Why is this important?
Staff needs rules let you define the calculation logic for your needs (number of people required on each time slot, for each role) only once, and then let Skello automatically feed your staffing plan every week.
What are staff needs rules for?
In many establishments, staff needs follow a recurring logic: a fixed headcount on certain time slots (for example, 2 bakers every morning from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM), or a headcount that varies based on an activity indicator (for example, 1 cashier per €250 bracket of forecast revenue). With staff needs rules, you set up this logic once and it applies automatically to your staffing plan.
Two types of rules are available:
Fixed rule: a constant number of people over one or more time slots, regardless of the activity level.
Dynamic rule: a number of people calculated automatically from a forecast indicator (revenue, number of customers, number of items).
What permissions are required?
To configure the rules, you need the “I can edit the shop's rules and absences” permission.
To view and interact with the calculated needs on the schedule, you need the “I have access to management indicators on the schedule and the monitoring tab” permission.
If you don't have these permissions, reach out to your shop's administrator.
Where to find the rules configuration?
Rules are configured from Settings > Activity forecast > Staff needs.
How to create a staff needs rule?
From the “Staff needs” tab, click Add a rule. A window opens and invites you to select:
The role concerned by the rule
The rule type: fixed or dynamic
You can create only one rule per role. If a rule already exists for a role, this role won't be available in the list: you'll first need to edit or delete the existing rule.
You can create up to 50 rules per shop.
Fixed staff needs rule
The fixed rule lets you define a number of people required over one or more given time slots, regardless of the activity level. It's particularly well suited to roles whose headcount doesn't depend on activity volume.
Example: 2 bakers from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM every day.
To set up a fixed rule, enter:
One or more time slots (start and end time, with a minimum duration of 15 minutes)
The number of people required per slot (an integer between 1 and 100)
The slot granularity (hourly or quarter-hourly)
Several slots can overlap: in that case, values add up on the overlapping ranges.
Dynamic staff needs rule
The dynamic rule automatically calculates your needs based on a forecast indicator. It's particularly well suited to roles whose workload follows activity (cashier, reception, dining room service, etc.).
Example: 1 cashier per €250 bracket of forecast revenue, with a minimum of 1 person and a maximum of 4 people.
To set up a dynamic rule, fill in the following fields:
Field | Description |
Indicator | The forecast indicator the calculation is based on: revenue excl. VAT, number of customers, or number of items. |
Ratio | The activity value covered by one person over a 15-minute interval (e.g. €250 per person per quarter hour). |
Minimum employees | The minimum number of people to plan for, even when activity is very low. |
Maximum employees | The maximum number of people to plan for, even when activity is very high. |
Offset (optional) | Lets you anticipate or shift the need relative to the activity peak. For example, an offset of -1h for a kitchen role lets you plan the required headcount one hour before customers arrive in the dining room. |
💡The offset is especially useful in restaurants: it lets you align staff needs with the moment work is actually being done (prep, mise en place, etc.), rather than with the activity peak in the dining room.
How to edit or delete a rule?
From the rules table in Settings > Activity forecast > Staff needs, click the rule of your choice to view its details.
To edit the rule: adjust the fields you want and save. The rule's effective date remains the initial creation date: it doesn't change when the rule is edited.
To delete the rule: use the delete action. The rule is then immediately removed and no longer applies, neither to past nor future days.
Where do the calculated needs appear on the schedule?
Once your rules are configured, your staff needs are automatically calculated and displayed in two places on your schedule, in 15-minute intervals.
In the day view (staffing chart)
Staff needs by role appear directly in the day view staffing chart, exactly as if they had been entered manually. You can then compare your needs to your planned shifts and adjust your coverage.
In the Activity forecast KPI table
In the activity forecast window, each row corresponds to a 15-minute interval and each right-hand column corresponds to a role. The values calculated by your rules are automatically displayed in the cells.
For example, for a “Baker” role (fixed rule of 2 people from 8:00 AM to 11:30 AM) and a “Cashier” role (dynamic rule of 1 person per €250 bracket of revenue), you might see:
Time | Forecast revenue | Baker (fixed) | Cashier (dynamic) |
08:00 | €500 | 2 | 2 |
08:15 | €400 | 2 | 2 (rounded up) |
08:30 | — | 2 | — |
When the rule is dynamic and no forecast is entered for an interval, the cell displays “—”: the calculation is not possible until the activity indicator is known.
Good to know
Manual entry always takes precedence: if you manually enter a value in the KPI table, that value takes precedence over the rule's automatic calculation and isn't overwritten. If you notice that your needs aren't updating automatically, check that there are no manually entered values left on the day in question. For the rule to take over again, clear all the values for the day: the automatic calculation will then apply again.
Dynamic rules require a forecast: if no activity forecast is entered for an interval, the rule cannot calculate a need and the cell stays empty (“—”). Make sure your forecast is properly filled in to get the most out of dynamic rules.
Rules do not apply retroactively: a newly created rule applies from its creation date. It does not recalculate needs for past weeks.
Well-populated needs are the foundation of optimized planning: an up-to-date staffing plan lets you get the most out of Skello's other features (coverage analysis, shift optimization, etc.).