The government has announced there will be no visas for "low skilled" workers after leaving the EU. Bar & waiting staff are categorised by the government as low skilled.
If you run a pub this is unlikely to be welcome news. It’s difficult to recruit staff already and a further significant drop in the number of applicants could leave many pubs and bars critically short staffed.
UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls has called the policy “disastrous for the hospitality sector” and if many of your job applicants are from the EU you may well also take this view.
There is time between now the new policy coming into force for changes to be made, but if it is introduced as outlined, what can you as an operator do to prepare?
Apprentices
Having a core team of long term staff will limit the amount of recruitment you will need to do when the new rules come into affect. We wrote about the benefits of apprenticeships in a previous article here. They can be a great way to recruit passionate, long term staff.
Quick and efficient systems
If you might struggle to recruit the staff or you need, you want to make sure those you do have are as efficient as possible. A quick, efficient EPOS is essential for this, as well good operational processes and procedures.
Use the time of the staff you have more efficiently
It will also be important to ensure you use the staff you have at the times that you really need them. With a reduced total pool of hours to draw on, being over-staffed at times will not only cost you more, but could leave you critically short at other times.
BarTab has a built in staff scheduling module that enables you to plan your staff against your sales trends and see where you might be over or under staffed. There are also dedicated staff scheduling systems available, such as Deputy and S4 Labour.
Introduce self service
If you might not have enough staff to provide a good or even acceptable level of service you could look at enabling your customers to serve themselves. There are multiple self-serve options available from self-serve beer taps, iPad menus and smartphone ordering.
Automate time consuming admin tasks
Your staff don’t spend all of their time behind the bar or out on the floor. There’s also admin to take care of. By automating this where possible you could free this time up to get more staff on shift when you need them.
With BarTab EPOS you can automate tasks like ordering stock, management reporting and bookkeeping.
Don’t be too pessimistic
It’s easy to get wrapped up in the news cycle and focus on the worst case scenario. Remember, negative news sells so it’s important to keep a level headed perspective. Keep in mind that a lot can change between now and next January and no one can forecast the real impact a policy like this will have. Take sensible steps to prepare - yes, but then go back to focussing on all the positive ways to drive your business forward.
If you would like to find out more about how Tabology and BarTab EPOS can help you run your pub more efficiently, get in touch.
