, and why he had scheduled the troublesome employee for a shift that she had requested off weeks in advance of the schedule being made. Confused and bewildered, he explained that he had acknowledged all the requests that were in the scheduling software, but the general manager replied that he had looked in the system already and saw that the request was in there, but had not been acknowledged.

Of course the employee did not show up to her shift that day because of this apparent mistake, which created a chaotic day for the rest of the staff and management as they struggled to meet the demands of the business in her absense. Feeling that he had made an error, Tony humbly appologized and felt the growing distrust in his reputation. Unfortunately for the troublesome employee, though, the situation resurfaced again under different circumstances.

In the next manager meeting, the owner showed up, also angry with what had occurred. He questioned Tony’s motives behind scheduling the employee, and explained how the employee had approached him as well about the issue. Thinking quickly, he replied, “Let me take a look at this request,” and quickly ran to the office to open up the restaurant employee scheduling software.

To his surprise and relief, Tony finally got the opportunity he deserved. The employee in question had submitted her request the very morning of the shift in question. She missed the shift for her own reasons and only put the request in a day before complaining about the problem to the general manager and owner — in an attempt to absolve herself of her own guilt. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to her, there is a time stamp on each request, and the restaurant employee scheduling software recorded the exact time that the request was made, proving that she had blatently lied about the situation.

With great pride, Tony returned to the meeting and made his own request. He said, “would you all please come to the office and take a look at this request?” Apologies were made, Tonys reputation was restored and the troublesome employee was reprimanded the very next day.

Tell us your story about how whattimedoiwork.com’s restaurant employee scheduling software has kept things fair in your workplace.


4 Ways To Be A Better Boss

18 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Utilizing Employee Scheduling Software Allows You to be a Better Boss!

Did you know woes in the workplace are costing employers $360 billion per year? In a 2012 study, positive business expert Michelle McQuaid reported that more than half of the employees polled thought they would be more successful in their careers if they got along better with their bosses. Thirty-one percent of those polled said they feel uninspired and unappreciated by their bosses, and almost 20 percent said their bosses have little-to-no integrity. This lack of morale is taking a toll on both employees and their bosses, with productivity and the bottom line taking a big hit.

Employee scheduling software can keep bosses from becoming another statistic. Here’s how:

1. Encourage effective communication.

Employee scheduling software allows managers to input their employees’ requests and restrictions – such as their weekly availabilities, vacation days, etc. In order to enter that information into the system, though, employees have to communicate those needs to their bosses.

This practice not only encourages employees to keep in constant communication, which will help to avoid misunderstandings, but also encourages them to take responsibility and initiative in order to get their preferences, rather than acting passive aggressively.

In settings that don’t use scheduling software, employees may be too shy or afraid to confront their boss about the hours that he or she has given them. But when software is used for the schedule, employees can simply update their information in the system and avoid those uncomfortable situations.

2. Eliminate feelings of favoritism or nepotism.

Bosses who lack integrity and have unfair practices, like playing favorites, don’t have much respect from their employees. And workers are less likely to perform tasks if they don’t respect the person they are performing them for. Bosses who engage in questionable practices are also sending a message to their employees that it is okay for them to do the same.

Employees will have a hard time placing blame on bosses who use employee scheduling software, since every employee now has an equal opportunity to input their preferences into the system, despite how much interaction time they have with their boss. Ultimately this will result in employees that won’t be able to hold grudges or have disdain for their boss anymore, for a schedule they deem unfair or unfavorable.

3. Keep organized, and in turn, keep your employees organized.

Workplaces are filled with employees who lack direction because disorganized leaders don’t deliver and manage plans and strategies to guide their teams.

Disorganized leaders breed disorganized workers. Without management plans, well-planned schedules and strategies, workplaces can become a wreck. Posting a timely, orderly schedule each week created by employee scheduling software encourages employees to also be timely and orderly.

Not to mention, time that bosses once spent creating the schedule can be concentrated on making other areas of their business as organized as the schedules.

4. Boost their morale.

After leaving all the heavy lifting of the scheduling process to the software, bosses will have more time to be with their employees. Spending more time together allows bosses to get to know their employees on a personal level and vice versa. From a personal standpoint, showing your employees you care about them makes them more likely to feel appreciated – and in turn, motivated. From a business standpoint, the more you know about your employees, the more familiar you will be with their strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s face it – you can’t make everyone happy. But with employee scheduling software, you can come a lot closer.


6 Reasons Staff Scheduling Software Optimizes Your Business

11 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Staff scheduling can be more trouble than it’s worth – for both employers and employees. So much time and money can be wrapped up in avoiding scheduling conflicts and reminding employees of their shifts, that other vital areas of your business might end up neglected.

Here are six ways employee scheduling software, such as WhatTimeDoIWork.com, makes for a more efficient workplace, not to mention more responsible employees.

  • Employers have easy access from anywhere, at any time. Employers who manage from home or have a long commute to work won’t have to waste a trip to check or create a schedule. They can do it on their home computer or laptop.
  • Employees don’t have to call and ask for their hours. Schedules are accessible 24 hours a day — from any computer or smart phone — as soon as it has been made available.
  • Scheduling conflicts will be a thing of the past. Studies have shown that employees are more likely to welcome their work schedule if it meets their preferences and requests. So, employers can use scheduling software to maintain and track their employees’ availabilities. When an employer creates a new schedule, the software will warn them if they have created a conflict.
  • Staff members receive notifications and updates in seconds. Communicating with a large number of employees can be challenging, and employers may not have the time to call each staff member to inform them of every change. Employers can send important messages and reminders to their entire staff to keep them up-to-date on new regulations and the software will automatically notify the employees of any changes in the schedule.
  • It reminds employees of their upcoming shifts Gone are the days of employees calling into work to find out their shifts. The staff scheduling software includes an optional feature that can send reminders to forgetful employees. Keeping employees in the know reduces the risk of tardiness and no-shows, and employers no longer have to worry about covering shifts or being short-staffed.
  • Labor costs and overtime hours are cut. As each schedule is created, the WhatTimeDoIWork.com software calculates the labor dollars that have been spent and warns the user of overtime dollars that could be avoided. The money saved can then be invested in other areas of the business.

The thought of implementing new software can be daunting.  But, remember, one important aspect to staff scheduling software is time savings. That’s why WhatTimeDoIWork.com offers an online training wizard — so users can learn and review the features of the software at their own pace. The software can import employee information from a computer, which in turn saves an employer time on inputting the information manually.


3 Ways Online Scheduling Software Can Make Things More Convenient

04 Jun, 2013 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Managers of hospitality establishments often wear many hats. They control what happens on the restaurant floor as well as what happens in the back room. Along with those responsibilities, they are also tasked with scheduling employees for their shifts. Unfortunately, this tedious task is often one of the most unflattering and unexciting parts of the job. Thankfully, online scheduling software has turned a once monotonous task into a simple and enjoyable one. Does your company currently utilize online scheduling? Take a look at these 3 ways online scheduling software can make things more convenient, and benefit your business.

  • Real-Time Scheduling – Everyone leads a busy life. Between cooking dinner and taking the kids to their next soccer game, a free moment is hard to find. It is extremely important for employees to know their work schedule as soon as possible so they can plan for the upcoming week. Real-time online scheduling allows a manager to map out and plan the schedule for the following week and it is instantly available in real-time to all employees. This feature allows an employee to read their schedule on their mobile device or any place they have an internet connection rather than making an extra trip to the workplace on their day off. By planning their schedule online, employees will also be informed immediately if a change has been made or if they are no longer needed for their shift.
  • Organize Employee Requests – Managers are often handed a plethora of crinkled papers that ask for shifts, days and weeks off. Unfortunately, if those papers are lost or a manager doesn’t remember that they received the request, upcoming schedules can make employees unhappy and cause no shows. Online scheduling software makes things convenient for not only the manager, but employees as well. As soon as an employee is aware that they will need time off, they can simply enter it into the system themselves, or managers can enter it immediately for them, and they will be reminded on the schedule to not give the employee a shift for that time that they requested off. This capability will equal happy employees and will never put a business in a bind looking for someone to cover a shift at the last minute.
  • Schedule for Sales Trends and Based on Performance – Do you know what your most profitable time of the day is? What about your most profitable employee? Which employees are customers most likely to prefer? With online scheduling software, managers can better determine the most efficient coverage so they can schedule smarter in the future. For many businesses, there are often peak times and slow times during each day. There are also employees who can handle the workload during these times better than others. Having this information allows you to plan for your business’ trends and define which of your employees are most effective based on their performance. With What Time Do I Work.com, you’ll always end up creating a more efficient schedule for your business.

Although the scheduling part of a manager’s job isn’t always fun, it can be a lot easier than most make it by utilizing online scheduling software. Not only does it bring convenience to the job, but it also offers many other features that can benefit and even grow your business. When you spend less time scheduling your employees, you spend more time mingling with your customers, which keeps them coming back for more. More customers equal more revenue, which is really the best part.