Case Study: Newk's Eatery achieves 75% faster scheduling and improved labor visibility with Fourth (HotSchedules)

Better schedules, improved visibility—a complete labor management solution

Newk’s Eatery, a growing fast-casual chain known for made‑to‑order menu items, faced increasing labor-management challenges as it scaled: managers relied on pen‑and‑paper or spreadsheets, scheduling errors and outdated postings were common, and corporate had no real-time visibility—creating a time‑consuming, error‑prone process that took managers three to four hours to build weekly schedules.

To solve this, Newk’s implemented HotSchedules and HotSchedules Logbook, leveraging templates, copy/paste scheduling, mobile access, POS integration and robust reporting. The result: a 75% reduction in schedule-creation time (down to about 45–60 minutes), a documented 0.6% reduction in labor costs (2–3% projected without wage increases), improved sales per labor hour (about $50/sale per man-hour), stronger communication and centralized visibility, and successful defense in an EEOC wrongful‑termination case using Logbook records.

Newk's

Stephen Hinkis

Vice President of Franchise Operations