Article contributed by John Waters, Principal, Waters Business Consulting
An efficient restaurant is a successful restaurant and a restaurant cannot run efficiently if employees are not doing their jobs correctly. It is important for restaurant owners and managers to identify who is effectively doing their job and who is not.
The best way to figure this out is to utilize techniques that evaluate performance and help you identify what your team is doing right and what they are doing wrong. Using performance management techniques will help you figure out which workers need to be put in leadership positions at your restaurant and which ones need to be retrained or let go. As a business consultant with over 30 years of experience I have worked with many restauranteurs to help them run a successful business. Here are a few techniques to help you manage performance at your restaurant.
Install the right restaurant tech
A modern restaurant will not function without installing the right point-of-sale system to help you evaluate the performance of your restaurant team. A good POS system will track sales, customers, turnover rate, inventory, and efficiency of staff members by tracking their sales via their employee number.
Tracking these number via your POS will simplify managing your restaurant and help track items that make money while eliminating unnecessary cost.
Inspire your team
Motivating your team is not something you do yearly. Leadership should be leading by example every day and inspiring your workers to perform to the best of their abilities. Your restaurant will operate more efficiently when your team sees you holding them and yourself to the highest standard. A good work ethic flows down to the rest of the team so promote one.
Owners and your management team are responsible for fostering a productive team environment. Help employees know that their individual contribution helps the team, which helps the restaurant succeed.
Set a standard
Every restaurant owner should have realistic expectations for your management team and staff. These expectations help get the most out of your team. Employees without expectations will often fall short in their performance. Give every member of your team short and long term goals while they are employed at your restaurant. Ensure that any team meetings or training you conduct are conducive to achieving these goals. Meet with individual members of your team once a month to see if they are meeting their goals.
It is important that managers monitor key performance indicators to assess how each member is doing. A good POS system can generate detailed analytics on your employees so you can develop actionable insights. These can be number tables served, how quickly they can turn tables, specials sold per table, and customer satisfaction with reviews. Employees who are meeting their goals should be offered better incentives. Display a performance dashboard in the employee breakroom so team members see each other’s performances. Your management team should make sure this dashboard is updated weekly.
Award good work
Management should evaluate and speak with employees every week. This provides you and your team with constant feedback that will help everyone do their job better. If an employee is consistently performing above expectations then you should reward them. Employee incentives can mean increasing pay, extra bonuses, or extra vacation time. Determining the best incentive is up to you as the owner.
Establish a performance based culture
Creating a performance based culture keeps you team working at a high level because they know they will be rewarded for high performance.
Create a chart or dashboard that list every staff member. You can create category for every position in your restaurant. Servers should have: number of tables served, turnover rates, and customer satisfaction. Kitchen crew should account how long it takes to cook food, and prep time. This chart will let every member of your team know where they stand and how everyone can improve.
Management must also be on these charts to ensure staff knows their leadership can hold themselves accountable.
Strong performance by your staff will help your restaurant succeed. A team that performs will creates happy customers, which creates more money. Using these performance management techniques will keep your team performing at a high level provide you with a better understanding of what drives success at your restaurant.
John Waters is the Principal of Waters Business Consulting Group, LLC in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is an expert at helping business owners and management grow their business.
