Corkman develops App aimed at helping hospitality and retail sectors

RICHARD Goggin, like many of us, is upset to see so much of Cork’s hospitality sector shutting down.

The Cork-born 38-year-old has been in the industry for 25 years, working his way up from collecting glasses on the southside of the city, to managing a large venue in Melbourne, Australia. In between, he has clocked up hours in bars and restaurants in America, Brazil, New Zealand and Canada, never with a passive eye, always considering the best way to do things.

He’s now back in his native city and looking to make a difference. As luck would have it, the timing of his return couldn’t be better.

The Covid Effect

The ‘Irish Pub: Supporting Our Communities’ report released last month shows that since 2005, and as of the end of last year, Cork has lost 365 pubs – a 29.9% decline.

The same report shows that half of 108 pubs that closed down nationally in 2022 were in Cork.

Goggin believes much of this is down to rising costs and issues with the recruitment and retention of staff.

“The hospitality and retail sector has always suffered from huge staff turnover but since Covid many have been forced to close, or open fewer days a week, due to staff shortages and rising costs,” he said.

Energy and supplier costs have all risen massively and the VAT rate for many tourism and hospitality goods and services rose from 9% to 13.5% on September 1. It’s unsustainable.

Goggin has developed an app that aims to help owners in keeping their doors open and their businesses profitable.

WorkWall is an employee management software that has been designed to make hospitality and retail managers’ jobs a lot easier, while improving the lives of staff and owners.

“Hospitality is what Ireland is famous for,” he enthuses. “We must play to our strengths. The sad thing is that we are losing our unique little venues in Ireland because people just can’t afford to keep their staff and pay their bills.”

WorkWall

The app allows for improved rostering, communication, costing and document storage. In short, it frees up the manager, relieves them of the drudgery of back-office work, allowing them to return to the front of house. It also allows staff far more autonomy and flexibility in their job. This, says Goggin, is key.

Our unique selling point is that we have a strong focus on improving communication and work-life balance for everyone.

“I’ve worked as a member of staff and as a manager so I know where the fault lines form. Staff want more flexibility and better communication, and managers want more free-time and less hassle. We provide what both parties most need, and we also ensure that the business stays profitable, which keeps the owner happy.”

Goggin observed similar apps abroad. Whilst Irish venues began to use more online booking systems during Covid, he feels it has a long way to catch up.

“I saw the benefit of a similar app when I was living in Canada. I desperately wanted to go to the Burning Man festival. Using an app I was able to organise my own cover with similarly trained members of staff. I put it up on the app and the whole team, or all others with a similar skill level, chipped in and took a shift each. It shows the power of software to allow for more collaboration and teamwork. 

I went to the festival, had the time of my life, and came back feeling even more committed to my job.

This is partly how the app works. Staff can organise their own cover so the manager doesn’t have to spend their days ringing people to fill in, getting frustrated and losing valuable time.

“The manager still has to sign off on it, but the app does the work for them. The stress is taken out of it. Some people I approach are reluctant at first. They feel staff need to either like their roster or lump it. That attitude needs to change. Businesses need happy staff because happy staff are more productive. They also stay longer.”

As Goggin points out – losing staff is an expensive business.

“The industry accepts it as a necessary evil but the loss involved is huge. It’s not just about having to find and train someone new, there can often be hidden costs, as subtle as a loss of staff moral or a downgrade in institutional knowledge.”

Immediate Communication and Profit Margins

Beyond keeping staff happy, the app generally improves the daily functioning of the team.

“It can also be used to pass on information to staff when they clock-in. For example, reminders about what little jobs need to be done, changes to menus, refilling syrup, that kind of thing.”

For Goggin, this relates directly to staff wellbeing.

“This is so important now. There is no way staff should be getting unnecessary WhatsApp calls and messages about work. They have a right to disconnect. This way, they get all the information they need about their shift via the app. It’s simple and straight-forward and managed within a work context. It also prevents any inappropriate communication that might occur on social media. The app is where all communication should happen.”

The app even reminds managers to check in on staff.

Yes, it will give a head’s up to have a quick chat, all part of the relationship building. 

"It will also remind managers when employees may need to upskill or complete a new training course, so it’s automatically investing in people and their potential.”

For the managers and owners of the business, it also removes the need to rely on accountants’ reports from the week before.

“This is much more dynamic in terms of keeping tabs on the business. The app will display costs accurately on a day to day basis, which will help identify when staffing needs to be light or heavy.”

Wellbeing First

Goggin returns to the importance of happy staff in the hospitality sector.

“The job of a manager can be challenging because you are ultimately a go-between for the owner and the workers. I sway towards the staff. If you have happy staff, you will have happy costumers. If you have staff retention, you have costumer retention, and that naturally improves profits.”

The passionate entrepreneur believes the industry should move with the times and use technology to free managers up to focus on staff and costumers.

“We need to get rid of the old ways of doing things, where the manager is out the back doing wages on a Monday and rostering on a Tuesday. There is no need for that anymore. If we export it onto an app like WorkWall, it can be done in 10/15 minutes.”

Richard Goggin hopes to bring WorkWall to multiple businesses in Cork and beyond.

To be honest, I’m not pushing it too much. If it’s good enough and works for people then news of it will travel. 

"But I see great potential for it to improve interconnectedness within the industry in Cork and elsewhere.

“In the future, there’s no reason venues couldn’t work together using this app. it is also applicable to other shift-based industries that are experiencing similar staffing issues since Covid.

“A lot of managers are struggling in health and social care, retail, manufacturing, and education. Really, the sky’s the limit with it.”

For more see https://www.theworkwall.com/