If you run a bar or restaurant, you know how important it is to have good staff manning the helm. Pulling off a successful New Year’s Eve event in your venue can be especially challenging, with holiday leave, penalty rates and bigger crowds all making it the toughest night of the year to get your staffing plans just right. Here are our top tips for ensuring a stress free evening.
Analyse your processes
New Year’s Eve is all about volume, so you want to get off to a good start. This begins with taking a look at all your steps of service, breaking them down into smaller segments and then adding more people to the line. Adding more staff to the line means each staff member can concentrate on delivery while your guests enjoy seamless and focused service.
Gridding your team and boosting your escalation plan can also go a long way to managing any hiccups during the night – and keeping them minor.
Start earlier
Consider getting your staff together hours before they’d typically start. This way prep can start peacefully, maybe even with some fun, and not in a mad race to get the doors open – nothing kills a vibe quicker than a frenetic energy. It’s especially nice if you can all take a break as a team before the night starts. Let the room come to a rest and begin the night feeling fresh and energised.
A break before service gives you the opportunity to properly brief all staff. And it can also be a lovely time for a tiny pre-shift toast, where you can thank your team for all of their hard work over the year.
Limit the choices
If you’re running a restaurant why not run a special New Year’s Eve set menu, and if you’re running a bar, why not limit the cocktail menu. Focusing on doing a few things well helps to:
- Keep the team focused
- Limit the chances of things going wrong
- Save time by allowing for tasks to be batched in greater quantities
Wrangle those lines
If you’re planning a big-ticketed event consider managing the crowds with something like Eventbrite or Ticketbud. People hate lines and you want to give your guests the best experience, from the moment they get to your premises, to the moment they leave. Holding a ticketed event makes check-in easy, with staff able to use an app to tick people off, but it also helps you keep track of attendees and their details. A ticketing app also helps you reach your guests easily if you need to communicate any last minute changes.
Get your staff numbers just right
This goes without saying, but you need to carefully consider, ‘Do you have enough staff on hand for New Year’s Eve?’. Make sure your bar is fully stocked and you have enough bartenders on hand to serve all of your guests. While all venues are different, many party planners recommend a ratio of 1 bartender to every 50 guests – this will keep your guests happy, the lines manageable, and will help you avoid over-staffing your event.
Using an integrated rostering system, such as Deputy, can help take the stress out of managing your human resources on such a big night. With Deputy you can:
- Roster staff depending on areas, roles and activities
- Take into account staff leave when curating your roster
- Manage overtime and fatigue
- Accurately cost your staff expenses
Learn more about Deputy and how it can help you get more organized and less stressed in 2018.
