Over time I have come across a number of restaurants that have almost everything a client can ask for: Delicious food, excellent service, excellent facilities, prices according to the quality of their products, in short… they have almost everything, However, as time passes - and sometimes not so long - you return and surprisingly, the dish that you tasted that occasion is no longer the same and it happens that, or it lacks flavor, or the weight is no longer the same, or the decoration or the garnish are different; As for the service, the waiter, who was very friendly, is no longer there or someone else attends you with less kindness or even bad; in the environment the music is different (to the taste of who put it), the bathroom is not so clean, etc.
All this happens basically for a reason, their procedures are not standardized, there is no system that tells people “what to do” or “how to do it”.
Unfortunately this is a constant in our industry, the opening of new gastronomic business units is impressive and good! What a pleasure that there are investors and entrepreneurs venturing into such an exciting industry and that there are new sources of work, the economy of the sector is activated and with it the national economy… wonderful! But if you are going to bet or have already bet on this business, you have to do your best.
I am sure that one of the reasons why you invested or undertook in this wonderful sector was also to earn money, right? To earn money requires perseverance, hard and daily work, but it also requires something else, it requires "knowing how to do what we should do", by this I mean that everyone in your restaurant should know it and how are you going to achieve it? Standardizing procedures.
The operations manual has the objective of systematizing all the procedures of all the areas of your restaurant.
It is about documenting step by step everything that must be done, how to do it and teach your collaborators to do it, as well as supervising that it is done. In this way and shortly, the activities will become a habit and all work instructions will be followed to the letter, like a Swiss watch. You will be able to standardize from the reception of raw material to the customer service protocol from arrival to withdrawal.
When you document and systematize all the activities that each employee of your restaurant must carry out, your restaurant is more productive and organized, your staff feel safe and motivated when carrying out their work and with this you will retain them and avoid rotation which will cause also that you have short-term qualified personnel. Through the system of an operations manual, you will communicate to your restaurant staff not only the results you expect from their work, you will also tell them how to achieve these results and facilitate training.
Imagine that one day your people are very well coordinated, happy and motivated and everything turns out excellent, thanks to that, that day your clients had an extraordinary experience after visiting you. What would happen if your collaborators worked like this every day? Don't you think that that extraordinary experience would be repeated over and over again for each of your clients? Well, that's what it's all about, teaching your collaborators “What to do”, “How to do it” and that they do it ALWAYS THE SAME. A system in a restaurant allows employees to repeat a procedure, that is, to create a constant experience for your customers.
What would happen if you wanted to open another restaurant without having the one you have today systematized?
It would be a double headache for you regardless of the fact that you can grow as many restaurants have grown, but I must tell you that many of them have ended up closing due to not having a manual of procedures.
When you have a procedures manual, you have the opportunity to attract investors interested in opening a restaurant with your firm and you have the possibility of opening more branches and thus growing your business. From the outset, you increase the value of your restaurant and what do you think? The restaurant works without you being present all the time, you have the opportunity to not be aware of all the details and concentrate on more important activities such as serving the investors who are your future partners. Think about it, if today you have to spend most of the day in your restaurant, are you really an entrepreneur or are you the employee with the greatest workload in your restaurant?
Development of the operations manual in the Restaurant:
- Welcome: It is recommended that it be drawn up and signed by the owner of the company or, failing that, by human resources and in this case signed by both human resources and the owner. Introduction
- It should be a very brief summary of the history of the restaurant, no more than half a page where you include who founded it, in what year, the reason for the name, type of cuisine and changes that have been made from its inception to the last year.
- Organizational culture
- Mission Vision (medium term) Values Quality objectives
- Organization
- Organization chart Job profiles and descriptions Job manuals Standards
- Administration
- Finance Accounting Human Resources
- Training
- Training development recognition
- Operation and Service
- Management and operation of the dining area Management and operation of the bar counter Service protocol Sales technique Restaurant cleaning Expansion
- Warehouse
- PurchasesReceptionStorageInventoriesCleaning
- Kitchen
- Restaurant menu and kitchen management Production Dish standards Preservation, refrigeration and freezing areas Kitchen operating equipment Hygienic food handling
- Maintenance
- Preventive maintenance Corrective maintenance
- Security
Obviously it is a very extensive work, but if you started with how fundamental it was to determine the costs of your dishes and establish an adequate internal control system, then you have your restaurant monitored and its profitability, that was step number 1, now go through step number 2 and begin to develop your manual of procedures.
I wish you every success and remember that I am at your service.
