CenterEdge Software Blog

Time Clock and Scheduling Tricks

You probably have a few point of sale software tricks that help you better manage your business on a daily basis. We have collected some of these tips from clients and team members — and today, we’re sharing a Pro Tip from Jill Rempert at Epic Air in South Elgin, Illinois.

Meet the five Excellence Award winners and finalists of the 2018 Customer Service Week Challenge

We had such a great response for the Customer Service Week Challenge! Responses came from all over the U.S. and it was great to read about all the terrific things your team members are doing. From party hosts to admissions staff all the way to maintenance, it’s so obvious when team members have that “it” thing that makes a difference. It was so hard choosing winners, but here are the top five winners and finalists who prove that “Excellence Happens Here” at their facilities.

Understanding, hiring for, and cultivating creativity could be the key to growing your business.

Nearly every operator in every business finds themselves considering how to find, develop or keep their competitive edge. When asked, “what makes the difference between you and your competitors?” many managers, especially those in the family entertainment industry, will automatically answer, “it’s our people that make the difference.”

Being a great leader isn't a skill people are just born with, it's developed over time. Whether it be through training seminars or reading books, the best managers — both new and experienced — are always learning new ways to improve their skills. 

You only get one chance to make a first impression: Spoiler alert – Admissions staff are the key.

Frontline training is obviously a must in every entertainment venue. But many organizations take a haphazard approach to training which can put your facility at risk for creating a negative first impression. Don’t teach your team how to smile but forget to include how to make change (no, it’s not as common sense as you might think). Also remember that your cashier interaction must go beyond the transaction. The key is an effective training process that ensures you have all the bases covered. Here are five steps to help you implement point of sale training that sticks.   

We asked three experts to share their secrets for building the best teams and added one ourselves! Find out what everyone had to say.

Hiring frontline staff is tough today. There are fewer teens in the workforce than there were a decade ago when the US last achieved nearly full employment. Tougher school schedules, increased participation in higher education and more outside commitments are just some of the reasons the pool of workers has gotten smaller over the last 10-15 years. Bottom line: entertainment facilities need to know how to recruit, train and manage this young workforce in such a competitive environment.

The bigger your FEC gets, the harder it is to keep an eye on every location or department, much less every team member.

Consistency is a key element of a great guest experience. How can an owner, operator or general manager ensure everyone hits the mark every single time? Training and employee education are essential, but when it comes down to the day-to-day, it's not always easy to remember what was said in that workshop three months ago. Or what the key take-aways were from that long team training day.

Cutting staff to control costs just might send your sales into a tailspin. But labor is by far your biggest expense. Get the formula industry expert Alan Kumpf uses.

We believe it’s important to support industry education. One industry event we have begun to support in 2018 is the Maximize Profits Through Operational Excellence seminar program hosted by Funstruction Results. Long-time industry professional and managing partner of Funstruction Results, Alan Kumpf, shared some of his thoughts about team member productivity with CenterEdge. And his secret formula for achieving the right balance between labor and sales. Here’s what he had to say:

Management can be risky business for new and experienced leaders, but it doesn’t have to be.

Picture the worst manager you ever worked with until you see all their negative traits clearly in your mind. Chances are, they didn’t set out to be the worst boss ever. Leadership, just like any other job, takes time to develop. If you’re a new or even an experienced leader, you could be making your way onto a team member’s negative leadership qualities list. Read on for seven common mistakes leaders make, and how to avoid them.

Scheduling your team members for the right shifts is a study in organized chaos. Some times of day or different days of the week require more staff than normal and some don’t—and it all comes down to balancing labor costs with scheduling.

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that labor costs have a huge impact on the success of your business. Rather than leaving it to guesstimates and intuition, get control of your actual labor costs with real reports and actionable items. Implementing these will help you make changes that will increase both your efficiency and your bottom line. Learn how you can create efficiencies in your schedule and see maximum ROI.