The hospitality industry is facing a significant staffing challenge, with April 2024 data revealing 107,000 vacancies—a 5.1% rate that exceeds all other UK sectors and is far ahead the 3.2% national average. For many businesses, operating with skeleton staff has become an unavoidable reality that tests both operational capabilities and team resilience.
At Rotaready, we’ve seen these challenges firsthand through the many hospitality businesses we support daily. Our customers often share how they’ve struggled with skeleton staffing before finding the right approach. In this guide, we’ll explore strategies that work and share practical ways to make the most of your limited resources. With the right techniques and tools, you can turn skeleton staffing from a constant challenge into a manageable situation.
Skeleton staff refers to the minimum number of employees needed to maintain operations in a business when full staffing isn’t possible or necessary. This focuses on key functions during periods of reduced demand, seasonal fluctuations or unexpected absences.
Skeleton shifts happen for all sorts of reasons. Maybe it’s the post-Christmas lull, an unexpected flu outbreak among staff or simply the quiet Monday night when business predictably slows. Whatever the cause, your core team suddenly becomes responsible for wearing multiple hats to keep operations working smoothly – your bartender might also be taking food orders and your manager might be helping in the kitchen.
Running with a skeleton staff creates specific challenges. Employees may experience heightened stress while customers might notice longer wait times or reduced offerings. However, with proper planning, good communication and rota systems, these challenges can be managed.
The UK doesn’t have any specific laws just for skeleton staff management. When you’re running with a smaller team, the same employment laws that protect your regular staff apply to your skeleton crew too.
This means all the usual rules still apply – proper break times, maximum working hours and minimum wage requirements remain non-negotiable. Being mindful of these regulations becomes even more important when operating with skeleton staff, as team members often take on additional responsibilities.
Remember, cutting down on employee numbers doesn’t mean cutting corners on legal obligations. Your employees deserve the same safe working conditions and employment rights as any other shift pattern. If you’re concerned about labour costs, check out our blog on How to Strategically Manage Labour Costs in Hospitality.
Running your venue with fewer employees means each team member needs a broader skill set. When your front-of-house team can help behind the bar, or your serving team can handle basic kitchen prep, you gain valuable flexibility during quieter periods. Create a simple training plan that lets your team learn complementary roles – a runner learning to make basic drinks, for example, gives you more wiggle room when making your rota.
Getting your staffing levels right becomes even more important when working with a smaller team. The key is understanding exactly when you need more hands on deck. By looking at your previous sales data, upcoming bookings and seasonal patterns, you can spot the busy periods that need extra coverage.
With Rotaready, you can plan for these ups and downs with confidence. The system lets you flag notable events – such as Valentine’s Day, major sporting events, or your venue’s regular entertainment nights – so you’re never caught unprepared. By connecting directly to your booking or EPOS system, Rotaready pulls in real data to help build rotas that match your business needs.
One of our lovely customers saw amazing results: since getting started with Rotaready, Riding House Cafés have been able to reduce labour costs by 2% and achieve an ROI of 698% across their three sites. Neil Buckingham, Operations Director explains: “With the level of visibility we now have with Rotaready, it’s easier to see midweek how the week is going and be able to flex staffing levels as and when you need to.”
Read more about Riding House Cafes’ success here.
Speaking of systems working together, let’s look at how integrations can further streamline your operation.
Many modern hospitality venues run on multiple systems – from EPOS to booking platforms and payroll. When operating with a skeleton staff, these systems need to work together seamlessly to reduce admin time and prevent costly mistakes. Having your tech stack properly integrated means your smaller team can focus on delivering great service instead of juggling different platforms.
Key benefits of integration include:
Rotaready connects effortlessly with your existing hospitality systems. Whether it’s your EPOS, payroll platform or booking system, our real-time integrations keep everything in sync. This means less time on admin, more accurate data and better decision-making.
For Brucan Pubs, implementing integrated systems made a dramatic difference. They achieved a 688% ROI and saved 21 hours weekly on admin tasks. As Nick Solomides, HR & Recruitment Manager explains: “We wanted to streamline every step of the employee journey, reduce the amount of paper we used and the number of clicks managers had to do. Now, thanks to Rotaready, nothing is more than 2 clicks away.”
Read how Rotaready helped Brucan Pubs here.
During skeleton periods, success lies in having a clear, fair system that works for both your business and your team. The right approach means no last-minute scheduling panics and no burnt-out team members.
Here’s what makes the difference:
Rotaready’s absence management functionality helps you manage all of this with ease. It calculates holiday entitlements, flags any schedule conflicts and helps managers plan coverage well in advance. Your team can submit and track their requests through the mobile app, while you get a clear view of upcoming leave patterns to help with long-term planning.
The hospitality industry often focuses heavily on recruitment, especially when running with smaller teams. However, keeping your experienced team members plays an equally important role in managing skeleton periods effectively. Many see hospitality jobs as temporary – a stepping stone to something else – leading to high turnover rates that make staffing even more challenging.
The solution? Give your team clear paths to grow within your business. When someone can see their route from server to supervisor, or kitchen porter to chef, they start seeing hospitality as a real career option and it keeps them engaged. Regular training opportunities and skill development sessions show your team you’re invested in their future.
Running your venue with a smaller team isn’t just about having fewer people – it’s about making smart decisions to keep your service standards high and your team supported. From building versatile teams and creating efficient rotas to maintaining clear communication and developing your people, getting skeleton staffing right makes a real difference to your business.
Rotaready brings together everything you need to manage your team effectively. Our scheduling tools help you make the most of every situation, while features like smart scheduling, time tracking and software integrations take the headache out of day-to-day management. Want to see how Rotaready can help you handle skeleton staffing more smoothly? Check out our complete brochure here.
Skeleton staff refers to running with the minimum number of permanent team members needed to maintain essential operations. Temporary staff, on the other hand, are brought in for specific periods to supplement your regular team during busy seasons, events or to cover absences. While both help manage staffing levels, skeleton staffing focuses on optimising your permanent team’s capabilities.
While skeleton staffing is common across many sectors, it’s particularly relevant in hospitality, retail and leisure businesses where customer demand fluctuates regularly. These industries often need flexible staffing approaches to handle seasonal changes, quiet periods and unexpected dips in trade efficiently.
Get your groundwork done early – it makes all the difference. Map out your must-have tasks, get your team trained across different areas and make sure everyone knows how to communicate effectively. The venues that handle skeleton staffing best are the ones that plan ahead instead of scrambling when things get quiet.
Modern rota software takes the headache out of managing smaller teams. It helps you build smart schedules, keep track of who can do what and adapt quickly when things change. Instead of getting bogged down in admin, your team can focus on what they do best – delivering great service to your customers.
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