23 September 2020 - 3 min read
Megan Lipscombe
Head of Marketing
The new normal… a term most of us are tired of hearing but something we’ve all had to adapt to; particularly those working in the hospitality industry. So much has had to change in order to keep customers comfortable and safe when visiting pubs, cafes and restaurants. From track and trace and contactless payments, to the one metre rule and monitoring staff time – business owners are juggling more than ever before.
In this blog we highlight some of the technology out there that’s making life easier for hospitality businesses, by enabling contactless interactions between both their staff and customers.
QR codes first came about in 1994 following the success of barcodes, but their popularity soon dwindled. However, with track and trace now mandatory, QR codes have become the driving force behind customers being able to fill in their details online.
They’ve also been instrumental in the rise of contactless tipping. With cash deemed unhygienic and potentially aiding the spread of COVID-19, many hospitality companies have either scrapped it altogether or actively encouraged customers to opt for contactless payments; meaning staff tips have taken a hit. Not for those businesses who have implemented technology such as TiPJAR’s contactless tipping solution, however. The revolutionary technology allows customers to easily tip bar and restaurant staff by simply scanning a QR code and entering their card details online.
These factors, combined with increased demand for virtual menus and mobile ordering, has meant the use of QR codes has skyrocketed since cafes, bars and restaurants reopened in July.
Over the past few years a number of pubs and restaurants have introduced app-based ‘order & pay’ as an alternative way for their customers to view the menu and order from their phones. An example of where this has been particularly successful is in well known UK pub chain Wetherspoons.
What was once a luxury is now a priority for hospitality businesses who didn’t have the technology implemented prior to coronavirus. The ability for customers to view the menu and order directly from their phones has become key to making sure consumers feel both comfortable and safe when visiting pubs, bars and restaurants in a world so heavily impacted by COVID-19.
All modern order & pay solutions also integrate with your ePOS system. Meaning you can easily keep track of your stock levels in real-time, and account for both in-app and in-person orders.
We’ve touched upon the technology helping to minimise contact between staff and customers, but don’t forget behind the scenes! So many hospitality businesses are still logging staff time using paper timesheets and posting paper rotas on staff room walls. These paper based approaches aren’t exactly ‘COVID friendly’; multiple staff gathering around one piece of paper to see when they’re working next or clocking in and out by noting down their hours on a shared timesheet using the same pen.
Rotaready gives you the means to build cloud based staff rotas to share with your staff via the Rotaready app. Not only does this remove the need for your team to gather round a physical staff rota, it removes any confusion should you need to change someone’s shift late in the day; as staff are notified of any changes you make in real-time. What’s more, having an online record of past rotas makes it easy to see exactly who worked together and when; which is handy should one of your team express COVID-19 symptoms.
If you opt to use location-based attendance monitoring, you won’t need any shared method of clocking in and out. Your team will be able to clock in with GPS using the Rotaready app, making clocking in both easier and safer for them. Plus, you’ll be able to monitor staff time with perfect accuracy and feed this data straight into payroll.
Technology has become more important than ever for hospitality businesses as a direct result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Not least to keep employees and customers safe, but generally helping business owners adapt to new legislation and maintain the operational efficiency they need to be successful. Whatever technology you decide to use, it’s important your systems talk to one another in order to get the best from them.
Make sure your app orders update your EPOS system instantaneously; so you can keep on top of your inventory levels and monitor your revenue in real-time. Your reservation system speaks to your rota software; so you can be sure you’ll always have the right number of staff on hand to meet demand. And your time management system speaks to your payroll provider; so your payroll is perfect without any effort. You get the idea! If your technology talks to one another it makes your life a lot easier.
At Rotaready we’re committed to making seamless, reliable integrations work for everyone. We firmly believe joined-up systems are the future and promise our integrations will always be free, forever.
If you’d like to know who we currently partner with, you can find a full list on our integrations page. If you have any questions about current or future integrations then email us at team@rotaready.com or get in touch via live chat.
26 April 2021
Every hospitality business is different, each with its own set of needs and requirements. Selecting the right solutions for each area of your business is one thing; but you also need to consider the importance of these...
27 July 2022
A combination of COVID and Brexit has left many UK retailers facing staff shortages. Here we discuss some of the things you could be doing to help you both attract and retain employees… Advertise vacancies on the right...
