Multi-site businesses, in industries like hospitality, manufacturing and retail, have long been recognised for their ability to replicate success across multiple locations. However, with rising inflation, tightening labour markets, and ever-increasing operational costs, these businesses face the ongoing challenge of balancing quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
To put things into perspective:
- The UK has been named the European country with the highest energy prices
- The 2024 Autumn Budget has hiked Employer National Insurance contributions by 1.2%
- The 6.7% increase in the National Minimum Wage is set to tighten most labour budgets
Escalating costs make traditional methods of scheduling, HR admin, and labour planning unsustainable. Every inefficiency can mean lost revenue, reduced service quality, or damage to brand reputation.
So, to stay competitive, protect profitability, and continue delivering standout customer experiences, operators must rethink labour cost management from the ground up. In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to cut labour costs while keeping your workforce sizzling like a perfectly grilled burger – efficient, happy, and ready to serve up success.
1. Smarter scheduling across every location
When it comes to running a business across multiple locations, your team is the lifeblood of the operation. Every perfectly scheduled shift and well-planned roster not only contributes to customer satisfaction, but also keeps your bottom line healthier.
That said, managing scheduling across multiple locations isn’t always easy.
Optimised scheduling
Imagine if you could predict exactly when each location will be at its busiest. With modern HR platforms, like ZellisONE, that becomes a reality. By analysing historical data, seasonal trends, and even local events, these tools help forecast staffing needs more accurately.
Say there’s a big event taking place near your hotel, or it’s peak holiday season at your seaside restaurant. ZellisONE automatically aligns staffing with customer demand, helping you avoid the pitfalls of overstaffing during slow periods or scrambling for extra hands during peak times. The result? Customer service remains consistently excellent and unnecessary labour costs are kept at bay.
Automate for accuracy
Once you have your forecasted labour demand, the next step is to turn these insights into actionable schedules. This can be complex and time-consuming, but automated scheduling simplifies the process.
Need two employees with cocktail-making experience on Saturday afternoon? No problem, your scheduling tool will automatically highlight available staff with the right skills, ensuring you’re never short on expertise when it matters most.
Automated scheduling systems like ZellisONE take into account factors like employee availability, skill sets, overtime thresholds, and compliance needs – generating the ideal schedule for each of your organisation’s sites.
Plus, with instant mobile notifications, every team member is always in the loop, should there be any changes to the schedule or available shifts open in nearby locations.
But don’t just take our word for it. As Liz Edmunds, Regional Director at Travelodge, says:
“Shift locator helps our colleagues save time because it gives employees the self-serve ability to pick up unallocated shifts across different hotels”.
Save templates
Once you have a schedule that works well, keep it for future similar situations.
This will save you and your managers both time and effort, allowing for greater focus on strategic initiatives rather than constantly tweaking schedules.
2. Put employee happiness first
Did you know that companies with happier employees earned a staggering 147% more per share than their competitors?
So, in the current business world, where costs are consuming profits, it would make sense to focus on employee happiness as one of your cost-cutting strategies.
By this, we don’t mean simply increasing pay beyond the National Living Wage. Instead, we’re advocating for a work environment where employees feel valued and heard.
Boost morale with flexibility
One-size-fits-all schedules are a thing of the past. Today’s workforce increasingly values flexibility – especially those juggling studies, side gigs, or family commitments.
As per the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023, which came into force in April 2024, employees now have the legal right to request flexible working from day one of their employment.
While not all roles can accommodate such arrangements (for instance, a waiter cannot work remotely), employers should consider offering alternative options where feasible, such as flexible shift patterns (e.g., four days on, four days off).
The wonderful thing about being a multi-site business is that if one site can’t offer or accommodate an employee for a certain shift, there could be another location nearby that can.
It’s about empowering employees to manage their work-life balance. And when they know they have more autonomy over their schedules, they are much more likely to stay within the business, reducing time and money spent on recruitment.
Give time back with an AI assistant
Everyone is using AI these days. From asking Alexa about the weather to requesting ChatGPT’s help with budget-friendly recipes, your employees are already engaging with this technology one way or another. It is only a matter of time before they expect the same simplicity and speed at work.
Introducing an AI assistant, like ELLA, can help meet that expectation. By supporting common HR needs, such as checking shift availability, requesting time off, or answering HR policy questions, ELLA reduces reliance on email chains and manual follow-ups, allowing employees to manage essential tasks with fewer delays.
There is also a wider operational benefit. Every minute HR teams, managers, and employees spend on routine admin – like swapping shifts or checking holiday balances – is time taken away from guests and core responsibilities. Streamlining these processes can minimise disruption, improve productivity, and help reduce avoidable admin costs.
Discover how ELLA can level-up your business operations
Empower employees with financial wellbeing tools
Financial wellbeing plays a quiet but powerful role in how employees feel and perform at work. When people have the tools and support to manage their money confidently, it can lift a weight off their shoulders – helping them feel more focused and engaged.
Employers can make a meaningful difference here. Early access to earned wages, for example, can provide employees with flexibility and reassurance during times of financial pressure. Meanwhile, budgeting tools can help employees manage their finances better, leading to increased satisfaction and productivity.
When your people feel supported in managing their finances, they’re more likely to feel settled, motivated, and valued at work. It’s another way to show that their wellbeing matters.
3. Cutting costs with smarter admin
When managers are inundated with scheduling complexities and compliance paperwork, they aren’t driving sales or improving service – they’re just trying to stay afloat in a sea of admin chaos.
But here’s the secret weapon: automation. By handling tedious, repetitive tasks, automation frees up managers to focus on what really matters – delivering great service and scaling your business. Here’s how:
Pay without panic
Payroll can be a minefield for businesses. According to a study by Ernst & Young, payroll mistakes happen more often than you’d think – with roughly 1.14 errors per employee. That’s extra admin hours spent correcting payments, handling complaints, and worst-case scenario, facing tribunal risks.
Automated pay systems, like ZellisONE Pay, significantly reduce these risks. They handle everything – from calculating wages (no matter how complex the structure) to ensuring compliance with UK employment laws.
Real-time recalculation ensures that any change – from pensions and salary sacrifice to overtime – is instantly reflected in the final pay, eliminating discrepancies before they surface.
That means no more Friday afternoon panic, no more rushed adjustments, and no more explaining to your team why payday didn’t go as planned. Instead, you get accurate, error-free payments, improved employee trust, and substantial time and cost savings. And where do those savings go? Right back into growing your business.
Clocking in, made simple
With smart time-tracking tools, employees can clock in and out through an app, eliminating paper timesheets and inaccuracies caused by forgotten start or finish times.
When you combine time-tracking tools with geo-tagging capabilities, you can verify that staff are on-site and on-time, removing any uncertainty around attendance.
This gives managers real-time visibility across their teams, allowing attendance issues to be addressed proactively rather than retrospectively.
And the best part? All recorded time and attendance data feeds directly into payroll, ensuring employees are paid only for the hours they actually worked – with no rounding, estimating, or manual cross-checking. The result is greater operational efficiency, reduced payroll errors, and improved cost control across every site.
4. Communication that saves time and costs
Keeping your team in the loop is non-negotiable – whether it’s about last-minute shift openings, compliance updates, or training reminders. But, relying on notice boards or emails that get lost in a pool of unread messages can lead to miscommunication and operational inefficiencies.
Your frontline staff need instant, mobile-friendly communication tools that fit their fast-paced work environment. Whether they’re flipping burgers, waiting tables, or cleaning hotel rooms, they don’t have time to dig through crowded inboxes or track down managers for updates.
That’s why businesses such as Travelodge are turning to mobile-first internal communication platforms, integrated directly into their HR systems. They value the ability to keep their workforce connected in real time, ensuring every employee has instant access to the information they need.
Optimising your multi-site operations with ZellisONE
Operational success is all about scalability, consistency, and efficiency. But with rising costs and shifting workforce expectations, staying ahead requires more than just a great business model. It demands the right tools.
By leveraging smart HR and Pay technology, like ZellisONE, you can streamline scheduling, enhance employee engagement, reduce admin overload, and gain real-time workforce insights that drive better decisions.
Your business is only as strong as the people behind it. With the right tech in place, you won’t just cut costs, you’ll build a workforce that’s engaged, productive and ready for success.
Future proof your business with ZellisONE
See how ZellisONE enhances operational efficiency and employee happiness
