The oceanside restaurant and club have placed all staff on Deputy to boost its award-winning reputation

The Collaroy Beach Club in Sydney’s northern beaches looks out to the Pacific Ocean, taking in breathtaking views of the Central Coast and Long Reef.

No wonder its one of the most popular clubs in the area with 7,500 registered members and a growth rate of new patrons running at five percent a month. However, the stunning view is not the only reason that business is thriving.

The Club puts on great bands on Friday and Saturday nights, the bar is friendly and clean, the club is closely involved with the local community, and the award-winning restaurant, WaterGrill, has a mouthwatering seafood menu. The general manager of the Club, Rob McConnell, takes pride in the club’s service standards and knows that good management tools make a big difference.

When RobMcConnell arrived at the Club, he knew that he could further enhance the way the Club operated. McConnnell had previously worked at a large restaurant and pub in the same area of Sydney and had seen the efficiency improvements that Deputy was providing. When he joined the Club, he quickly introduced Deputy.

Now, it’s an integral part of the Club’s daily operations.

“Everyone at the club uses Deputy and we use it to run a better business,” said McConnell. He said that the Club’s management and staff use all components of the Deputy suite, including timesheet management, tasking, rostering, and communication. Every day, the Club’s managers send out tasks via Deputy to staff, allowing them to clearly know what their responsibilities are.

McConnell said management can easily manage staff at the Club by running the system online. “Deputy helps with the overall rostering and it gives me a degree of confidence that things are being done around the place,” McConnell said. “Our tasking is working and our communication is better.”

Middle managers use the journal system to comment on the performance of individual workers, which the Club sees as important as there are nearly forty casual workers to manage.

Those workplace improvements have helped the Club further build its reputation in the community. The Club recently won two New South Wales Clubs Business Awards for best casual dining outlet and best financial management. Recently a mystery shopper was sent to the Club and they scored 100 percent, further reinforcing their belief that Deputy is ensuring that service standards remain high.

McConnell also said that he uses the Deputy platform to examine rosters and timesheets and manage wage costs, ensuring that expenses remain under control. On the revenue side, the Club’s managers send reminders via Deputy to remind staff of up-sell opportunities in the bar and restaurant.

A major benefit is the sense of ownership that each staff member has in the workplace. They can track tasks, communicate with each other, and in the hurly-burly of daily operations, McConnell knows that important work is being completed.

“Deputy is on most of our senior management computer screens and the staff use it off the Ipad in the bar,” McConnell said. “Our staff have embraced Deputy.”

Most of all, McConnell said that morale is good, and people are connecting with their jobs because their daily tasks are clearly explained.

“If people have clear communications, then people are happy with what they are doing, and that is the key to success in the food and beverage business,” said McConnell.