Everyone wants the magic number.
The real number moves every shift.
Labour percentage is total labour cost over revenue for the same period. The target is format-dependent. The battle is fought roster by roster.
Quick service runs leaner than full service; a venue with penalty-heavy weekend trade carries a different floor than a weekday cafe. What formats share is the mechanism: the percentage is set when the roster is drafted, and won or lost against the demand that actually arrives. That is a forecasting problem before it is a discipline problem.
- 01
Count all of it, continuously
Wages plus superannuation and on-costs, over revenue, rechecked through service rather than discovered in the weekly pack.
Performance - 02
Draft the roster to the curve
The percentage is mostly decided before the week starts. Rosters drafted against a 15-minute demand forecast stop paying for hours the trade never needed.
Parallax Projection - 03
Make the in-shift call early
The gap between a 31% day and a 35% day is often one send-home decision made at eight instead of ten. OPPI surfaces that call while it is still cheap.
Command Centre - 04
Know what movement to expect
OPPI's modelled venue puts recoverable labour at 3% to 8% of the labour line. Modelled arithmetic shown as a range, not a measured result.
Outcomes
- What should labour cost percentage be in an Australian venue?
- Most venues land between the high twenties and mid thirties. Quick service and cafes sit lower, full service and late-night formats higher. Treat published targets as a range to position within, not a single number to hit.
- How do I calculate it properly?
- Total labour cost, including superannuation and on-costs, divided by revenue for the same period. Calculate it per day and per daypart as well as weekly; a healthy weekly figure can hide two expensive shifts.
- How does OPPI reduce it?
- By drafting rosters against forecast demand and watching the live percentage through service, so staffing decisions happen early. The modelled range is 3% to 8% of the labour line, stated as arithmetic, not a promise.
- Do penalty rates break the model?
- No, they sharpen it. Weekend and late hours cost more, so the drafted roster is costed against the forecast and the trade-off is visible. Award interpretation and payroll stay with your existing tools.
Stop chasing the number. Automate the mechanism.
Watch a week's roster drafted to a live demand curve.