Running a restaurant is a rewarding experience, but it can also be a huge challenge. Not only do managers have to worry about keeping the business profitable, but they also need to ensure their staff are working with the best tools and efficiency to maximize productivity. From keeping track of everything in the lunchtime rush, to organizing employee schedules, managing a restaurant is a task that can change with every passing day.
Since the quality of your workforce often dictates the amount of customers and profits you bring in, you’re going to need to make sure you have the right tips in your arsenal. After all, most restaurant managers are struggling to find the great workers they need for their business to thrive, as labor costs continue to increase. Following, we’ll cover just some of the steps you should take in designing and implementing the best staff management plan.
Step 1: Draw Up Daily Procedures and Policies
It can be difficult for employees to remain organized in a fast-paced restaurant environment, unless they have a clearly defined, easy-to-understand architecture of procedures and policies to follow. Developing a handbook for employees to turn to when they’re feeling unsure should help to ensure that your staff are working together and following the same principles. When writing up a staff manual for daily operations, be sure to include:
- Information on ordering procedures
- Codes of conduct for behavior in, and out of the kitchen
- Dress codes for kitchen and wait staff
- Procedures for emptying tills, handling money, and opening or closing the restaurant
- Data for using security systems
- Details of food safety expectations and steps required to comply with any relevant legislation
Step 2: Train Your Staff
Once you’re sure that your staff understand their role, ensure they have the correct training in place to facilitate a professional environment. Training your staff so that they know how to manage point of sale systems, take orders, and work with new technology should lead to faster, more effective customer service.
Training your staff means that you won’t need to spend as much time monitoring daily activities, while creating a more uniform working system. What’s more, having well-trained staff will help to motivate workers, as they will see that they have future abilities to progress in the business and further develop their skills.
Step 3: Step Into the Future
Despite the fact that technology has begun to play a major part in the effective management of numerous industries, many restaurant managers have not yet begun to utilize productivity-enhancing systems. Not only are these tools tried and tested, but they are essential for keeping up-to-date with the ever-evolving world of customer service. In fact, the industry report for restaurants conducted in 2015 found that at least 73% of all restaurants were planning to upgrade their technology by the end of the year.
For example, digital menus and signage help to offer customers a more interactive experience that lets them to browse and input their own orders – completely removing the need for servers to travel backwards and forwards between tables to collect information. The more unnecessary behavior is eradicated; the more staff can focus on cultivating the best overall customer experience.
Step 4: Maximize Your POS
Because restaurants are generally fast-paced, they require the utmost efficiency in everything from financial management to customer service. After all, the success of any restaurant depends largely on the flow with which the organization can operate. With that in mind, a point of sale (POS) system shouldn’t be used only for ringing up orders – it’s a crucial tool in your technological arsenal.
An intelligent point of sale system can help to track everything from cash flow, to food inventory, to sales, avoiding the time-consuming paper-based processes that are often less accurate to begin with. By maximizing your POS, you can simplify the process of managing your restaurant, while keeping track of opportunities to cut down on outgoing costs, and upgrade performance.
Step 5: Track Everything
If you want to ensure that you’re managing your restaurant staff in the best way possible, you’ll need to track the efficiency of all operations, from how staff members take time, to what managers do when they’re on the clock. By analyzing how your system works, you’ll be able to better identify where you can implement new practices and technology to save time. For example, you may begin using technology to help manage employee schedules and keep track of labor costs.
Ultimately, the more attention you pay to what works, and what doesn’t in your restaurant environment, the more you’ll be able to upgrade processes for more efficient, more successful staff management.