13:54, 13 January 2026

Russia’s Restaurant Industry Embraces Digital Technologies

The First Bit company has moved HR operations at a major restaurant chain to fully electronic document management.

First Bit has completed the rollout of an electronic HR document management system for the large restaurant chain Sicilia. The project covered 30 Russian cities and several back-office divisions. The backbone of the upgrade is the 1C: Employee Cabinet platform, which is now used to process all HR documents.

For a company with branches spread across a vast country, paper-based HR workflows had long been slow and labor-intensive. Mailing documents between locations, physical approvals, and handwritten signatures meant lost time, added costs, and the risk of misplaced paperwork. With the new system in place, HR teams and local managers can focus on other priorities.

From a Single Restaurant to a Full Network

The system was first launched at a pilot restaurant, where processes were tested and fine-tuned. Once the workflow proved stable, electronic document management was rolled out across the entire network.

“The main challenge was ensuring consistent processes across a large, geographically distributed network. We didn’t just need to deploy software, but to create a unified digital environment that would be equally convenient and efficient for employees in any city. We chose a pilot-first strategy followed by replication, which allowed us to work through all the details at the first site and then scale the successful experience across the company without disruption,” said Elena Starikova, a consultant at First Bit’s Chelyabinsk office.

Employees now submit vacation requests, sick leave, and certificate applications electronically. The system automatically routes them for approval, and the data is immediately recorded in the 1C system. Paper folders and courier deliveries are no longer required.

Time Is Money

The time HR staff spend working with documents has been cut in half. Restaurant managers have been relieved of the need to collect and send paperwork, while the overall volume of paper-based HR documentation has fallen by 35%.

“Documents no longer get lost, and approvals have sped up. In-person visits to the HR department have been reduced to a minimum. Information from applications is automatically transferred into 1C, and our franchisees no longer need to spend money on paper-based workflows,” said Sergey Nevedrov, founder of the Sicilia chain.

Electronic document management based on 1C is proving to be a major advantage for organizations with branches in multiple cities, and its adoption is expected to continue.

Digital economy