Systems Development

Any successful company, not just restaurants or nightclubs, must operate based upon having consistent systems in place. No matter if you have 10 employees or 200 and sales from 20k a month to 800k you must have a foundation to which everything flows in the same direction. The systems must start with clear leadership and direction given on a consistent basis. The more structure you have in place the easier problems are to solve.

Leadership From The Top Down
Owners or upper management must set the tone for the business. They must display that the guests needs come first 110% of the time. No matter what happens the guest must never leave unhappy. The work ethic also must start at the top then disseminate down the chain of command to managers and staff.

Every systematic item below affects another area directly.

• Employee Scheduling FOH/BOH
• Clear Policies and Procedures for employees
• Ordering, Invoicing and Inventory
• Monthly Financial Systems- P & L, Inventory discrepancies, checking comps/voids
• Guest Loyalty and guest Tracking
• Menu Management- dropping dead items
• Set accurate Cost of Goods for all items
• Training program for all employees- initial and continual
• Using Email to communicate between shifts

Example: If your methods for employee scheduling aren’t based on guest reservations, specials, parties or time of the month, your service can suffer tremendously. A short staffed FOH makes for a frustrated BOH. There are several variables to consider in striking the right balance, in order to drive the business in the right direction.

A successful restaurant uses the systems above to achieve one goal: Consistently provide excellent service, while offering great product at a fair price in a well maintained and a properly stocked environment.

A lot of owners have had to come back to the four walls to help control labor. Some only run with one additional manager and if they don’t use these systems they are going backwards. These systems will help control labor, cost of goods, and keep the staff on the same page and the guests coming in to see the wonders inside.