Directions

• Critically analyze the discussion post down below identifying both the strengths and weaknesses.

Requirement

• Please support critique with references provided below

Discussion Post

1. Name and justify several factors that Hoffman could use in forecasting weekly sales?

There are a few things that Ken Hoffman takes into consideration when it comes to sales forecasting for the Hard Rock Cafe. One of the first things they consider is what they did in sales the prior year to date. This would help them have a baseline figure of what to expect from the year before, or at least put them in a similar ballpark of what they did prior. Another factor they look at is if there are any major events in the area, and how many people that event might be bringing in. This would be helpful for the Hard Rock to know because, based on the size of the event, this could boost the sales of the entire restaurant by bringing in many guests that might not have fit into their regular routine. And finally, they look at the trend of sales for the last few weeks overall. This is significant because this will help the business analyze unexpected trends the sales have taken and address the issue, but this can also help them see positive spikes in the sales, and allow them to continue to capitalize on the factors playing into those sales. All these factors together help Hard Rock Cafe come up with a very useful sales forecast to be used for the overall operation of the business.

2. What can be done to lower turnover in large restaurants?

There are a few things that can be done to lower turnover in high functioning large restaurants like the Hard Rock Cafe. One thing that can be done is to make sure to give merit increases based on excellent performance. Employees enjoy when they know what needs to be done to receive higher pay, and so when the restaurants set up programs or systems that allow them to see themselves working towards a raise, there is a higher likelihood that the turnover rate would decrease. Another thing that could help with decreasing turnover is having employee recognition (Verstegen, 2020). This could be done at larger team meetings when you recognize the success of employees in front of the larger group, or it could also be done with earning badges/pins, that employees could wear on the job so that customers and other colleagues can visually see their success, and they also receive the positive affirmation of wearing their success at work.

3. Why is seniority important in scheduling servers?

Seniority is a huge part of retention when it comes to keeping servers within the company. At the Hard Rock Cafe, servers who gain seniority get to have priority when it comes to working preferences. Things like the days they want to work on, the times of their shift, and even the stations they work at are prioritized for the servers that have been there the longest. This is super important because this is another incentive for employees to stay at the Hard Rock longer since that already has high turnover due to their industry.

4. How does the schedule impact productivity?

Scheduling impacts productivity for a multitude of reasons when it comes to running a restaurant. First, having the right amount of people scheduled helps the Hard Rock cafe operate at its highest level so that they are able to meet the demand at the necessary level. If there is a huge amount of customers who come in, but they don't have the right amount of people scheduled, they will not be a productive restaurant, where the waits will be extremely long to be seated and get their food. The flips side of it could also be being over-scheduled as having too much staff at once, which means you are having to pay for staff that isn't necessary to operate at the level needed for the restaurant. When you have a well-curated schedule, this helps create very productive environments for the business, but most importantly the customers as well.

Reference

Verstegen, C. (2020, February 21). How to calculate your restaurant turnover rate - on the line: Toast pos. On the Line | Toast POS. Retrieved November 22, 2021, from https://pos.toasttab.com/blog/on-the-line/restaurant-turnover-rate.