NEW YORK—Radiant Systems has completed the deployment of its workforce management software in 175 full-service Marriott hotels, representing Radiant’s largest installation of this software product in the hotel industry. Utilizing Radiant’s Workforce Management system, which was rolled out in Marriott’s North American hotels over the course of several months, hotel general managers will be better able to match employee shifts with forecasts of room occupancy and events, according to what Evan Grossman, evp/Radiant, told HOTEL BUSINESS® in a recent meeting. “Our workforce management product reduces labor costs and improves labor satisfaction,” said Grossman, noting the software improves how employee shifts are managed based on a hotels need. If the hotel is expecting high occupancies, a large catering event, or a big procurement shipment— the software will recognize these needs and automatically staff additional employees. “It takes the input from property managers and forecasts out… so you can accurately schedule the right amount of housekeepers, front desk staff, etc.,” he stated. The software also compares labor needs to employee preferences— such as which staff members like working weekends and nights, and which do not. Radiant is already working on upgrades to the software application to include tools for balancing employees between various nearby hotels. “It will give managers the ability to share employees between locations. Turnover in the hotel industry is high, partly because of its inability to offer full 40-hour work weeks,” he remarked. The upgraded software will provide companies, like Marriott that have numerous hotels within a few block radius, the opportunity to staff employees across several brands and properties— based on need— while accurately maintaining their paycheck information. Meanwhile, during the upcoming HITEC show, Radiant will be unveiling new customizable software that allows clients to reconfigure applications on their own. “We’re giving clients full access to our application source code, so they can develop and change the application the same way Radiant does,” he stated. Grossman conceded that these high-tech changes would most likely need to be made by a hotel company’s corporate IT division, rather than at the property level, due the computer knowledge required to make any reconfigurations.
