Multi-site businesses, like hotels, restaurants and supermarkets, 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, businesses across sectors—from fast food and retail to automotive services and fitness centres—face the ongoing challenge of balancing quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability.
Just to put things into perspective:
- The UK has been named the European country with the highest energy prices
- The 2024 Autumn Budget’s 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
If multi-site businesses are to stay on top, it’s safe to say that a rethink in labour cost management is on the cards. By that, we mean throwing away traditional methods of juggling employee schedules and HR administration that simply aren’t sustainable in an environment where every inefficiency can mean lost revenue.
So, in this article, we will give you the full lowdown on how you can cut labour costs while still keeping your workforce sizzling like a perfectly grilled burger—efficient, happy, and ready to serve up success.
Smarter scheduling across every location
When it comes to running a service-led 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.
However, managing staffing across multiple locations can sometimes feel like trying to organise a group dinner where everyone has different dietary restrictions—complicated, to say the least.
Optimised scheduling
So, imagine if you could predict exactly when certain locations will be buzzing—whether it’s a peak shopping hour at a retail store or a surge in bookings at your restaurant.
With modern HR platforms offering advanced predictive scheduling, that becomes a reality. By analysing historical data, seasonal trends, and even local events (and yes, even the weather can be a clue), these tools help forecast staffing needs more accurately.
In practical terms, that means you can avoid the pitfalls of overstaffing during slow periods or scrambling for extra hands during peak times—ensuring that your customer service remains consistently excellent and unnecessary labour costs are kept at bay.
All you need to do is ensure that your HR platform can integrate with your operational systems and viola—optimised insights based on the shape of day for optimal efficiency.
Automate for accuracy
Once you have your forecasted labour demand, you know what’s next—aligning staff schedules accordingly.
I bet you feel a headache coming on. All these insights are helpful, but putting them into action can make even the most data-savvy workforce planner feel overwhelmed.
With automated scheduling, you don’t have to worry about that. All you need is for your workforce planning tool to directly speak to your scheduling tool, and the technology will do all the grafting for you.
Need two employees with cocktail-making experience on Saturday afternoon? No problem; your schedule will automatically highlight available staff with the right skills, ensuring you’re never short on expertise when it matters most.
Automated scheduling systems take into account factors like employee availability, skill sets, overtime thresholds, and compliance needs to generate the ideal shape of the day for each location.
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 George Harron, Lead Workforce Planning Advisor at Travelodge, highlights:
“It is now incredibly easy for Team Members to pick up uncovered shifts, even across different hotels—this flexibility has really helped job satisfaction and, in turn, colleague stability at Travelodge. The ability to forecast labour demand has also helped us as a business to avoid under and overstaffing, significantly enhancing efficiency.”
Save those templates
But now for the most underrated scheduling tip: once you’ve nailed a schedule that works well, save it for future similar situations.
Trust us, it will save you and your managers a ton of time and effort, allowing for more focus time on strategic initiatives rather than constantly tweaking schedules.
Put employees 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 eating your profits, it would make sense to focus on employee happiness as one of your cost-cutting strategies.
And by this, we don’t mean simply increasing pay beyond the National Living Wage. Instead, we advocate that fostering a work environment where employees feel valued, heard, and empowered can be just as impactful.
Empower employees with flexibility
See, rigid, one-size-fits-all schedules are a thing of the past. Today’s workforce craves 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.
Yes, if the business cannot feasibly do so (i.e. offer a cleaner remote work), that is fine. However, if you can find a way, whether that be offering a different schedule (e.g. four days on, four days off,) then why not?
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. That’s the beauty of flexibility.
It’s about empowering staff to manage their work-life balance. And when they know they have more autonomy over their schedules, they are much more likely to stay with your business, saving you thousands in recruitment costs.
Give time back with a 24/7 AI assistant
Everyone’s using AI these days—especially your younger employees, who you know are the core of your business. From asking Alexa about the weather to requesting ChatGPT’s help with budget friendly recipes, your employees are using AI one way or another. It is only a matter of time before they expect the same from their employer.
So why not offer them a 24/7 AI-powered HR assistant, designed to simplify everyday HR tasks? Whether it’s checking shift availability, requesting time off, or answering HR policy questions, ELLA is available 24/7 to provide instant responses.
No more waiting on hold, chasing emails, or dealing with unnecessary admin delays. Everything your employees need to manage their work lives is just a few simple prompts away.
But how does this actually help cut costs?
Well, think about it. Every minute your employees spend on routine admin tasks—like swapping shifts or checking their holiday balance—is time taken away from delivering excellent service. By streamlining these processes, you can boost productivity, keep employees engaged, and reduce unnecessary disruptions. Plus, your HR team will love you with all the added time back in their busy day.
Want to see how ELLA can transform your operations? Book a demo today.
Cutting costs with smarter admin
When your managers are buried under scheduling mishaps, payroll corrections, 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 those tedious, repetitive tasks for you, automation frees up your managers and staff to focus on what really matters—delivering great service and scaling your business. Here’s how:
Payroll without panic
Let’s face it—payroll can be a minefield. One misplaced decimal, and suddenly, Jack the barista is getting paid for 300 hours, while Sarah the lifeguard is wondering where half her paycheck disappeared to. And let’s not even talk about the time required to fix these errors.
According to a study by Ernst & Young, payroll mistakes happen more often than you’d think—roughly 1.14 errors per employee. That’s extra admin hours spent correcting payments, handling complaints, and worst-case scenario, facing tribunal risks. And if there’s one thing business owners don’t need, it’s unexpected legal headaches.
Automated payroll systems change the game. They handle everything—from calculating wages (no matter how complex the structure) to ensuring compliance with UK employment laws. And because automation takes human error out of the equation, payroll nightmares become a thing of the past.
That means no more Friday afternoon panic, no more rushed adjustments, and no more explaining to an irritated team why payday didn’t go as planned. Instead, you get smooth, error-free payments, happy employees, and a whole lot of saved time and money. And where do those savings go? Right back into growing your business. Here’s how:
Clocking in, made simple
With smart time-tracking tools, employees can clock in and out via an app—no more hunting for paper timesheets or scrambling to remember shift start times. And with a HR software that has geo-tagging capabilities, you can ensure that staff are exactly where they need to be when they need to be there, putting an end to the classic “I forgot to clock in” excuse.
For your managers, this means no more blind spots when it comes to attendance. Real-time monitoring helps you stay proactive instead of reactive.
And the best part? Everything feeds directly into payroll, so you’re only paying for the hours actually worked—no rounding up, no costly guesstimates. That’s a win for your bottom line, a smoother operation for your business, and fewer payroll headaches at the end of the month. Now that’s what we call working smarter, not harder.
Communication that saves time and costs
Keeping your team in the loop is non-negotiable—whether it’s last-minute shift openings, compliance updates, or training reminders. But relying on old-school notice boards or emails that get lost in a sea of unread messages? That’s a recipe for disaster.
Your frontline staff need instant, mobile-friendly communication tools that fit their fast-paced workday. Whether they’re flipping burgers, waiting tables, or managing customer queues, they don’t have time to dig through cluttered inboxes or chase down managers for updates.
But without a streamlined system, important information gets missed—leading to shift confusion, compliance headaches, and frustrated employees. And let’s not forget the financial toll: research shows that miscommunication can eat up nearly 18% of total salaries paid. That’s not just an inconvenience; it’s a serious business cost.
That’s why businesses such as Five Guys, McDonald’s and 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—whether they’re behind the counter, on the shop floor, or managing a drive-thru—has instant access to the information they need.
Learn more about how they are using elementsuite by reading their stories, here.
Always use your HR data to stay ahead
As an HR manager overseeing multiple locations across the UK, you’re not just juggling labour costs in one place—you’re managing a whole network of stores, restaurants, or service centres. Whether it’s 10 sites or 100, each location comes with its own staffing needs, peak hours, and operational quirks.
This is where real-time dashboards and reporting tools become your best friend.
Are some locations seeing more overtime than others? Is one store always short-staffed on Saturdays? Dive into the data to pinpoint inefficiencies. You might just realise that your barista team is racking up overtime because morning shifts are understaffed. Or it could be that you are constantly overstaffed on the Monday night shift when demand is low.
Either way, having access to real-time workforce analytics means you can make informed decisions to keep costs under control and operations running smoothly.
But to do this effectively, it is highly recommended that all your locations utilise the same HR system. Why? No endless spreadsheets. No juggling multiple platforms. Just one system providing all the workforce insights your business needs to stay profitable and efficient.
Picking the right HR tech
As you can see, the right HR platform can take the headache out of managing your workforce by integrating operational and HR data, identifying inefficiencies, and freeing up time for what really matters—running a successful business.
But if there’s one golden rule, it’s this: the best HR tech is the one that works for your unique business model. You need a system that can juggle high staff volume, multiple locations, and compliance requirements. From smart scheduling and workforce planning to payroll automation and real-time dashboards, the right platform keeps everything running smoothly.
Start by identifying bottlenecks in your current processes. Are shift patterns inconsistent across locations? Are managers constantly chasing down employee paperwork? Is payroll a nightmare? By pinpointing these inefficiencies, you can see exactly where automation will have the biggest impact on reducing costs and improving operations.
To help make this process easier, we’ve developed a FREE HR Heatmap, designed to help you map out inefficiencies and identify where HR tech can do the heavy lifting.
Optimising your multi-site operations with elementsuite
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 technology (aka elementsuite), you can streamline scheduling, enhance employee engagement, reduce admin overload, and gain real-time workforce insights that drive better decisions.
The key takeaway? Your business is only as strong as the team behind it. And with the right HR tech in place, you’re not just cutting costs—you’re building a workforce that’s engaged, productive and ready for success.
Ready to future-proof your business? Book a demo today and see how elementsuite can transform your operations.
