Predictive Scheduling in Restaurants

Introduction: Improving Efficiency

Restaurants and other businesses have improved their efficiency by adjusting workers’ schedules
day by day and even hour by hour. If the weather turns bad, some waiters and kitchen staff might
get a call not to come in for hours they expected to work. A surge in traffic after a local event
might lead managers to call in extra workers. With this approach to scheduling, the business is
paying only for the workers it needs.

Challenges for Workers

Unpredictable schedules cause problems for employees.
Many restaurant jobs are part-time, and many employees want to work more hours. One option
would be to take a second part-time job, but being on call at the first job makes it impossible.
Other challenges with a schedule that changes from week to week are that these employees have
difficulty attending school and arranging child care.

Variable schedules affect sleep and availability.

When variable schedules combine working through closing one night and starting at the next
day’s opening, it may also be impossible to get enough sleep. Despite these challenges, workers
typically say they are available anytime because they have found that employers otherwise do
not hire them.

Predictive Scheduling Laws

Some places have laws to help stabilize worker schedules.
In New Hampshire, Oregon, and some U.S. cities (including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia,
and Seattle), workers’ complaints about these conditions have led governments to pass laws
requiring “predictive scheduling.” These laws specify the amount of notice (say, seven days) that
restaurants must give employees before they have to compensate them. Employees called with
less notice must be paid extra. Employers may also have to pay a few hours’ wages to employees
who are on call but not called in. Some of the laws set a minimum amount of rest time between
the end of one shift and the start of the next.

Meeting the Challenge

How managers handle predictive scheduling laws.
Where predictive scheduling laws apply, restaurant managers are scrambling to meet the
challenge of predicting work far enough ahead, often with scheduling software such as
Homebase, 7shifts, and HotSchedules, which estimate demand and provide a way for employees
to opt-in or out of working certain blocks of time. Even where these laws are not in place, some
managers consider predictable schedules the right way to treat employees.
Mary Cho’s approach to scheduling.
Mary Cho, co-owner of Dak & Bop in Houston, says scheduling is a constant challenge but also
“an essential part of being a good employer” because it recognizes that workers are human
beings with a variety of obligations, not just being available to work. She asks employees to tell
her when they’re available, and then she uses Homebase to assign workers to hours they have not
blocked off.

Questions:

1. Using the concept of Human Capital as outlined in Figure 1.2, explain how the unpredictable
scheduling practices described in the case study might impact the type of human capital in a
restaurant. Consider factors such as training, experience, and relationships in your response.
2. Discuss how the behavior of human capital (motivation and effort) is likely affected by the
unpredictable scheduling described in the case study.
3. Analyze the potential effects of predictive scheduling laws on organizational performance
(quality, profitability, and customer satisfaction) in restaurants, as indicated in the case study.
4. How can predictive scheduling impact the recruitment and selection process in the restaurant
industry? Provide examples from the case study to support your answer.
5. Using the concept of performance management, analyze how predictive scheduling can
influence the preparation and administration of performance appraisals in a restaurant setting.
What role does feedback and coaching play in this context?
6. Discuss how the implementation of predictive scheduling affects employee relations in
restaurants. How do attitude surveys and labor law compliance factor into this scenario?
7. How can the responsibilities of supervisors in HR activities, as described in the case study,
impact the implementation of predictive scheduling in restaurants? Provide specific examples
from the case study to support your answer.
8. Using the example of Becky Robinson and Weaving Influence, analyze the potential
challenges and benefits for a restaurant manager in delegating HR tasks related to predictive
scheduling.
9. Discuss how the principles of communication and motivation can help supervisors effectively
manage predictive scheduling in restaurants. How do these principles contribute to improved
employee relations and business outcomes?
10. Discuss how the integration of technology (e.g., scheduling software) and human resource
management practices can help restaurants maintain a high-performance work system. How
do these practices address the demands for high quality, customized products, and flexible
work arrangements?
11. Would you describe the way restaurants schedule workers as an example of a "flexible" work
schedule? Why or why not?
12. What would you say are a restaurant manager's ethical responsibilities in scheduling
workers? How would a policy of ethical scheduling practices affect a restaurant's business
outcomes?