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HotSchedules delivers mobile task management, communication, accountability app

Logbook is a mobile task list and communication tool that can replace or enhance traditional paper systems.

July 29, 2015

HotSchedules, a provider of mobile technology for the restaurant and hospitality industries, has unveiled Logbook, a mobile task list and communication tool that can replace or enhance traditional paper systems.

Logbook has new features designed for smartphones, tablets and web browsers that improve functionality, including task lists based on best practices from the Manager’s Red Book, according to a company press release. The upgrades will help managers run more efficient shifts that deliver a consistent guest experience, every day and at every location, said Anthony Lye, CEO.

"We’re upgrading everything and bringing them into one mobile app," he said. "This is a major leap for HotSchedules because we’re bringing together two best-in-class tools and adding innovative features that will give our customers the competitive edge they need to succeed."

Disorganized storefront operations and poor shift-to-shift communications breeds chaos and weaken both the guest experience and overall store performance, said Lye, who noted Logbook addresses those challenges by consolidating operational tasks, to-dos, maintenance schedules, personnel issues, and communications into one cloud-based solution that can be accessed from a mobile device.

It also gives corporate-level operations and individual managers the ability to define, assign, and track tasks and checklists for an entire restaurant operation, Lye said. Restaurants can choose to use pre-designed task lists based on the best practices of more than 120,000 restaurant and hospitality locations, or they can customize task lists to fit their operation.

All shift notes are updated in real time and come with mobile notifications so managers can see what has or hasn’t been completed and resolve issues before they become emergencies. Logbook collects data on task completion so managers, owners and headquarters can analyze, compare and improve performance at every store.

"Previously, our in-store communications consisted of clipboards full of notes with no dates," said Jim Hofer, operations support for CRAVE, a restaurant that uses the application. "Now, everything is under one umbrella and can be managed consistently and far more accurately. Finding records is a breeze and we can hold each other accountable. There’s a cost savings there too."

Logbook’s communication tools enable managers to instant message with employees, broadcast announcements, issues surveys, and send videos of a new procedures and processes. Overall, Logbook’s feature set ensures restaurants deliver a consistent experience and comply with directives around safety, food handling, cash handling, HAACP, and employee management,  Lye said.

Brooklyn’s Restaurant in Stillwater, Oklahoma, also finds the communication tools essential to its operation.

"We lean on the Logbook to keep track of personnel issues and ongoing repairs and maintenance," said Carly Rodreick, general manager. "It makes it so easy to go back and search for a specific incident later on."