You may decrease your waste, keep your team happy and motivated, boost your profitability, and improve the experience your customers have with your company if you focus on enhancing efficiency in particular areas of your organisation where a lot of time is spent.
I've compiled a list of the top 20 ways that restaurants may become more efficient.
Efficiency is a critical component of restaurant success. The better aligned your business is, the easier it will be to avoid problems like lost customers, profits, and a sullied brand reputation. Unfortunately, achieving excellent restaurant efficiency isn't always as simple as it seems.
Get organised
When operating a restaurant or cafe, there are always a million things to do, but it’s crucial to take the time to deliberately plan out your days and weeks so that you can prioritise activities and make sure that you can arrange your calendar in a way that allows you to get everything done.
Create a list of things you need to accomplish during the week, consult it first thing in the morning, divide up the work, and see how much more productive you become.
Keep staff motivated
Staff members that are satisfied with their jobs perform better, and you need productive staff members if you want your restaurant to function efficiently.
First, make an effort to recognise areas where improvements are possible, and then devise motivational strategies to encourage team members to meet your established objectives.
Whether it’s maximising table management or pushing up their average transaction value (ATV), keeping your personnel motivated to perform in the areas that drive your business is essential to running smoothly and profitably.
Reduce human error
Integrating your POS into your payment systems so staff can’t key in the wrong values is a significant step to take when considering how to improve restaurant performance. Because prices are established and kept up to date in a consistent manner, a substantial decrease in the number of errors that occur and the occurrence of unfavourable encounters with customers are both avoided
Upskill your team
Training your employees when they first begin working for you is a fantastic idea, but you also need to make sure they receive continuous training.
Providing members of your team with the room and opportunities to further their professional development not only helps your company run more smoothly but is also an excellent way to improve employee retention and reduce the frequency with which you have to begin new employees from scratch.
Use the reporting capabilities of your POS system to identify the members of your staff who bring in the most revenue per ATV, and then give those members of your team the authority to train the rest of the team.
Make it easy to cash out at closing time
The usual end-of-day procedure can be a time-consuming and arduous one since it often involves spending a significant amount of time seeking for a missing five dollars.
You may save around an hour per location every day by implementing an integrated payment system, which enables you to immediately reconcile your takings at the conclusion of each business day.
Integrate your accounting software
Everything that makes that world simpler to comprehend, anything that makes that world easier to look at, and everything that reduces the amount of time we have to spend inputting data into a computer is a step in the right direction.
Integrating your POS with your accounting software comes with a plethora of benefits, including centralised reporting, invoices administration, overhead costs tracking, increased security, and cash flow control.
It is important to keep manual operations to a minimum in order to maintain a high level of restaurant efficiency. Integrating your point-of-sale (POS) system with your accounting software will provide you with an accurate and up-to-date perspective of how well your company is doing, so you won’t have to waste time inputting data manually.
Spend less time managing staff logistics and more time running your business
Labor is one of the most significant expenses that your company incurs, and as your company becomes busier, it becomes much more difficult to determine precisely when you should reduce or increase the number of hours that your employees work in order to meet all of the additional demand.
You will save a lot of time and a lot of stress by syncing your staff management tool to your POS. This is a simple and effective approach to managing your crew, which will save you time.
Done in the right way. With the help of this software configuration, you will be able to construct rosters based on previous sales data. As a result, you will be able to staff the appropriate number of employees at all times and reduce labour expenditures that are not essential. In addition, there are tools that can improve communication and the distribution of tasks among team members, which helps maintain a high level of efficiency.
Leverage loyalty
Offer creative incentives to customers that will keep them returning to your restaurants, such as discounts, freebies, or gift cards, and you will turn one-time customers into regulars while simultaneously increasing your restaurant’s efficiency.
Check with the vendor of your point-of-sale system to find out what kind of completely automated loyalty and referral programme they can provide and whether or not it can integrate with your POS system. A strategy like this simplifies providing incentives for returning customers while simultaneously expanding your email database.
Make your data work harder
It is important to be aware of your restaurant’s sales figures, but a deeper comprehension of the factors contributing to those figures is essential to running an effective establishment.
Digging deeper into your data enables you to fill in the missing pieces of the jigsaw and make educated decisions based on the real, quantifiable facts gleaned from your company. These decisions will help you keep your consumers happy and bring in more revenue.
Get everyone on the same page
It is necessary to have strong lines of communication with your staff to manage a restaurant efficiently.
Ensure that everyone is up to date on any significant news or concerns by holding a daily staff briefing. This will ensure that everyone is aware of the current situation. Make sure that your staff is aware of any modifications that have been made and the rationale behind them.
The team members will feel more secure about what is happening around them when they have this information since it will help them avoid misunderstanding.
Make purchasing stock simpler.
One of the most time-consuming and crucial aspects of running your own business is making purchases and keeping track of your inventory.
Regardless of who is on shift, your staff should always be aware of when and what they should order, who they should get it from, and what is scheduled for delivery.
When you use purchasing software, it will be easier for you to avoid over-ordering and, as a result, reduce the amount of waste produced. Additionally, it enables your team to register problems regarding anything that should have been received but wasn’t, which enables you to follow up with suppliers as soon as the flag is raised.
Streamline food prep
Any successful kitchen needs to have efficient food preparation, and there must be processes in place that are both clear and consistent in order to ensure that the way the kitchen operates in the same manner regardless of which staff members are working or what is on the menu on any given day, and that the quality of the final product is consistently of a high standard.
Consider, for instance, a new member of the workforce. Will they be able to create all of your food items according to your specifications if you or the employee with the greatest training is not present?
Maintaining control of how it runs becomes a lot simpler when you have the appropriate equipment to handle the hard lifting for you in the kitchen.
The cloud-based point-of-sale software that is available today comes equipped with features that can help streamline the process in the kitchen.
Keep tabs on your tables
Implementing a system that provides your staff with constant access to information about what’s happening in the restaurant is one of the most important restaurant efficiency recommendations that can be followed.
Because it is often difficult for workers to view all tables at once, you need to have a solution for table management that enables your waitstaff to rapidly see what tables are available so that they can seat clients efficiently and quickly.
The appropriate solution will make this process straightforward by enabling you to examine all tables and monitor the progress of the tables in real-time. Because of this knowledge, the staff can stay on top of orders, recognise problems, and replace empty spots, which helps keep customers satisfied and the restaurant running smoothly.
Communicate with the kitchen
Because it is in no one’s best interest to be kept waiting for their dinner, your restaurant has to have an efficient system and procedure in place to guarantee that the waitstaff can connect with the kitchen. This will ensure that meals are delivered to tables at the appropriate times.
You won’t believe it, but there are products on the market that can also take care of this issue.
The wait staff are able to notify the kitchen of a table’s readiness for the following course by simply pressing a button that corresponds to the software function used.
This implies that diners will receive their food more quickly, dinners will spend less time waiting around and becoming cold, and wait staff will spend less time rushing back and forth to the kitchen to chase orders.
Get the layout right
The layout of your restaurant plays a significant role in determining how well it operates as a business. The layout of your storefront ought to facilitate the smooth movement of both employees and consumers. The various sections have been organised in a way that makes sense and minimises the need for needless movement from one place to another.
Be careful not to forget important considerations like the amount of space between each table and the path that the wait staff will take to bring food from the kitchen to the dining area; this path should be as uncomplicated and obvious as is humanly feasible to ensure prompt and effective service.
Remove unnecessary steps
Always be on the lookout for new ways to reduce the amount of waste that results from your procedures. If you see that some tasks are consuming a significant amount of time for your teams, take a critical look at those duties and determine whether there is a more practical approach to tackle them or a technological solution that may make them more efficient.
It’s tempting to keep doing things the same way you’ve always done them, but if you regularly take inventory and assess the effectiveness of your routine tasks, your company’s operations will become much more streamlined in the years to come.
Understand your products
To become more efficient, one of the most important things you can do is get a grasp on which of your goods are putting in the most effort. For instance, if a product is continuously failing but requires a lengthy amount of time to prepare or has many components, it may be worthwhile to eliminate it from the menu.
Keep an eye out for current point-of-sale (POS), inventory, and hospitality-specific software that comes equipped with analytics features. Download the report for your restaurant’s inventory management monitoring system at any given moment. You will be able to see at a glance which goods are your best sellers and may use this information to decide which products are worth the effort to invest more time in.
Take payments to the table
Customers these days anticipate being able to pay their bill immediately, at the table, whenever they are ready for it; hence, it is vital to ensure that your payment system is capable of handling this expectation.
You want your point-of-sale (POS) system and ordering software to be compatible with any device and integrate with both stationary and mobile payment terminals. This will enable you to accept payments from your customers no matter where they choose to pay you, providing a smooth experience while easing the burden on your staff and improving your restaurant’s overall productivity.
Take online reservations
These days, more and more people desire to make reservations online; hence, this service really needs to be offered.
Give customers the ability to go online quickly and easily to check the availability of their desired date and time. You will not only see an increase in the number of bookings, but you will also reduce the amount of time that employees need to spend working the phones and taking reservations by hand.
Upgrade your POS system
A solid point-of-sale system will offer features that are geared towards increasing productivity, such as table management and speedier payment processing, as well as pretty much all of the aspects mentioned above. In spite of this, the primary advantage of a point-of-sale system that excels is in the fact that it makes it easier for you to monitor and control all of your expenses, including payroll, inventory, and others.
This kind of solution can help you save money while providing you with a great deal more time to devote to the activities that need to be your first concern. And it’s an idea that most of us ought to be able to rally around.
The hospitality industry has its own unique marketing challenges. Diners enjoy the delusion that they are in the know and believe that the establishment’s standard ought to serve as its primary form of promotion. We are both aware that this is not the case. The question now is: how can one promote without being noticed?
Here is how you may increase your brand recognition and the number of customers you serve.
The most of your target customer can be found online for the most of their waking hours. And 88 percent of them agreed that the comments and reviews that they read online have the ability to sway their opinions. Promoting a post on Facebook or Instagram and then crossing your fingers and hoping for the best is not enough, though. Sixty-seven percent of prospective buyers need to interact with your company anywhere from two to four times before they will make a purchase. This suggests that your social presence need to be all about making consistent and engaged effort; after all, you’re not just there to promote your restaurant; you’re there to establish connections.
Social media action plan:
You should start asking your frequent clients for comments now that you have your social media up and running successfully so that you can improve. Sign in to the review sites once a week, and when you do, make it a point to respond to everything in a manner that is both cordial and businesslike. Visit this page to learn more about how to handle reviews effectively, and then come back here. Don’t scrimp on getting honest feedback from your customers since it’s Important (notice the capital letter), therefore, don’t do it.
Reviews action plan:
You need to create your database in addition to growing your following on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Why? Because you do not control your Facebook and Instagram followers, the platforms have the ability to remove you from their services with only one mistake. All of a sudden, all of your hard work and your clients’ ears have been taken away from you.
You will have an additional method at your disposal to worm your way into your consumers’ brains the next time they consider going out to eat if you send out periodic mailings detailing a new menu or an exclusive deal.
Database-building action plan:
By instituting a customer loyalty programme, you may make it possible to offer perks and privileges to clients who do business with you on a regular basis and in large quantities. It could be something as simple as a punch card that gives a free coffee after ten purchases, or it could be something lot more sophisticated and precisely developed to better complement your brand. Your database will inevitably expand as a result of the implementation of a digital loyalty scheme. Your point-of-sale (POS) system need to have the capability of making it simple to keep track of points and incentives.
Building-loyalty action plan:
Since you already have a database, the next step is to begin putting it to use in some fashion. The purpose of the promotions is not restricted to simply raising the client volume on quiet evenings. Give your patrons something of real worth for their money. Do you think it would be possible for you to host a full-fledged tasting event in conjunction with a company that specialises in alcoholic drinks? What about organising a fundraiser for your prefered charitable organisation and donating the money from the event?
Check to see that your point-of-sale system is able to accommodate any price reductions that may be applied to the total cost. When a customer taps her credit card in front of you while moaning, this will keep you from having to engage in mental acrobatics, which will save you time and energy.
Specials action plan:
In the world of restaurant marketing, PR buzz is gold. When you keep a presence in the media, people will continue to remember you and put you at the top of their “must eat” lists if you continue to promote yourself in that medium. What are the restrictions? You have to take part in endeavours that are interesting enough to warrant being mentioned.
PR-buzz action plan:
Utilise your personable nature, or the personability of someone else in the kitchen, to generate some video footage. You don’t need to be Heston Blumenthal; all that is required is a little bit of charisma and a pleasant demeanour in front of the camera.
It doesn’t matter if you’re going to demonstrate how to cut an onion, bone a duck, or prepare the perfect martini; all you need to do is film a brief and enjoyable video. You’ll have some persuasive information from this. Then, when the morning talk show announces that they are looking for a new chef for their culinary department, you are prepared with a demo reel and a camera-ready applicant.
You can’t rush this process, so don’t try to engage influencers or purchase followers before you’ve established a relationship with them first. In the end, there is no way to circumvent the procedure.
Therefore, begin now and work steadily towards the goal of building a devoted community online. The next step is to develop some buzz and become recognised by utilising collaborations, influencers, and video material.
Business marketing is similar like running a restaurant. The upmost significance should be placed on genuineness as well as the preservation of meaningful ties over the course of time.
As a hospitality business owner, understanding the various delivery methods and service providers at your disposal may help you gain an advantage over other entrepreneurs in your industry.
Late in 2015, a change that had been brewing in Australia’s hospitality market became apparent. The advent of the worldwide home-delivery behemoth Deliveroo was hailed in November 2015, and this was followed by the launch of UberEats in the beginning of 2016. The dining scene in Australia (and a large portion of the rest of the globe) would never be the same again with the debut of these two platforms, which are now estimated to be worth more than 690 million dollars globally.
When compared to 2016, not a whole lot has changed in terms of how home delivery works.
Smaller firms like Menulog have only secured a small portion of Australia’s market, while industry leaders like Deliveroo and UberEats have dominated the competition.
The COVID-19 epidemic arrived in Australia in early 2020, which caused another revolution in the eating scene. As a result of customers being unable to physically go out to restaurants, several establishments felt they had no choice but to start offering home delivery services. As a direct result of this surge in demand, quick innovation took place, and as a result, Australia has recently witnessed a new wave of delivery services contending for a piece of the pie held by Deliveroo and UberEats.
The scale and scope of organisations such as UberEats and Deliveroo justify the payment of a commission charge of thirty percent or more in the eyes of many proprietors of restaurants. Several owners of restaurants have stated that they believe the increased sales volume justifies the higher commission and that they consider the additional expenditures to be comparable to those that are incurred for marketing purposes.
Additionally, these larger enterprises typically provide a selection of included add-on goods that other businesses find desirable. For instance, Deliveroo’s “onboarding services” consist of a smart tablet, interface with a current point of sale, food photography, regular menu changes, and an account manager who can assist with optimisation, marketing, and best practices in the sector.
There are a few delivery firms of a more moderate scale that, as a result of COVID-19’s impact, are acquiring greater momentum in the market.
The Australian company Menulog has been operating since 2006 and is wholly owned by Australians. When Menulog first started doing business, they only offered an a’self-delivery’ option; but, in 2018, they created a supplementary business stream that included drivers for Menulog.
The organisation states that they are able to handle an astounding 92% of all delivery addresses in Australia at this time.
DoorDash, the most significant meal delivery service in the United States, began operations in Melbourne at the end of 2019 and then moved to Sydney not long after. Their business strategy is rather distinct from that of the major competitors. According to Business Insider, for DoorDash to deliver your meal, you do not need to have a written contract with the company for them to do so. DoorDash will continue to operate as a delivery service, and unless a restaurant provides an express request to the contrary, the company will continue to deliver the restaurant’s food to customers.
In addition to the more established competitors, there has been an uptick in the number of smaller, community-based businesses providing comparable services at roughly half as high prices.
On March 26, 2020, Love Local was introduced to the city of Sydney. The company’s founder, Hamilton Kings, came up with the idea in the beginning to assist his restaurant in Potts Point, which was known as Honka’s, in delivering meals to its patrons. Kings had successfully signed two additional eateries to his app at the time of its launch. In fewer than two months, however, he was able to raise that figure to over 20 establishments.
Love Local levies a commission fee of twelve percent, which includes the GST. Customers use an app to make orders with the restaurant. An employee of Love Local who is also a delivery driver will collect the items on an electric bicycle and then deliver them directly to the customer.
Because of how hyper-local the service and others like it are in Australia, this configuration is only appropriate for a limited number of venues in certain regions, and it may not always be useful for businesses located in more rural locations.
Dead Ringer in Sydney is an establishment that is proud of their decision not to provide delivery services. Owner Rob Sloan noted that their team did not want to provide a delivered product that they considered would be sub-par in Sydney’s saturated eating market because they did not want their brand equity to suffer as a result.
Despite this, Sloan and a significant number of other “experience-centred” or “fine dining” establishments hold the same attitudes. They have maintained their stance that they would not offer home delivery under any circumstances, despite the fact that their losses have decreased throughout the epidemic.
In the end, the specifics of each venue’s infrastructure and operations will determine whether or not they should provide home delivery and, if so, whose provider they should utilise.
When it comes to delivery, there is sadly not a single, definitive blueprint that venues can follow to ensure success. Every location has to take into account the products they sell, the kind of customers they attract, and the amenities they provide.
Before making any commitments or signing on any dotted lines, it is in your best interest to conduct some comparison shopping and make sure you understand all of your available choices. The increased demand does work in the venue’s favour.
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