The forecasting system and its accuracy are critical to any operation. Knowing how much of the forecasted volume will occur each hour of each day is the only valid way to allocate
hourly resources. Most properties forecast volume by day of the week, but very few track their volume hourly. The property has to know when and how many guests will demand the services offered.
The SMART Staff System software incorporates projection tools that apply a variety of forecasting techniques that weigh the historical volume data. The system then generates an accurate forecast even as the seasons and volume trends change. The system then utilizes the historical data to distribute the Main Volume Forecast over each hour of the day. The scheduling forms show forecasted business volumes for each specific hour as business demand fluctuations throughout the day can be tracked.
Scheduling
Typically, the single largest expenditure a manager makes is the labor expense of his
department. Although most managers must get a superiors approval to purchase anything over a predetermined dollar amount, there are rarely any restrictions placed on managers when it comes to spending thousands, tens of thousands, or, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars each week on labor.
Most managers inherited the way the department schedules employees. When asked why he would use twelve employees on Tuesdays yet only ten on Wednesdays, the manager usually replies “That’s the way we’ve always done it”…and, when asked for a copy of this week’s schedule, the manager will say “It’s the same as last week, just change the dates”.
To accurately and effectively schedule staff so that the guest is properly served and the company improves profits, there are several things that must first be accomplished. The first, and often the most difficult, is the development of service standards. These standards are developed based upon the levels of service the property wants to offer. These standards are developed property specific.
No matter how volume is measured, it is imperative that all departments understand the volumes that drive the need for a specific, standard number of employees to service those forecasted customers. And it is equally important that the managers understand not only the gross forecasted volumes, but also the hourly volume breakdowns relative to the employee standards for servicing guests.
Reporting
The SMART Staff System provides management with a “Report Card” of performance. Simple, easy to understand reports provide senior management with a snapshot of the division’s and department’s daily and weekly performance. The System also provides a detailed daily report that summarizes Forecast, Scheduled, Required (based on Actual Volume), and Actual hours. This allows management to view volume flows and the labor utilized to determine if there were any changes from the norm and if any action was taken from a staffing standpoint to act upon those changes.
