TAMPA Fla. Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba’s Italian Grill parent OSI Restaurant Partners said scheduling is completed much faster since the deployment of HotSchedules Enterprise, a subscription package of hosted online workforce management software and call center services.
Tampa-based OSI rolled out HotSchedules to nearly 1,200 restaurants with 110,000 employees within four months, according to HotSchedules Inc. of Austin, Texas. The company said HotSchedules integrates with OSI’s point-of-sale system, enabling managers to compare forecasted costs with actual expenses, enforce schedules by blocking early clock-ins and receive alerts about looming overtime problems. Employees can use online tools or the call center at any time to check schedules or request time off, among other services, the vendor added.
“Within six weeks of using HotSchedules, our managers had reduced the time it takes them to create schedules by 50 percent,” said Jeff Wallett, information technology director for OSI, whose chain portfolio also includes Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, among others. “This component alone has led to cost savings in our operations, and our managers are enthusiastic about the ease of use and simplicity of using HotSchedules anywhere, anytime.”
