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Labour Analytics in Hospitality: Spend Less on Guesswork, More on Guests
Rosters, breaks, prep, service, close — labour is the heartbeat of your venue and your biggest controllable cost. But most operators still make staffing calls by gut: “Feels quiet, cut someone.” “Big booking — add two.” That’s risky. The right labour analytics turn your roster into a profit lever — boosting service quality while protecting margin.
What Is Labour Analytics (and Why It Matters)?
Labour analytics connects your staffing to outcomes — sales per labour hour, covers per staff, wage % by hour, and the true cost of each shift. It highlights where you’re over-rostering, where service suffers, and how to schedule smarter without burning out your team.
Sales / Labour Hour
Are shifts paying for themselves?
Wage % by Hour
Shows costly lulls and profitable peaks.
Covers per Staff
Balance service quality and efficiency.
The 6 Labour Metrics Every Venue Should Track
- 1) Labour Cost % of Sales
Sustainable ranges are typically 25–35% depending on concept and service model. Persistently higher? You’re likely over-staffed or revenue per hour is too low. - 2) Sales per Labour Hour (SPLH)
The clearest signal of shift productivity. Track by role and by hour to see exactly where margin is made or lost. - 3) Wage % by Hour / Daypart
Plot wage % across the day. If 2–4pm always spikes, trim tasks or pull forward prep. - 4) Demand Fit (Roster vs. Footfall)
Compare rostered hours to actual sales/footfall. Great for catching default over-rostering. - 5) Overtime & Penalties
Monitor spikes around holidays and late closes. Small leaks here become monthly blowouts. - 6) Role Mix Efficiency
FOH/BOH ratios and senior/junior balance. Too senior-heavy = expensive. Too junior-heavy = service risk.
Common Labour Traps (That Quietly Kill Margin)
– Scheduling to “feel”, not facts, leading to chronic over-rostering.
– Treating all weekdays the same. (They’re not.)
– Prep bloat: tasks that expand to fill available hours.
– Ignoring penalties and overtime patterns around events/public holidays.
– Incomplete data: POS says one thing, rosters say another — no single source of truth.
How Raise The Bar Turns Rosters into ROI
Unified data, zero spreadsheets
We combine POS, roster, and wage rules to give you one clean view of labour % by hour, role, and venue.Shift-level recommendations
“Add 1 FOH Friday lunch (historically +$480 sales).” “Trim 1 BOH 2–4pm (no service impact).”Penalty and overtime alerts
We flag costly patterns and suggest roster tweaks to avoid unnecessary loadings.Benchmarking that actually helps
See how your wage % and SPLH compare to similar venues — anonymously — so you can staff with confidence.Stress down, service up
Clear targets and simple prompts reduce decision anxiety for managers and give teams a fair, predictable plan.
5 Quick Wins This Week
Audit the dead zone
Find your highest wage % hour and either move prep, tighten tasks, or shorten the shift.
Lock role ratios
Set a baseline FOH/BOH and senior/junior mix per daypart to avoid random creep.
Cap overtime
Use roster rules to warn at 7.5h and hard-stop at 8h unless approved.
Schedule to sales
Match staff to historic hourly sales by weekday; adjust for events and weather.
Track SPLH by role
Celebrate top-performing shifts and coach the laggards with concrete examples.
Close with intent
Define a standard close checklist and time box it — don’t let it sprawl.