Red Robin Manager Takes Unexpected Restaurant Events in Stride
Team Activity at One Red Robin Location
Past 180 Days
65
Active Users
327
Shifts Posted
152
Shifts Covered
4.2K
Team Feed Posts
2.9K
Comments
402
Likes
When the staff of Red Robin opened its scarlet doors in an Austin suburb two years ago, they never knew how drastically a scheduling solution would affect their business.
While the back of house worked on mastering their gourmet burger recipes, the front of house was busy getting organized – and downloading Shyft, a workforce management solution popular among hourly workers.
Since Shyft brings together shift covering and workplace communication, Red Robin has been able to use the solution to bring their team together in unique ways. The manager checks Shyft every day when she first arrives, then again in the afternoon for updates on the evening shift.
As she says, “The solution helps get shifts covered – shifts that would otherwise go missing or uncovered.”
However, the solution helped in more ways than they anticipated.
“The solution helps get shifts covered – shifts that would otherwise go missing or uncovered.”
Meeting Unexpected Demand Head-On
Like any restaurant business, some weeks are busier than others – especially during the holiday season. Since this location is across the street from an event center, their demand fluctuates even more than most. For Red Robin, this time of year means multiple shift changes – as many as 10 each week. In the past 180 days, this location has seen 327 shifts posted.
“Whenever we need to, we’ll post open shifts on Shyft so people looking for extra hours can pick them up,” says the manager. “We usually post open shifts in the morning. We have an event center near us, and they don’t always fill out their calendar like we would like them to. So, we post a couple of things onto Shyft to get a few people in.”
This is especially useful when a major event brings in large crowds or last-minute holiday season events increase the number of visitors to the restaurant.
We all know how those events go – the manager rushes to the phones and scheduling list, attempting to bring more people in to avoid understaffing. But with Shyft on board, these overwhelming situations become a lot easier.
Provides Schedule Autonomy for Employees
While it’s clear that Shyft is great for covering shifts, the solution is unique for the hands-off system it provides for management. Like most businesses, staff will request days off when they are sick or have a personal conflict.
After an associate calls in to notify management, they can then post their shift on Shyft since, as the manager says, “It’s the easiest and fastest way to get everyone in the loop.” Once another staff member takes the shift, the only thing management needs to do is update the schedule.
“Everybody feels like it’s easy to use. Without this solution, we would need to spend more time getting employee’s phone numbers and calling them – and typically they don’t answer so you end up leaving a lot of messages. All you can do is hope they call you back… so it takes time.”
Shyft eliminates administrative headaches for management and makes shift swapping smooth and painless for associates.
Builds a “Family” Atmosphere for Staff
Since Red Robin started utilizing Shyft’s messaging feature, the restaurant has also experienced changes in employee morale – and therefore the overall work environment.
In the past 180 days, the Red Robin location has seen 4,178 team feed posts and 2,915 comments on those posts. Since team members become accustomed to messaging each other through the mobile solution, they have naturally grown closer to one another.
“We had an employee appreciation week and frequently have ‘dress-up days’,” the manager says. “On these days, we’ll take pictures of the staff at work in their ‘dress-up’ attire. We’ll then post these photos on Shyft so other employees can see them and know they won’t be the only ones dressing up.”
Having this communication hub not only makes work enjoyable for staff but also improves the experience for customers as well.
“Being able to message each other helps team morale across Red Robin,” she says.
Shyft Makes Shifts Better
Red Robin’s decision to use Shyft has helped them cover shifts easily, reduce management stress, and bring an organized system to their staffing process. And, in the process, they’ve created a better working environment for everyone involved.
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If you’re interested in learning more about Shyft, please contact us to request a demo.
