How To Measure Hospitality Productivity

By David Rigbye January 25, 2022

The hospitality industry is a difficult one to navigate, particularly in the uncertain landscape created by the COVID pandemic. Even before lockdowns and QR codes, there are still many different kinds of variables that can affect hospitality productivity.

That is why it is important to have tangible measurements that you can use in order to ensure that your business practices are effective. If you can observe these measurements relating to hospitality productivity, you can accurately determine which aspects of your business are working, and which ones you need to improve upon.

In the long term, this will allow your hospitality business to not only be productive, but also stay productive as business landscapes change. A successful business must be adaptable, and these measurements make hospitality productivity possible.

Operandio - Hospitality Productivity

What do we use to measure hospitality productivity?

In order to effectively measure hospitality productivity, there are visible parameters that you can use. This is a combination of qualitative and quantitative information that combine to give you a comprehensive view of the many parts of the machine that is your business.

Staff Output

A business is only as strong as its employees, regardless of whether or not it is in the hospitality industry. There are many parts to keep track of when it comes to staff productivity, such as;

  • Their hourly output, i.e. how many customers your employees can serve per hour, how many sales they can generate, etc.
  • Their speed in completing tasks, as a staff member might be able to serve many customers, but what if they are unable to complete other tasks in an adequate period of time?

Labour Costs

A business is only as successful as the profit it makes. As a result, there needs to be financial figures that can be observed in order to guarantee that the business is not in danger of hemorrhaging money. When observing hospitality productivity via labour costs, it is important to look at;

  • Labour cost as a percentage of total sales, signifying the amount of money that will be deducted from the business’ profit in order to be reinvested into staff productivity. If you are spending too much money on the labour of your employees, it’ll limit your capacity to make a sizable profit.
    • Another way of looking at this particular figure is as the labour cost per customer, as there is no point in spending extra money on boosting staff productivity if your customer base isn’t large enough to justify it.
  • Labour cost as a percentage of each department’s sales, as this helps you determine the scope of any process changes you might need to make. After all, it would be incredibly inefficient to enact business-wide changes if there are only labour-cost discrepancies affecting the staff productivity of a single department of your business.
  • Labour cost compared to budget and/or budget forecasts for each department. If your accountant keeps having to raise their projections because there is an upward trend in your business’ labour costs for a certain department, it implies that you need to make some adjustments to that departments’ processes in order to effectively boost staff productivity.

Return on Investment

It is said that a business “only gets out what it puts in”. However, this does not guarantee that every investment in the hospitality industry will directly translate into hospitality productivity. It is important to have a thorough understanding of the benefits that your business is reaping from the investments you sow.

How much are you spending on equipment to boost staff productivity, for example? Can you see a connection between how much you spend, and other factors such as the aforementioned staff output and labour costs? If not, it is likely that you need to recalibrate what you’re spending your business’ money on.

If there is a discrepancy between hospitality productivity and the money you’ve spent, it is very important to look into why.

Customer Service

It sounds obvious, but it is important nonetheless to pay attention to your customers.

  • Are you meeting their demands?
  • What is the volume of complaints you receive, and from how many people? 
  • Are there specific problems that get raised often?
  • Have you seen a significant rise or drop in the amount of customers your business is serving?

Sure, opinions are not empirical, unlike hard numbers. That said, the goal of your hospitality business is to convince people to purchase your goods. If customers are repeatedly unsatisfied with your business, that is something that you cannot afford to ignore. Don’t be afraid to use customer opinion to inform your approach to staff productivity as well.

Are there any solutions that will help my business measure hospitality productivity?

If you’re looking for the solution that will help you effectively and efficiently measure the hospitality productivity of your business, your best bet is a comprehensive software solution. That’s where Operandio comes in, being a versatile productivity management platform that helps you keep track of your metrics when it comes to the operation of your business.

What features does Operandio have?

Operandio’s productivity management software features many tools, which work seamlessly to streamline business processes, making it the ideal software to both analyse the staff productivity of your business and then take action based on the results. Using Operandio will give you unprecedented control over the daily operations of your workplace.

Operandio - monitor real time staff performance

An extensive library of templates

Many industries rely on Operandio productivity management software to keep their employers abreast of their tasks, meaning that there exists a wide range of checklists available to accommodate different kinds of businesses. Alternatively, you can create your own processes from scratch to meet your own employees needs and boost staff productivity.

A thorough progress tracking system

Operandio productivity management software involves a feature of progress tracking which lets you keep track of everything. Easily follow through on all the tasks your employees have yet to accomplish, monitor your KPIs, and give your front-line employees feedback. 

A powerful search function

With the information you provide, Operandio productivity management software creates a structured Knowledge Base. Using simple keywords, you and your staff can then access this Knowledge Base on any device, anywhere and anytime. Allow your employees to operate autonomously with the answer to any questions they might have a simple button press away.

Easy procedural updates

Operandio productivity management software makes updating procedures as easy as possible. At the click of a button, you can update your procedures and notify your entire team. That way, all of your employees know exactly what to do in any given scenario.

A customizable message system

Communication is key, and Operandio productivity management software helps you keep in constant contact with all of your employees. Contact individual frontline workers, departments, a specific branch location, or your entire staff with ease.

An easy-to-use feedback system

You are able to use Operandio productivity management software to prioritize important messages for your staff and make sure they are actioned. Then, you can provide feedback to your staff so that they are always aware of possible improvements.

SOP action and compliance records 

Operandio productivity management software keeps a stamp on your SOP action and compliance records of important details such as date, day, time, location and employee. With this, you can prove to your insurer beyond any possible doubt that your business is insurable. Not only does Operandio aid businesses with their operations, businesses are also able to lower their insurance premiums as well.

Operandio - Restaurant Productivity

Why is Operandio the optimal productivity management software for measuring your business’ hospitality productivity?

With Operandio, you can take the hassle out of managing the day-to-day operations of your employees.

Help Your Employees Optimize Their Workflows

  • Build checklists and tasks for your recurring and ad hoc processes.
  • Track your employees and make sure they meet deadlines and complete their work.
  • Assign jobs to individuals, groups, divisions, and entire branches.
  • Manage processes across multiple locations and keep employees updated.

Provide Your Employees with a Knowledge Base

  • Create instructional videos, how-to guides, manuals, and standard operating procedures that your employees can access at any time.
  • Integrate these materials into your communications with employees.
  • Improve the standards and efficiency of your staff onboarding and training

Encourage Employee Communication

  • Get in touch with your whole team.
  • Give employees immediate feedback.
  • Give your employees access to business information and documents from any device.
  • Verify that important messages have been read.

How much is Operandio productivity management software going to cost me?

There are currently two pricing plans for Operandio employee management system.

  • Business Employee Management Software is ideal for managing day-to-day business operations for an affordable price, as you’ll receive:
  • Unlimited process & task management
  • Team communication & news feed
  • Business Knowledge Base
  • Manager dashboard & notifications
  • Unlimited 24/7 support
  • Enterprise Employee Management Software is an option for large or complex businesses that require custom configuration, where you’ll receive everything in the business plan, and:
  • Detailed reporting
  • Bespoke roles & permissions
  • Custom organization structure
  • Custom billing terms
  • Dedicated Enterprise support

Request an Operandio demo today, and take control of your business’ hospitality productivity with the best productivity management software.