Have you started a new restaurant and find it difficult to manage its operations? Are the stressful situations taking a toll on you? Do you find it tough managing the staff and restaurant operations? If you reply affirmatively to any one of the above questions, you are on the right page. Through this blog, we share some tips to help you with the smooth running of the restaurant operations.
Firstly, you need to start maintaining a restaurant operation manual.
What is a Restaurant Operations Manual?
A restaurant operations manual is a guide that contains a list of all the restaurant activities that are an integral part of the restaurant, such as customer service, food preparation, cleaning, buying raw material, accounting, etc.
It also has a complete list of guidelines, instructions, and checklists to perform each task along with the employees responsible for it. Make sure to include critical activities such as dining room processes, reservation handling, cleaning instructions/ guidelines, and kitchen procedures in a lucid and easy to understand language.
Things to Consider While Curating a Restaurant Operations Manual
When creating the restaurant operations manual, remember to jot down how each task needs to be carried, who would be responsible for each task, and make it comprehensive for all to understand. And while you jot these down, here’s what you need to remember:
- Checklists are easier to understand when jotting down tasks to be carried out. A calendar checklist can help the staff keep a check every hour to know if the task is accomplished.
- Explain the processes in detail. This will reduce goof-ups and maintain an admirable level of productivity.
- Make a how-to guide for every procedure. With the exact details jotted down, making mistakes in even the most complex of tasks is reduced a great deal. Apart from that, new personnel can gain better insight and training becomes seamless.
- Update the manual regularly. You don’t want to be stuck with a process that is ages old when everything else is progressing rapidly. If you introduce a new technology or kitchen equipment, make sure you update it in the manual.
- Assign two or more people to a single task as a backup. If you intend to specify who will be taking over which task, it is always best to have backups so that one of them carries out said task. This also means that you would need to train them all for the particular task in question.
- Have every new employee read the entire manual as a norm before they begin practical training.
Keeping all of these pointers in mind will help you create a checklist that is easy to read, understand, and implement while eliminating all chances of things going haywire.
How does a Restaurant Operations Manual Benefit your Restaurant?
A restaurant operations manual essentially works as the go-to book for every problem, allowing employees to rely on the book in the absence of a trainer. The manual will also reduce the chances of goof-ups and improve productivity in the long run. Here’s a list of all the benefits you can reap by having a manual ready:
1. Lowers the learning time of staff
For new staff, learning your restaurant’s operational style takes some time. If, however, you provide them with a manual with all the instructions and guidelines to perform a task, they learn faster. The ready reference document helps in saving a lot of time as your staff trains themselves using the manual. The mismanagement arising due to a staff forgetting their responsibility gets efficiently managed with the use of the manual.
2. All-round employees
The guidelines mentioned in the restaurant operation manual saves you from any embarrassment due to no backup for staff on leave. With the regularly updated manual, employees can perform any task following the clearly defined instructions. The checklists help them to perform any task efficiently. Since the manual makes it possible for staff to perform any task, your employees become all-rounders.
3. Aids in maintaining a consistent standard of operation
Once you have a restaurant manual in place, you will see a visible difference in your operational standards. Since all tasks will follow a given set of guidelines, your restaurant will have a consistent standard of operations. Be it in cleaning, customer service, food hygiene, reporting, etc, a big noticeable difference would be the positive feedback from diners for the consistent service levels. The restaurant would certainly have a better chance at retaining customers with a uniform impressive service.
4. Task delegation gets simplified
With the restaurant operations manual carrying details of the job guidelines and the staff responsible for it, delegating work gets simplified. Each task is assigned the ownership making it easier for you to track the progress. This will also reduce micromanaging without negatively impacting the process.
5. A visible rise in customer delight
The improved performance of the staff along with the consistent operations standard lead to a happy and delightful diner experience. By mentioning how the staff can deal with customer queries and follow-ups, the customer experience is positively heightened. Waiting on the management for directions is no longer necessary and customer interactions are more pleasant when the staff has the right answers.
With the help of an operations manual, restaurants are more likely to ensure consistency and efficiency in the service. By minimizing the chances of mistakes, the manual can improve the quality of service as well as the productivity of the staff significantly.
To further streamline the restaurant operations, you can make use of some handy and beneficial apps. The inresto Feedback Management app helps you to collect feedback from your diners and take relevant action. The inresto Reservation Management app helps you to handle all reservations and walk-ins effortlessly on a digital platform. The DineIn product of inresto allows you to offer your diners an unforgettable dining experience.
Also Read : Supply Chain Management Guide
