We all know the secret to any business’s success is the level of productivity. For example, a company offering a service can’t flourish if workflows aren’t up to standard. A production company can’t flourish if its production time is slow. The same goes for a restaurant.
Once a restaurant gets the bad rep of being slow, it can take a long time to restore that reputation. From teamwork to commercial kitchen equipment, various factors play a role in the productivity and success of an eatery. This article has outlined 5 tips to boost productivity in your restaurant.
Build Transparent Relationships with Your Staff
The overall mood of your staff directly affects the atmosphere of the entire eatery. A happy team of employees with a positive vibe will influence the entire vibe and workflow of the kitchen and the front desk. This will in return be noticeable to your customers. A smile is contagious, right?
A happy work environment starts with you. No one wants to return to a workplace with a grumpy boss. Be approachable yet maintain firm boundaries. However, focus on building a good relationship with all your staff members. The best way to achieve this is with transparency. Your employees need to feel safe to share any grievances or insecurities, while still feeling like they belong and are part of something bigger.
Once a healthy and happy work environment has been established, employees will automatically be more motivated to excel at their work. A kitchen filled with first-class equipment means nothing if your staff is not passionate about where they are and what they’re doing.
Make Customer Service a Priority
The second most important ingredient in the success of a business is its customers. What purpose would your product or service serve if no one is interested in supporting your business?
Maintaining good customer relations should be a top priority for you and your staff. In the long run, your point of view of this matter will affect your team’s productivity.
Not all customers will always be happy, but it’s important to deal with the unhappy ones effectively. Your perception of how to deal with difficult or unpredictable customers is the number one deciding factor in how customers observe your restaurant—and how much effort your team will put into keeping them happy.
There are several situations you can expect to encounter in the restaurant industry, and it’s important to be prepared to deal with any of them at any given time. The example you put out to your staff is also what they’ll return to when faced with a similar scenario. As mentioned before, if you have a happy team of passionate employees who carry the company’s best interests at heart, they will thrive and work hard to keep all customers coming back.
Be Tough Enough to Delegate
A happy work environment still needs boundaries. You must maintain your leadership position without becoming too friendly with your staff.
Celebrating successes with a drink after work is a good idea, but your staff needs to remember that you are still in a position of authority. This means that you need to be sensitive, yet tough enough to delegate and demand high quality work from those around you.
You still have a business to run, and this will require you to reprimand your staff members when they are out of bounds. Delegating also means assigning some tasks to the respective team members to allow you to focus on other aspects of the business. You need to be able to do this without feeling bad for hurting anyone’s feelings.
When each person diligently performs their tasks, instead of you trying to do everything, productivity will soar.
Be Proactive and Plan Ahead
Another successful ingredient in business management is planning. Whether it’s upgrades and improvements or a team-building event you’re planning, planning is crucial to keep any unnecessary stresses and conflicts at bay. In the long run this ensure workflows are sound.
Try to anticipate any problems that may occur in the following months. Make a list of precautionary measurements you’d like to take and list them according to importance. Take steps to get these things done timeously, to ensure you and your staff are ready when any of these situations come to light.
Successful planning is another great example you can set for your staff. Leading by example has a far greater impact on employees than any training or team-building sessions.
This also means being accountable for your mistakes. You are bound to have slipups. What’s important is that you own them and take the necessary steps to correct them along with any damage that may have occurred. This will inspire your team to do the same, ensuring that their weak points aren’t kept hidden and hurt the productivity and the brand in the long run.
Choose Your Kitchen Design Carefully
Apart from staff and customers, an eatery all starts in the kitchen. Although motivated staff should be able to get by with the minimum, a well-equipped and designed kitchen will make their life so much easier and ramp up productivity.
From an effective design to streamlining movement and speed in the kitchen to a few commercial upright freezers to prolong the lifespan of your stock, your kitchen plays a vital role in the productivity of your restaurant.
In Summary
We hope that after reading this article you are ready to take your restaurant to the next level! Managing a restaurant is not for the faint-hearted, but with the right guide, you can grow your business and impress your patrons more.