Overcoming staff shortage due to covid-19 and the pingdemic
The pandemic has caused heavy blows to the hospitality industry, with staff shortages and business closure. The pingdemic has meant thousands of workers have been left to isolate, causing detriment to staff members and business owners. In this article we will discuss the problems currently facing the industry, and how we can help your business during this understaffing crisis.
A survey by the industry body UKHospitality found that 6 in 10 hospitality businesses have had staff off work after being pinged, and that 267,000 people or 13% of the industry’s workforce have recently been or were isolating at the time. This has led to many businesses having to take drastic measures, with 4 in 10 either partially or fully closed. From this data collected by UKHospitality, you can see how the staff shortage has had a negative impact on hospitality businesses. Businesses have had to partially or fully close, stay open with reduced staff but with customers at full capacity, or reduce opening hours and menus.
However, things do seem to be looking ever so slightly better with the recent news of changes to the NHS track & trace app. From 2 August, new rules set by the government mean those users of the NHS app, who are pinged, will only be told to isolate if they have been close to someone in the two days leading to a positive covid test. Which is some constellation to hospitality bosses, as the five-day rule is reduced to a more manageable two days. Health Secretary Sajid Javid said, “the change would reduce disruption, but still protect those at risk”. However, the two-day rule still means pinged staff can’t work, leaving those staff that can work doing the job of two or three staff and having to do longer hours. With the world still in a pandemic for the foreseeable future, the shortened isolation for pinged users still contributes to huge staff shortage.
In the week up to 21 July, there was reported a record number of 689,313 pings, causing great detriment to business owners & staff within the industry. For a lot of staff within hospitality, tips can be a big chunk of their wages. For example, Calum O’Flynn was pinged early last month, speaking to BBC he stated, ‘about 25% of my income comes from tips’. This means if you are pinged on a Friday, you’re missing out on a weekend’s worth of tips, significantly affecting your income for that month.
Emma McClar, CEO of the British beer and pub association. told the bbc that the NHS test and trace app had been a “huge issue”. “Already pubs are closing or greatly reducing their opening hours due to staff shortages caused by app pings – despite staff testing negative on the lateral flow tests” she said.
EatPOS is here to help your business during dire times. Although rules are being changed to allow leniency regarding the track and trace app (within reason), businesses are still having to close due to the understaffing crisis the industry currently faces.
With our contactless order at the table apps, a reduction in staff doesn’t have to mean less business, as customers can place orders and pay, using the web app (provided by eatPOS), on their phone.
You won’t need staff at tables as once the order is placed, the front of house team will be notified via integration with our EPOS solutions. No waiting for a waiter or a card machine to place and pay for an order, it’s all done in a few taps!
Key features include:
No app download. No fuss. Order directly from your smartphone browser
QR codes. Allow your customers to access your ordering page in seconds
Control and manage. The Ability to control your ‘order at table’ orders, directly from your eatPOS till!
Modifiers. Make it easy for your customers to purchase complimentary products & meal deals
Supports all major smartphone platforms. (iOS/Android/Windows)
eatPOS Cloud-EPOS software:
Our signature EPOS allows you to manage your business with efficiency and ease, say goodbye to pen & paper! With hospitality businesses facing understaffing, our EPOS allows you to efficiently manage your business, even if you have less staff!
Key features include:
Friendly Interface – Navigate swiftly through your menu, with our ease to use EPOS solution
Clock In/Out – Our EPOS software allows full staff management functionality, which allows your staff to clock in/out with the touch of a button
Add Notes – Add notes/instructions for your chefs (kitchen slips) with ease
Easy Product Management – Full product/stock management, with the ability to add live counters on your items. This allows your staff to view stock information for a product at a glance on your EPOS!
Manage Smartphone ‘order at table’ orders – Our ‘order at table’ module includes full integration to our EPOS software. Manage your customers’ ‘order at table’ orders from your till, with the ability to accept and reject orders.
If you’re a restaurant, bar, pub, fast food takeaway, street-food takeaway, mobile pop up, QSR, gastropub, fine-dining venue, retail store looking for software and consultancy services do contact us directly on by email enquiries@eatpos.co.uk. Alternatively, fill out our contact form here.