Tech tools for workforce management

Here’s a look at the growing landscape of software companies offering tech-based tools for managing scheduling:

Restaurant365 pitches its software as an all-inclusive product for restaurants. Accounting, inventory monitoring, and a wide variety of business reporting and data analysis are all part of the platform, in addition to scheduling.

Homebase aims to give restaurant employees a fair schedule and managers peace of mind when balancing employees’ needs and federal and state regulations. Employees can set preferences for when they work. Operators who set schedules are nudged when it’s time to create the next one.

7Shifts takes historic sales data and weather into consideration when guiding operators through making schedules, so this software knows a restaurant will need more employees on a sunny Saturday than a rainy Wednesday. 7Shifts can also calculate labor as a percentage of sales by integrating with a restaurant’s POS.

Push Operations bills itself as an all-in-one labor-management solution, which includes payroll and human resource management. This software assists managers with scheduling and compliance even while a shift is happening, such as by giving managers a heads up when an employee didn’t take a mandated break.

Shedwool’s name is a play on how one might say the word “schedule” real fast. And the software aims to be quick and easy too. Managers have straightforward drag and drop options, and employees can customize their profiles like they might on Facebook.

Related:Why a predictable schedule is vital for restaurant workers

Hotschedules and Fourth merged in July of 2019 and now the combined company helps restaurants tackle two of the most significant issues facing the industry — labor and profit. Employees can swap, pick-up or release shifts or opt-in for automatic shift pick-ups for more hours.

Harri calls itself as an end-to-end workforce management platform. The software helps restaurants build teams by finding talent, onboarding and training. And the software helps manage teams by scheduling, attendance and communication components, along with the ability to analyze employee performance. 

Deputy also offers weekly plans for businesses that run short-term events like catering or festivals, in addition to digital and auto-scheduling services and the ability to manage wage and hourly laws. Restaurants can purchase scheduling or time-and-attendance software separately or combined.

Sling focuses on scheduling but incorporates messaging, news sharing and task management, too. Features on the scheduling side include shift swaps and time clocks. For managers, the software has a built-in labor cost feature.

With Schedule101, restaurants have the modern benefits of cloud-based scheduling with the ability to print the daily roster. The software also offers a handful of communication components including email, texting as well as employee and management message boards.