Christmas and New Year’s are now just weeks away! While it may be a period for many of us to relax, feast, and see friends and family, hospitality managers are braced for a massive leap in demand, comparable only to summer. It represents an enormous challenge – organising large events, securing high quality staff, competing with other venues – plus a gainful opportunity, whether it’s higher profits or winning new clientele. Your venue, be it a bar, restaurant, cafe, club or eatery, needs to seize every advantage it has to prosper over Xmas and NYE. Here are six apps which could be a useful addition or an absolute lifesaver, from managing social media to motivating staff and finding extra workers:
Portify
Portify is an app to help seasonal workers access perks and manage their finances. To motivate your full time staff to go the extra mile, this can be extremely useful. They can claim generous deals, offers and savings on a variety of top brands, ranging from ASOS to Odeon. Ideal for Christmas shopping! Through a bronze, silver and gold tier system, employees are able to earn new perks as they complete more shifts, creating an incentive to work hard over the end-of-year period. Additionally, Portify helps workers budget for the Christmas season and for other future events, helping them to gain financial well-being.
Buffer
Buffer is a great way for businesses and individuals to manage their social media accounts. Over the Christmas period, it is easy to let interaction via social media slip away. Using Buffer, you can easily schedule posts for all of your accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, Linked In and Pinterest, without needing to log in to each website separately. Buffer can also provide you with accurate analytical data to help you improve your social media profile and create more public interaction. There are over 80,000 businesses that are already using this app to engage with the community and promote their services. It is a great way to help share best practices and track the performance of your posts and content.
Monday
Over the Christmas season, it can be easy to get distracted or lose focus of the work that needs doing. The Monday.com app is perfect for helping you to get on track and save time. The layout of Monday is what makes it so successful; you can get a clear visual outline of the work that needs to be done, by giving every item a different colour, depending on the priority. 91% of users say that the app helps them to keep on top of their work. It is also a great way to collaborate with your team and increase the productivity in your business.
Elfster
Let’s not forget that the end of the year involves organising staff festivities. Elfster helps to organise your secret Santa gift exchanges so that every single employee has a surprise. Along with being good office fun, this can also be used as a way to get to know each other. You can set up wish lists using the app, helping you to discover your colleague’s interests. Elfster takes the stress out of organising a draw, sending everyone involved regular reminders of what they need to do to take part.
Syft
For seasonal or casual workers, Syft is an essential app for filling flexible jobs. It offers a simple and effective employment solution by matching motivated workers with businesses looking to fill posts – particularly at short notice. The app itself is incredibly simple to use and you can source workers in an area where it is convenient for you. The rates of pay through Syft are above the industry average and workers can access a range of perks, helping to drive motivation through even the busiest shifts. Employers save up to 55% on agency fees, with all fees fully broken down before the point of payment. If you need to fill shifts at the last minute or well ahead of time, with one worker or dozens, Syft is your hassle free solution.
