How to Build a Pub Staff Rota That Actually Works

Right, let’s be honest – building a decent staff rota is one of those jobs that can drive you absolutely mental. You’ve got staff calling in sick on match days, people wanting weekends off when you need them most, and somehow you’re always short-staffed when it kicks off at closing time.

I’ve been running pubs for over fifteen years, and I’ve learned the hard way that a proper rota isn’t just about filling slots. It’s about keeping your punters happy, your staff motivated, and your sanity intact.

Start with Your Busiest Periods

First things first – work backwards from when you’re rammed. Friday nights, weekends, match days, quiz nights. These are your non-negotiables where you need your best people on shift.

List out your weekly busy periods and make sure you’ve got:

• Experienced bar staff who can handle the pressure
• Enough bodies to avoid queues snaking round the pub
• Your most reliable team – no point putting someone on who might not show

Once you’ve covered the essentials, you can work around the quieter periods. And trust me, getting this bit right makes everything else fall into place.

Keep Your Staff Happy (They’ll Actually Turn Up)

Here’s the thing – if your rota is fair, people are more likely to stick to it. Nobody likes working every weekend or getting stuck with all the dead shifts.

Rotate the good and bad shifts fairly. Give people notice – at least two weeks if you can manage it. And actually listen when someone asks for time off. If you’re constantly saying no, don’t be surprised when they stop showing up or hand in their notice.

The best staff want to feel valued, not like they’re just filling a gap. A bit of flexibility goes a long way towards keeping good people around.

Use the Right Tools

Gone are the days of scribbling rotas on the back of beer mats. You need something that works for both you and your team.

I use SmartPubTools’ free FOH app now – it handles all the scheduling headaches and even has leaderboards to keep the competitive ones motivated. Staff can check their shifts on their phones, and I can update things on the fly without printing new rotas every five minutes.

The gamification side is brilliant too. Suddenly people actually want to pick up extra shifts to climb the leaderboard.

Building a proper rota takes a bit of thought upfront, but it saves you hours of stress later. Get your free SmartPubTools account at smartpubtools.com and sort your scheduling once and for all.