I walked into a mid-volume venue that couldn’t understand why their labour was sitting above 38%. On paper, everything looked fine—good team, steady trade—but when service started, the problem was obvious. The full kitchen and floor team were rostered on from opening, yet for the first 60–90 minutes, there was barely any business. Staff weren’t doing anything wrong—they were just there too early, waiting for customers that hadn’t arrived yet. The roster had been built around “what might happen” instead of what actually happens. We stripped it back to a lean open, keeping only the essential staff to get through the first part of the day, then staggered the rest of the team to come in closer to peak periods. Within two weeks, labour dropped to around 30–32% without cutting anyone or hurting service. In fact, service improved because the team was sharper when it mattered. The fix wasn’t hiring better staff or working harder—it was simply putting the right people in at the right time. And it all started by following the labour cost control in this link below. https://www.skool.com/the-restaurant-accelerator-9706/classroom/1123542a?md=c314d6f2d19f4da981d0b88a0c304871

Labour cost rarely gets out of control because of wages alone. More often, it drifts upward quietly through poor structure, bad timing, and a lack of clear control during service. In most venues, the issue isn’t that there are too many staff—it’s that they are used inefficiently. Fixing labour doesn’t require drastic cuts or overworking teams; it requires smarter planning and tighter execution.

Welcome to Staff & Hiring This section focuses on managing staff costs, rostering, and labour efficiency. What to Post Here - Rostering questions - Labour percentage concerns - Staffing levels and structure - Scheduling issues - Productivity and efficiency - Overstaffing or understaffing problems - Hiring and firing questions - General Staff Questions How to Use This Section - Provide context (trading hours, team size, venue type) - Share current challenges clearly - Ask specific questions - Keep posts relevant to labour and staffing - No off-topic content - No promotion or advertising - Keep it practical and professional Tip If your issue is about hiring, onboarding, or performance, use the Hiring section instead.

Most operational problems come back to people. Use this section to: - Discuss hiring challenges - Talk about staff performance - Share systems that work (or don’t) - Get input on team issues If your team isn’t running properly, nothing else will.