About Pilla - Hospitality Management Platform

Why managing staff is harder in hospitality

Now allow me two seconds to spell out what makes this a particularly big challenge in hospitality compared to other industries - bear with me, because I know you live this but it's worth saying:

Challenge	Why it matters
High staff turnover	People come and go, so it's hard to maintain consistency in training and culture.
Low pay and limited incentives	Motivation is a challenge when wages are low and there's little financial upside for doing more.
Inexperienced teams	Many staff are young, new to the workforce, or using hospitality as a stepping stone, so buy-in to your business is harder.
Managers stretched thin	You're juggling rotas, customer service, stock, and staffing gaps so there's less time for supervision.
Verbal culture	Lots is said, not written down so expectations can be unclear, and follow-through is inconsistent.

Existing tools help to some degree but don't solve the problem fully:

Tool	Why it falls short
Paper and clipboards	Things get lost, aren't followed up, and there's no record of what was actually done. Staff tick boxes without accountability.
Spreadsheets	They're clunky to use and offer limited visibility and reminders. They're static tools trying to manage dynamic teams.
Shift Scheduling apps	They don't help with what happens once the shift starts. Staff know when they are working but not what they are working on.
Task/To-do apps	They aren't built for hospitality, you spend hours customising them but they never fully fit your business needs.

The result? Managers end up spending more time chasing updates and updating several different systems than leading their team. You're still not confident that the right things are happening at the right time and the team isn't improving because there's no clear feedback loop.

Our solution part 1: Why shifts and work should be together

In hospitality, these things are connected and you need to have a handle on both.

That's why Pilla brings both shifts and work into the same system and applies the same rules of engagement across both. Staff clock in on time, complete their tasks, and you can see their performance instantly. Everything counts. Everything feeds into a shared goal.

Here's what that unlocks:

Benefit	Why it matters
Increased staff engagement	When more info for staff in one place, staff are more likely to adopt and use it more thoroughly.
Fairer feedback loops	You're not tracking performance in isolation, you're seeing how teams perform across the board.
Simpler systems	One app, one login, one scoreboard. No more switching tools or repeating work.
Better habits	The same daily rhythm builds across shifts and tasks: show up, get it done, do it on time.
Clearer accountability	You can spot who's consistent and who needs support whether it's around punctuality or task follow-through.
Fewer dropped balls	When the same system reminds, tracks, and rewards all core activity, the right things happen more often.

Our solution part 2: Why gamification is the hands-off motivator you're crying out for

Younger teams are used to feedback loops from games, social media, and everyday apps. They're more likely to engage with systems that feel interactive and responsive. A live leaderboard or growing streak means more to them than a printed checklist on a wall.

Gamification gives them instant feedback, a sense of progress, and a clear role in how their team performs. It turns routine tasks into something visible and rewarding. For managers, it's a huge time-saver. You don't need to chase or remind people. The system nudges them automatically. It tracks who's doing what, when, and how reliably—so you can focus on leading, not checking up.

Here's why it works:

Why it works	Explanation
It creates instant feedback	Staff know when they've done a good job and when they've dropped the ball. That alone changes behaviour.
It builds momentum	When teams see their streaks grow, their rankings rise, and their score improve, they want to keep it going.
It motivates without micromanagement	You don't have to chase. The system nudges people automatically.
It makes performance visible	Staff and managers see how each team is doing, right there in the leaderboard. It creates healthy competition and pride.
It's inclusive	Everyone contributes to the team score, whether they're part-time or full-time, working front of house or in the kitchen.

How the gamification works (and why it's fair for everyone)

Every month, teams compete on a monthly leaderboard. We've developed our own simple scoring system which is:

Principle	Why it's important
Simple	Teams understand it instantly.
Fair	Teams of all sizes and workloads are on a level playing field.
Flexible	It works whether you're using shifts, work, or both.
Motivating	It encourages consistency over short-term bursts.

Here's how the scoring works in three steps:

1. Base Points – Every shift and every work activity can earn points for the team:

🟩 On time = 3 points
🟨 Late = 1 point
🟥 Missed = 0 points

2. Hot Streak Multiplier – The base points will be increased for teams on hot streaks (consecutive on time shifts and work):

Examples:

A streak of 5 gives a 1.05x boost to every shift or work activity
A streak of 10 gives a 1.10x boost to every shift or work activity
A streak of 50 gives a 1.5x boost to every shift or work activity

3. Scores are averaged – Lastly, each team's total score is divided by the number of shifts and work activities completed that month. This gives a fair and simple score for all teams to see on a leaderboard:

FOH Team: 2.45
BOH Team: 2.23

Getting your team to do the right things at the right time shouldn't be this hard.

Why managing staff is harder in hospitality

Our solution part 1: Why shifts and work should be together

Our solution part 2: Why gamification is the hands-off motivator you're crying out for

How the gamification works (and why it's fair for everyone)

Here's how the scoring works in three steps:

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