Managing pub staff is one of the biggest headaches any landlord faces. High turnover, scheduling nightmares, and keeping everyone motivated whilst juggling a dozen other tasks – I’ve been there, and it’s bloody exhausting.
After twenty years running pubs across the North East, I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t. Here’s how to manage your team properly without losing your sanity.
Running this problem at your pub?
Here's the system I use at The Teal Farm to fix it — real-time labour %, cash position, and VAT liability in one dashboard. 30-minute setup. £97 once, no monthly fees.
Get Pub Command Centre — £97 →No monthly fees. 30-day money-back guarantee. Built by a working pub landlord.
Set Clear Expectations from Day One
Your biggest mistake is assuming staff know what you want. They don’t. Whether it’s how to pull a perfect pint, handle difficult customers, or clean the cellar, spell it out clearly.
Create simple job descriptions for each role. Include your standards for:
- Customer service approach
- Uniform and appearance
- Till procedures and cash handling
- Opening and closing duties
- Health and safety requirements
Don’t write essays – keep it practical and specific. “Greet every customer within 30 seconds” beats “provide excellent customer service” every time.
Get Your Rota Sorted
A chaotic rota creates chaos everywhere else. Staff need to know their shifts well in advance, and you need flexibility when someone inevitably calls in sick on a Saturday night.
Traditional pen-and-paper rotas are a nightmare. You’re constantly rewriting them, staff claim they “never saw” their shifts, and tracking hours for payroll takes forever.
That’s exactly why I use SmartPubTools’ free pub management app. The staff scheduling feature lets me create rotas digitally, send them straight to everyone’s phone, and track hours automatically. No more arguments about who was supposed to work when.
Keep Your Team Motivated
Good staff are gold dust, especially in hospitality. Once you’ve got them, you need to keep them engaged and motivated.
Money talks, but it’s not everything. Recognition matters just as much. Celebrate your top performers publicly – whether that’s employee of the month or just a shout-out during your team briefing.
The gamification features in our free staff app work brilliantly for this. Set up leaderboards for sales targets, customer compliments, or upselling achievements. Staff love a bit of friendly competition, and you’ll see results improve across the board.
Regular one-to-ones are crucial too. Ten minutes with each team member monthly prevents small issues becoming big problems. Ask what’s working, what isn’t, and what support they need.
Managing pub staff doesn’t have to be a constant battle. With clear systems, proper tools, and regular communication, you can build a team that actually helps grow your business instead of giving you sleepless nights.
Ready to simplify your staff management? Try SmartPubTools free today – no subscription required, just better pub management.
Free Tool for UK Pub Landlords
SmartPubTools FOH App — Free, Forever
Built by a real pub landlord from the North East. Staff gamification, shift tracking, leaderboards and rota tools — free, no subscription, no credit card needed.
Takes 2 minutes · Free forever · Made for UK pubs
📊 Your EPOS tells you what sold. Pub Command Centre tells you whether you made money.
Real-time labour %, cash position and VAT liability in one dashboard. Built by a working pub landlord. £97 once, no monthly fees. 30-day money-back guarantee.
A live working example is this pub management tool used daily at Teal Farm Pub — labour 15% vs the UK industry average of 25–30%.
Running your pub on gut feel?
The Pub Command Centre gives you wet GP%, cellar checks, staff cost and weekly P&L — from your phone, every shift. £97 once. No subscription.
See the Pub Command Centre →