“I am Tanguy Corre, the manager of the Hostellerie la Pointe Saint Mathieu in Plougonvelin. The Hostellerie de la Pointe Saint Mathieu is a family business that was created by my grandparents in 1954 and that I took over with my sister Nolwenn, our chef de cuisine in 2018. It is a hotel restaurant that has two restaurants: a gourmet restaurant that has had a Michelin star since 2019 and the Bistro 1954, which is a brasserie. We have 33 four-star rooms with a spa.”
“We have 44 full-time equivalents and during the high season, we can increase to 70 people when you really count all the employees: the apprentices and all the people who come as reinforcements during the season.
In 2016, a major extension was made with the creation of the bistro, additional rooms. The number of employees increased from around thirty people to more than 60/70 in high season. This brought a lot of problems because before we had a fairly traditional way of working: with sheets of paper, an Excel spreadsheet. We also had a regular time clock. It was not directly linked to the schedule!”
“At that moment! At the time when it no longer worked properly in terms of personnel management. It was becoming too complicated to manage because there were too many people. There were too many employees to manage at the same time.
Also, there were now two entities to manage: the two restaurants. Previously, it was pretty easy with only one restaurant because everyone was in pretty much the same place. Here, we started to have different timelines, specific modes of operation with services specific to each restaurant. Shifts were completely different from department to department. It caused quite a few problems. When we had someone who started at 7 am and another who ended their day at 7 am, the time clock got totally mixed up. And as a result, it was an inseparable one! We had to find a solution that adapted to that, to these constraints. By looking on the internet, I discovered Skello.”
“It was really suitable for catering and especially for different jobs! We were able to follow a dozen, fifteen different jobs, between maids, housekeepers, governesses, waiters, cooks, night watchmen, receptionists, technicians... Each job has its own constraints, schedules, and specificities and Skello has intervened in this.
Already, thanks to the ease of use of the software with color codes proposed to differentiate between different shifts.
Also, what was really great about Skello was that we were able to train all staff and managers on the solution. They took the solution into their own hands and appropriated it. On top of that, Skello is connected to labor law and prevents managers from making mistakes by making recommendations to them.
Finally, it helps them to make schedules that stick, both on the farm, but also in a legal way. Skello offers schedules that are suitable for employees. And that was very important for us because often, our managers come from the restaurant industry and are not necessarily trained in HR. The software is there to support them on a daily basis, every day. Since we've grown, I don't have time to be behind every manager and Skello has given me that help.”
“The employee has access to Skello. He connects and he can go and consult his schedule when he is at home or when he is not working. Before, how did that happen? We had a sheet, we posted it on the wall, on the service panel. And it is true that if the people were at rest, I had to call them, that they inquire with their colleagues... We took photos of the schedule changes and sent them by text message. In the meantime, the schedule was changed... So the version given no longer corresponded to the one that was effective.
Today, with Skello, these problems no longer exist for employees! If the manager makes a change to the schedule, he can then send it in one click to the employee or to the team concerned then, by SMS for example or by email. The employee can also connect to the application so he has three ways to go see his schedule. Before, employees had to ask their colleagues for information. They took a photo and texted it to each other. And then, in the meantime, the schedule was changed. As a result, the version he saw no longer matched the one that was effective the following week.
In terms of social ties, Skello makes it possible to avoid tensions. The fact that an employee arrives when he could have stayed at home, without being notified, no longer happens!”
“The best story is when we put it in place! It was in August 2018, there was the start of the apprentices in September. They all went to Skello at the start of the school year and it's true that there was a lot of excitement. When they got to class, they were receiving their schedules because in fact, they were receiving the schedules while they were in class, on their smartphone. Before, when they were in business, they received them by email or text message. And it's true that young people use their smartphones a lot and are always hyper-connected. There, they were proud to show their classmates that we were at the forefront! And we were one of the first to have it in the area at the time. And it's true that even the professors did not know the solution! They called us to ask us what we had put in place. It is true that for apprentices, respect for time and work is something that is very important. The schools are also very vigilant and they thought the solution was really great. So they saw it very positively! Other students who did not use Skello were also jealous: “How come you have this?! I have to call my boss when I have finished my courses at the end of the week and when I call him, he is on duty, so not necessarily available...” In short, it created a bit of a buzz!”
“To organize ourselves quickly! Now, the whole problem of Covid in the restaurant industry is that we have the announcements at the same time as the customers. They happen unexpectedly and you have to adapt very quickly. Behind, customers have the same information as us and they call to book, because they want to enjoy the life before. They want to go to a restaurant, to have fun. Behind us, we have to react very quickly.
We need to set up a very rapid organization when we have been closed for six months, and there are people who have not worked for several months. We have to re-involve everyone and Skello allows us to go quickly to do all our schedules online. We publish them, employees get them instantly. We save time: we process information easily and distribute it quickly.
In fact today, Skello allows us to be fluid and to operate transparently. Before, we used it mainly for schedules. Today, we're going to use it for everything else too!
Organizing yourself well will be decisive so that we can last throughout the season. And then let's not burn out too quickly. But we are very confident...”
Luxury of a hotel at the tip of Brittany! The Pointe Saint-Mathieu hotel is a family history that began in 1954. The accommodation offer has expanded over the years, with 33 rooms since 2016, and a spa with 4 massage cabins. Today, the 4-star hotel is managed by parents and their children with Tanguy who takes care of communication and Nolwenn, who manages the gourmet restaurant.
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