Managing a restaurant is an exercise in multitasking: it is way more complicated than opening one. After you get done with the investments, designing, hiring, and all those pre-opening duties, your next task is going to be all about figuring out techniques for running it well. Managers need to watch over day-to-day operations to ensure everything goes off well.
While that’s not an easy task, everyone can use some tips to make the process smoother.
Let’s have a look at some restaurant management tips to ensure everything goes off without a hitch!
1. Let Technology Come Handy
The 21st century has its perks, and technology is one of them. It has made our lives easier and much more efficient than before.
As a restaurant manager, you can let tech come in handy to make restaurant management smoother. From advanced tools for serving to cook and even ordering, there are multiple things out there to invest in today. For instance, you can go for self-ordering counters and automated servers to cut the difficulties and enhance customer service. You may also use software to keep track of employee hours and tasks. Some apps schedule your time and notify everyone for a record of work and time. One can also use it for recording attendance. It will ensure the workers that they are being fairly paid and will make things easier for them.
As we highly advocate for efficient serving, here is our guide on Restaurant Technology for Servers!
2. Streamline Your Menu
Running a restaurant well is way more complicated than opening one. However, it gets easier when you ensure your kitchen works seamlessly. After all, it is the place where all the magic happens. Streamlining your menu can help your kitchen run more efficiently. Create categories for customers to order their favorite goodies from you can group food items thematically.
It lets the customers order faster as well as the servers be less confused. Ensure that everything falls in place!
3. Offer Consistent Employee Training
After streamlining your menu, offer consistent employee training. It allows everyone in the staff to be on one page. One can also let everyone know about the updated rules and regulations, fostering a productive environment at the workplace. It will also allow your new hires to catch on quickly. They can then go through the set of manuals for cooking, serving, and cleaning often.
We also recommend giving everyone training for all roles. It helps in case of making rotations. You may document the training sessions and provide cloud sharings to the staff. It will save time and allow for interactive meetings.
4. Clearly Define Roles
To manage a restaurant smoothly, everyone must know the niche they play. Hence, define the roles of the restaurant staff team clearly. Start by making a list of the processes that need to get done. Divide them into categories of back and front house. Then, assign a set of tasks to different individuals. Do not assign everything to that one responsible worker. Keep a balance and check sheet to track everyone’s progress. One way of ensuring everyone does their task is to digitize the to-do lists and introduce reward points. Introducing a reward system for workers has proven to enhance the work environment. Do a weekly analysis of your server and reward them accordingly to keep them motivated into working better.
5. Set Up Efficient Kitchen Operations
In restaurant management, most of the work is in the kitchen. Buying efficient kitchen setups makes everything easier. From the latest cooking processes to equipment and effective working strategies, you need expert advice.
Buy advanced things for your kitchen. If possible, go for autonomous devices. It will let your chefs work faster, allowing the restaurant to run faster even on busy days. For instance, you may go for digital order lists rather than paper receipts. The latter regularly get misplaced and are hard to read to connect the kitchen and customers. Chefs can then easily read on the go and work everything out.
6. Have a Disciplined Cash Management
With disciplined cash management, you can avoid financial setbacks and have a smooth running restaurant. Your funds must be enough to cover the costs of repairs, maintenance, and necessary equipment. Furthermore, you will also need it to purchase food ahead of service. Having cash flow problems can affect your stocks. Running out of menu items is not only embarrassing, but it also negatively impacts your reputation in the market with a loss of potential profits. You can have a team dedicated to keeping track of money. Check the status regularly. Do not overspend nor be too cheap and compromise on quality.
7. Motivate Your Team
Everyone needs a boost of motivation now and then. Working in the kitchen, front house for serving, and even counters to take orders can be tiring. They need a lot more than just work breaks or rotations. Lend them a hand of applause and cheers often. Provide incentives for their hard work to appreciate them. Thank them for their customer service for staff retention. We also recommend having advancement opportunities.
Some restaurants also have motivational and stress-busting sessions to get things going!
8. Adapt To Feedback
To have a smooth running restaurant, you need more than a trained staff and an efficient kitchen: happy, returning customers!
Hence, adapt to customer feedback to get everything right. Pinpoint areas that often have trouble. You can also reward them with discounts in case of any mishaps. Make customer service your number one priority. Make sure your staff takes the feedback without judgment and being defensive. We also recommend taking out the positive comments and using those areas as your highlight for marketing purposes!
9. Advertise and Market
Maintain a social media presence to attract a customer base actively. Without customers, your restaurant will not run. You can invest in an advertising and marketing team that overlooks this department.
10. Be Transparent with Your Staff
One of the best restaurant management tips we can give you is maintaining transparency with the staff. It will lead to a higher staff retention rate because of the sense of security. There are no surprises on their way when policies and regulations change.
The Bottomline
With our restaurant management tips to make the process smoother, you can now effectively run one. You may also come up with personalized ideas for your preference. So, wait for no further and start today!
Do check our guides on the Steps of Serving (Basics) and the common Restaurant Administration Mistakes so you can avoid them.