Improving your restaurant’s productivity can help ensure that each day of service runs as smoothly as possible, so customers will keep coming back and your business can be successful. Use these five tips to be more productive and profitable.
How to Improve Your Restaurant’s Productivity
1. Follow an Inventory Ordering Schedule
Ordering supplies is an incredibly time-consuming process, especially if you’re making purchases from multiple vendors at various times during the month. Due to this, streamlining this process will save you both time and money. Choosing a POS system that works well for your business can make a huge difference in the amount of time you spend doing the job manually. By using a system to buy in bulk and on a schedule, you’ll also save money over time. Some of those POS systems include:
2. Provide Thorough Employee Training
For employees to help your business succeed, they’ll need to be well-trained. There are several things that should be covered during the training process. The training process will look different for each staff member, depending on their responsibilities. In addition, be sure to take some time during this process to clearly review general rules, so that you don’t have to reiterate them in the future. For instance, you can review your attendance policy, uniform, and other expectations that you have for employees.
We also suggest checking out this helpful video from The Restaurant Boss for tips on how to effectively train employees with a five-step process. The process involves explaining how the restaurant operates, demonstrating specific tasks, and working with employees until they can handle the tasks on their own.
3. Use Employee Feedback to Make Improvements
Your employees are on the floor, experiencing first-hand how your policy changes are affecting the way your restaurant operates. There may be some challenges that you’re not seeing from behind the scenes, which is why you should rely on your employees as a direct source of information about what’s working and what isn’t. When you ask for feedback, start with these questions for each group of staff members, then open the floor for any additional feedback they might have.
4. Plan Ahead
As a business owner, it’s pivotal that you plan ahead. You should strive to always anticipate potential issues and come up with solutions ahead of time. Start each month by making a list of tasks that will need to be completed, in order of priority. Include items like ordering inventory, hiring staff, updating social media pages, and developing seasonal menu items. Develop plans for dealing with major mishaps like an employee quitting or supplies running out. Your plan will help you stay calm in the moment and quickly come up with a solution to any problem.
5. Be an Example for Your Staff
Leading by example is important in every business, including restaurants. As much as you might try to explain how you expect employees to dress, communicate, and perform in your restaurant, being an example of those behaviors is the best way to ensure that employees to meet your expectations.
Sometimes, that might mean jumping in and taking on tasks yourself. From bussing tables to acting as host, you should show employees how to be productive. Your employees will pick up on your enthusiasm for the job and your dedication to doing each job well and will emulate that behavior.
Hard Work and Planning Leads to Productivity and Profit
Developing the right processes and communicating clearly with your staff will help everyone work together to make your restaurant run efficiently. When you and your staff are being productive, all aspects of your business will benefit.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
