Management is a multifaceted position, requiring you to have a clear understanding of all the areas you are responsible for. You need to be able to fill in or substitute for many people if need be and have a clear understanding of the ins and outs of each role. While you will not be completing all these tasks on a daily basis, you have to know how important each one is for the successful operation of your food business. In this type of industry, oversight is even more complicated and you should turn to restaurant management resources for all the help that you need.
In a food and beverage related position, someone with overall responsibility has many additional requirements that may not be so prevalent in other industries. For example, an owner or senior manager will have to focus on logistics, marketing, staff issues, projects, financing and a number of other areas. While this can be a daunting task, restaurant management resources should help you to strategize and put things in their right place.
In restaurant management, the difference between making a profit and operating at a loss is razor thin. Product is one of your most challenging areas and you need to be sure that you pay particular attention to supply and delivery management and also to portion control. Junior employees will not have the same perspective as you as it is not their responsibility to balance all those factors. As such, you need to come up with a clear policy guidelines and set it out for them.
Food and drink should, rightly so, take priority in the day-to-day operation of a busy restaurant, but there are a number of other supplies and products which are also essential to your operation. Should only one of these items be out of stock, it can have an adverse effect on the rest of the business. One of your primary restaurant management resources should be the control of inventory and everyone must understand that they need to be frugal with all the supplies and understand that it is no good to be overstocked nor under stocked but at an optimum level all the time.
Time management is crucial for managers at all levels and if you're in charge of an eatery, this is especially so. One of your biggest challenges will be coping with problems that come up on a regular basis and there will be many of them. You will have to be skilled at putting out fires and somehow building this time into your already busy schedule appropriately.
On a daily basis, as a manager or owner of a restaurant, you think that you are being pulled in so many different directions and have so much to do. Never lose sight of your overall goal and remember that you have open projects and programs that must not be swept under the carpet. Never engage in micromanagement and always be ready to delegate tasks accordingly.
One of the more important things that you can do when you are starting out as a restaurant owner or manager is to make sure that you spend particular emphasis at the outset in selecting the right staff. The business will rise or fall according to the quality and ability of your staff, as when the chips are down, you will have to rely on them to work on their own initiative from time to time.
When you are starting out in the food business, you really need to seek out as many restaurant management resources as you can to help you focus. Turn to those who have been there before you, to help you to prioritize.
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