A message from your Customer Account Management team 

At its core, running a business is about inputs and outputs. Each payment you accept is an important input of data that can inform smarter
decision-making. The critical output comes when you turn that data into actionable insights.

This month, we’ll show you how data collected at the point of sale (POS) can be applied to workforce planning. Given that labor is the highest cost for many small and medium-sized businesses, any efficiency-building insights gleaned can potentially add up to considerable savings.

What the point of sale can tell you about your labor needs 

Gathering and analyzing employee data hasn’t always been easy, often requiring various pieces of software running on different hardware, to manage even the smallest workforce.

Businesses of all sizes can now track, access and analyze this data from one place using a modern POS device enabled with 'smart' technology.

These payment devices can track sales transactions and cross-reference them with employee sales data to generate near real-time reports. For example, compare your revenue by month, day, shift or project to your overall per-hour labor costs.

Use data to track inventory and forecast sales, and to ensure you’re not under- or over-staffed during specific times. This data can also help you assess employee performance and inform you if temporary help is needed during peak seasons.

A smart POS device can also handle workforce management duties like timesheets, schedules, requested days off, shift breaks and payroll automation. 

And because these systems operate in the cloud, you can access reports and the rest of your data anytime, anywhere, including from your smartphone. You can control what kind of access each employee has to various POS functions and reports. 

Regardless of your business size, business intelligence data can help you run operations more efficiently. And a smart POS device is a great way to simplify that process. . 

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Using labor data to boost productivity 

Having a granular view of day-to-day operations – each month, day or even shift – organized by employee, date or time can ensure cost-effective decisions around staffing and scheduling.

Here are some specific ways employee data can solve key business challenges.

• Measuring sales: Even if your employees don’t work on commission or in direct sales, measuring their sales can provide information about your inventory, daily retail or sales activities and discounts granted. Know which employees drive the most revenue to aid decisions on scheduling or role assignments.
• Selling acumen: Tracking which employees are your top sellers for specific products/items can help you determine if knowledge gaps exist or if you need to better optimize inventory at various times of the day. This data could also highlight effective cross-selling strategies for broader team adoption. 
• Mitigating voids: Know what was added to/removed from an order, and in a restaurant setting, see if an item was sent to the kitchen before being voided. Plus, visibility of the most voided items can help determine if a menu or process change is needed and shed light on potential staff training opportunities.
• Labor costs: With a bird's-eye view of wages or salaries, benefits, payroll taxes, and training and recruitment expenses, you can optimize your staffing and training to match demand. Labor cost reports also help ensure you’re in compliance with labor laws, such as minimum wage requirements and overtime regulations.

Many customers using our talech POS system already have this capability at their fingertips. Contact your Customer Account Manager to find out if there is a smart POS system that is right for you. 

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The connection between data and employee satisfaction 

Labor data can also help improve your relationship with employees. Below are a few use case examples.

Set performance benchmarks: When you can set up quantitative benchmarks for each role in your business, you can track employee performance against those benchmarks. The data can help inform feedback when meeting with individual employees, such as if you need to encourage beneficial behaviors or assess when time could be spent on important tasks.

Sales by employee: Quickly seeing when sales peak and slow helps to ensure adequate staffing so your employees aren’t overworked or bored. The data can also help you identify top performers or spot employees who may need more training. 

Automate your payroll: Ensure your employees are paid accurately and on time. A smart POS system can integrate with your accounting and payroll software to ensure everything – pay calculations, time off, tax withholdings – is accurate. Plus, if you need to audit, all this information is in one place. 

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Building employee cyber risk awareness 

Cyberattacks and data breach events happen on a daily, if not an hourly, basis and payment card data is a favorite target for cybercriminals.

The first step to evaluating your business’s weak points is building risk awareness.

Keep yourself up to date on the latest data security threats^* like digital skimming, ransomware and malware, and regularly search the internet looking for alerts on any new security threats that surface.

It’s also important to make sure employees are cybersecurity aware. Train your employees to recognize risk,^* such as phishing and social engineering, and how to follow appropriate security protocols. They should become familiar with the types of cyber threats that are common in your industry, the potential impact they can have on the organization and the steps required to reduce risk.

Be aware that employees with access to business computers and smartphones connected to your WiFi without password protection can create vulnerabilities. So, validate your processes for access, login and password management, and consider implementing multi-factor authentication.

Modern POS systems let you customize device access and permissions per employee. Your Customer Account Manager can tell you what systems include this capability.

What to do if compromised
If you become aware that payment card data, customer information or transaction information has been accessed or used without proper authorization from your business or systems within your control, we want to remind you that must notify us within 24 hours.

The notification should include: 

1. A detailed written statement about the data incident, including the contributing circumstances.
2. The form, number and range of compromised account information.
3. The specific account numbers compromised.
4. Details about the ensuing investigation and the organization’s security personnel who may be contacted in connection with the data incident.
5. Please include Elavon’s Client Security team on your notice at ADCqueries-NA@elavon.com.

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