Sask. tech company using AI for restaurant scheduling

When you think of successful tech startups, California’s Silicon Valley is top of mind, or maybe Waterloo, Ont., which gave birth to Research in Motion (RIM), now known as the software company BlackBerry.

But homegrown Saskatchewan company 7shifts, based in Saskatoon, is serving up new tools in the restaurant industry, while still growing and staying local.

The company uses artificial intelligence technology to eliminate the time-consuming but necessary chore of scheduling restaurant staff.

Gone are the days of Excel schedules, according to CEO Jordan Boesch who was on Gormley on Thursday.

“The next wave is really around further artificial intelligence when it comes to managing labour and staff and engagement,” said Boesch.

The company continues to grow, recently with an infusion of capital funding, raising $10 million USD, led by New York-based private equity group Napier Park Financial Partners. 7shifts currently serves over 7,000 locations, adding hundreds every month.

Boesch said restaurants tell him labour is among the biggest challenges they face.

“Scheduling is becoming more complex. There’s more of an on-demand workforce now than there ever has been.”

The company does an analysis, looking at past scheduling behaviours, who works well together and why. It also takes several factors into account, including the weather and historical sales, to create the most efficient schedule for each restaurant.

Boesch explained their technology reaches beyond labour management into staff retention as well. He said managers can take that data and create a better culture in their workplace to make it a place where staff want to work.

Managing its own labour force can be a challenge for 7shifts while staying in Saskatchewan and facing pressure to be located somewhere else. Boesch said it can be tough for companies like his to get as much senior talent on board as possible.

“When you take something like venture capital the expectations are far greater than growing a business at a safe and medium pace. You’re in growth mode.”

He pointed to Shopify as a Canadian success startup, which decided to stay in Ottawa and build a public company there.

Boesch said 7shifts has some great people already on the team in Saskatoon, but also found some more senior talent from Brazil. They may know the tech, but will have to get used to the weather.

“We brought some great folks back some Sao Paulo where it was 30 C, and they all just finished getting here about two weeks ago; they were introduced to -40 C.”