The weekly rota is one of the biggest jobs in a restaurant, and one of the easiest to get wrong: shifts copied from last week whether it will be busy or not, rest rules checked by hand, and gaps filled with a round of phone calls. This guide builds a week step by step with Kappino’s Workforce AI and shift planner and staff management, from the team list to the published rota.
Step 1: set up your team
A rota is only as good as the information behind it. Each team member in Kappino has a profile with their position, role, areas, working location, availability and pay (hourly, weekly or monthly). Define the roles your venue really uses, such as server, chef, cook, bartender, floor manager or host, and keep front-of-house and kitchen separate.
Leave requests also live here: staff request time off and a manager approves or rejects it, so approved leave is known before the week is planned.
Step 2: plan by area
The weekly schedule is organised by area, such as Kitchen, Bar and Tables. Drag shifts into place, copy and paste them, reuse last week or apply a recurring template for the shifts that never change. Split shifts and lunch, dinner and weekend cover can all be set per employee.
Step 3: forecast how busy the week will be
Instead of guessing, run a demand forecast. Kappino looks at the past 28 days of orders to estimate how busy each day and hour will be. Public holidays can be marked as busier, or as closed.
Step 4: let the AI propose a plan
Generate a plan from the forecast. The AI only assigns people who hold the right role and are available, and it checks hour caps, maximum shift length and minimum rest. The plan is fully reversible, and nothing is published automatically.
Use Compare with AI to see your own schedule next to the AI plan, with hours, cost and shifts for each, before you choose which to keep or how to combine them.
Step 5: check the cost before you publish
The Labour & Cost view turns the schedule into numbers:
- scheduled hours and cost for the week;
- labour as a percentage of sales against your target;
- overtime shifts flagged;
- a staffing heatmap showing which days and hours are under- or over-staffed against demand.
Looking further ahead, Kappino forecasts labour cost for the next four weeks from your published and draft shifts, and shows a hiring-need forecast by area that compares demand hours with your team’s capacity.
Step 6: publish the week
Edit anything you like, then publish. Your team receives the published week by email, plus a reminder of the next day’s shifts. Staff see their shifts without having access to pay data. Download the schedule as PDF or CSV if you also want it printed in the back office.
During the week: when someone calls in sick
Find cover suggests replacement staff who fit the shift, including people from other branches, so the gap is filled without a phone round.
Events and banquets
For banquets and catering, create the event with the roles it needs, see the staffing gap and fill it with Auto-staff.
Looking after the team
A rule-based turnover-risk list highlights team members who may be at risk of leaving, so you can talk to them early. Team and labour data can be exported as CSV.
A weekly routine
- Approve or reject pending leave requests.
- Run the demand forecast for the coming week.
- Generate the AI plan and compare it with your draft.
- Check labour % against your target and the staffing heatmap.
- Publish, and let the email reminders do the rest.
