So you just took up your first job as a restaurant operations manager, or are you a seasoned manager who wants to excel at your job while keeping up with a fast-paced industry? Then, this content contains valuable information and insights for you, so read on.
As we discuss the importance of all elements of this profession, there are those that are to be handled with the utmost care by restaurant operations managers to ensure that they are prepared to handle any situation. The article also discusses how restaurant operations managers can uplift the business and their own positioning by taking advantage of smart tools specifically designed to manage any restaurant.
What is expected of a restaurant operations manager?
First and foremost, a restaurant operations manager is responsible for running the day-to-day operations of a restaurant. This includes managing the inventory, staff, customer service, food preparation, and more. If you want to become a great restaurant operations manager, then you need to be aware of the following trade secrets;
1. A smart restaurant operations manager needs to understand the business and what it takes to make it successful.
2. They need to have excellent customer service skills in order to keep customers coming back for more.
3. They need to have excellent leadership skills in order to motivate their team members and get the most out of them.
4. They need an understanding of profit margins and how they can increase them through various means such as upselling, advertising, or cost-cutting measures like changing ingredients or using a variety of suppliers, etc.
As a result, as the operations manager, your first duty is to make sure that your restaurant is running smoothly. You can start by checking the kitchen and making sure that all of the equipment is in good condition at all times. If there are any problems with the kitchen, you should take care of them before they get worse. Never neglect the kitchen; that’s where the restaurant’s money maker resides.
The added value you can bring into the business as a restaurant operation manager
In order to be successful as a first-time restaurant manager, you first need to know the basics. You also need to understand in-depth what your role is and how you can bring in the extra value so that you aren’t just another manager to be burnt out five years from now.
We all know that as long as people are fuelled by the calories, they get from food, the restaurant industry is here to stay. And, who better to take advantage of this than you, as a restaurant operations manager?
As the person in charge of managing the restaurant's day-to-day operations, you are here to ensure that it is running smoothly while building a strategy on how to get your team to cooperate.
This means that when you become a restaurant operations manager, it is crucial that you have a good understanding of the entire business.
Your most important treasure: Time management
The first thing you should do as a restaurant operations manager is to make sure that your floor staff is properly trained. This means that they know how to take care of customers and how to deal with any problems they may face on the job.
Second, you want to make sure that the kitchen is appropriately trained, following the procedures endorsed by the management.
You also want to make sure that kitchen and floor teams work in harmony and that there aren’t any issues around weekly shifts.
Only then will you have the time to focus on the operations, and we can discuss the importance of being a smart and successful restaurant operations manager.
Finding smart solutions
A restaurant is an establishment that has a goal of making money. It is an investment, and it needs to be managed properly in order to be profitable.
Being a resourceful restaurant operations manager can help you achieve your goals easily and quickly while also making sure that you are able to run the business profitably for many years.
Having said that, there are many tools that a restaurant operations manager can use to help them have more time for what’s actually important.
When you train your staff properly and are on top of all of your reporting and accounts, a good life awaits!
Stay ahead of the herd with FineDine
There are tools that provide restaurants with anything from online ordering systems to real-time inventory reporting. To be and stay on top of everything all the time, successful restaurant operations managers use these tools that hail from tech heaven.
One of these tools is FineDine. Offering multiple use cases and tools specific to food businesses, FineDine helps the manager in a number of ways.
For example, it helps the manager to keep track of the supplies that need to be ordered and how much there’s left in stock. Similarly, you can keep track of your food waste which has become a sensitive topic for customers and the general society alike, not to mention for the restaurant’s profitability.
No installation is required; FineDine offers an ocean of amazing tools that turn normally painful back office work into a breeze, such as real-time reporting.
Getting back to our answer for the first thing, or perhaps the most important thing you should start on, as a restaurant operations manager, is precisely this. When the big boss asks questions to ensure you are on top of it all, just ensure you have precise answers backed by data and appropriate reporting without human error. That is the delightful key to success for a restaurant ops manager.
