How Deputy powers one of Sydney’s most iconic venues

A Lifestyle Brand

Established in 2002, Icebergs Dining Room and Bar is an iconic venue based in Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

The modern Italian dining room and bar, which is perched above a stunning 50 metre saltwater pool, offers one of Sydney’s most photographed hotspots, attracting tourists from around the world.

Having just recently celebrated Icebergs 20th anniversary this year, owner Maurice Terzini said the restaurant's success is something he doesn’t take lightly, describing it as more of a custodianship than an ownership.

Reflecting back on its opening all these years later, Maurice can see how important the popular location was when he embarked on the journey of creating Icebergs in the early 2000s.

“With all that power of the ocean out the window I knew I had the opportunity to create my first truly international restaurant,” he says.

In its 20th year Icebergs has hosted an impressive list of guests – from colorful locals, tourists from around the globe to international celebrities and world leaders.

“We reopened on 14 December last year in time for summer,” says general manager Tasso.

“It was the same day that we first opened back in 2002, which made it extra special considering we were actually closed for seven months for restoration,” he says.

“Icebergs isn’t just a restaurant. It’s a lifestyle brand. We collaborate with artists, musicians and fashion designers. Our team are exceptional at what they do and having the right systems in place to manage them is essential to running an incredibly popular and iconic international venue.”

Ben is a waiter who recently returned for a second helping, drawn back to Icebergs by the friendly team and fabulous location.

“Icebergs has been a wonderful experience. I had worked at Icebergs previously and when I returned to Sydney last year, I heard they were celebrating their 20th anniversary, so I jumped back in,” he says.

“What drew me back to Icebergs was definitely the people, the team, and of course working at such an iconic venue with the sound of the waves outside.”

Managing a hectic schedule

As one of Sydney’s most coveted restaurants, Icebergs gets its fair share of foot traffic.

Back of house operations manager and executive pastry chef Brittany says it can definitely get chaotic when multiple events are on and service is running hot.

“We keep things tight and try not to have an overflow of staff, so when there is an unexpected staffing change it can be quite detrimental to our day,” she says.

“If a few people call in sick or someone is running late it can be a bit of a juggling act. The last thing we want to do is call someone in who is enjoying their day off. We really try to support our staff to have a healthy lifestyle and a balance between work and time off. But sometimes that’s just the nature of the hospitality business.”

Icebergs has been using Deputy as its workplace rostering solution since 2014 and Brittany says the benefits have been significant.

“Deputy has helped a lot with those last-minute changes. We’ve been using Deputy for quite a few years now and I can update the app immediately. I can change a shift, remove a shift, swap a shift and send out new rosters and communications to the team so they get notified straight away,” she says.

“Those changes really help us at the end of each week when it comes time to look at the HR and payroll side. Deputy ensures the rostering is correct, which feeds into time sheets and award rates and ultimately paying our team correctly and on time.”

Onboarding staff has also become a lot easier through the use of Deputy’s secure system which removes the need for manual paperwork.

“The onboarding function is super simple, saves a ton of time and makes sure everything is very streamlined,” Brittany says.

New employees can sign contracts, submit essential details and documents prior to their start date by using Deputy’s onboarding function. The data is able to be tracked by the Icebergs team in real-time, leading to a smooth onboarding process for all.

Using Deputy for these tasks has ensured Brittany is able to remain organised and across all issues concerning staff.

“The biggest thing with Deputy for me is I love to be organised. I embrace the chaos, but if I can organise the chaos as much as I can, I prefer that,” she says.

“Having all my rosters in one area, all my onboarding in one area, being able to do everything in one system, that's just an easy click and go. I don't have to worry about going into six or seven different systems to try and find out little information to just help me for five minutes through my day.

“Deputy makes my day a lot easier and I'm very thankful for it.”

Front of house matters are also made easier with Deputy, according to Icebergs’ restaurant and operations manager Stefano.

On the move

Waiter Ben is well-accustomed to using Deputy. He has the app on his phone and says it’s become the digital home of his working life.

“As a waiter, I use Deputy to keep up to date with my roster, it keeps me informed about upcoming team training events and is where I receive important communication from the management team.

“It’s also how I request time off and be able to forward plan my leave to balance my personal life with my working life,” he continues.

“We also use Deputy for menu updates whenever food and beverage items are changing. It is always there and we can always refer back to it. The information is never lost, which is important.

“Deputy helps the team all stay on the same page and communicate, particularly when things are moving quick.”