Labor Management Systems (LMS) provide the necessary tools to reduce labor costs while enhancing a balance with guest service expectations. An effective Labor Management Systems does not “cut labor,” but instead serves as a guidepost for effective use of a properties’ associates. A robust LMS incorporates Labor Standards creation and management, integrated forecasting and actual business driver volume, and payroll and timekeeping system hour and wage integration. Combined, these components drive labor and service action plans, recommendations, and daily management practices. The result is eliminating wasteful over-scheduling, reducing overtime, optimizing the use of outsourced contractors, and spot-on service delivery. Robust labor management practices, enabled by technology, save a typical hotel 3-5% of total labor costs annually including dramatically reducing overtime.
- Improve Net Operating Income: Hotel savings average 3-5% of total labor costs through advanced LMS capabilities. These savings flow through directly to hotel profit, increasing operational cash flows. With proper LMS utilization, these results are easily achievable in this environment of rising wages and scarce talent.
- Stakeholders confidence in staff schedules being aligned with labor cost and service expectations: Traditionally, department managers have spent hours weekly managing their team schedules while being unsure of staffing expectations. With Labor Management Systems, management time spent scheduling is dramatically reduced. Scheduling to target hours calculations based on accurate business volume forecasts applied to labor standards, provide stakeholders at all levels the confidence schedules are aligned with financial goals.
- Proactive tools to identify and address possible staffing issues: Complete visibility of department, property, and portfolio labor cost increases accountability across the organization. Potential issues and risks can be identified in advance and avoided. Internal and external benchmarks can highlight potential operational efficiencies such as reduced Minutes Per Room (MPR) for housekeeping and improve both operational quality and costs.