Employee handbooks and guides can be a lifesaver when you need to provide an outline of duties or tasks to staff. (Photo: EyeSpy)
How hard can it be to run a restaurant? You just open the doors and wait for customers to come filing in, right? While that may look the case from the outside, if you’ve ever worked at or managed a restaurant, you know it takes much, much, more.
And if you hand the keys over to another person to manage your restaurant or hotel, how are you sure they’re doing the job the way you want it done?
The answer is employee handbooks and guides. A carefully crafted employee manual or kitchen guide can help provide specific direction on how a task needs to get done, it’s also a great way to develop and set policies around certain procedures.
Here’s a rundown of the operation handbooks you’ll need to create to guide your restaurant business in the right direction:
Host Guide
How does your host answer the phone? Do they introduce themselves and say thanks for calling? What are the steps your host is following to take a reservation? Make sure by providing a comprehensive guide. In it, you can include an entire ‘customer greeting script’ to make sure your host is on point.
Server Guide / Employee Manual
Do your servers know what their ‘Steps of Service’ are? Are they upselling dessert or drinks? Do they let customers know about your specials? Ask about allergic concerns? Having defined ‘Steps of Service’ can help keep your servers directed and more importantly, providing a consistent and quality experience for your guests.
Bartender Guide / Employee Manual
Does your bartender know how to pour? Are they properly trained in the procedures of handling both drinks and money? You can be sure when you provide a guide that outlines the job.
Kitchen Guide
You prepare, cook and serve, you’ve got it down to a science, but what happens when you have to leave the restaurant? How are your staff going to follow your processes, like setting up and cleaning up for the day? With a Kitchen Guide, that’s how.
Recipe Books with Photos
Another kitchen guide that will keep menu items coming out of the kitchen in a consistent fashion is a recipe book with photos. This is the food bible for your establishment. In it, you describe the ingredients and prep for each menu item. You also provide a photo of each item so your staff knows what’s in it and how to make it, even when you’re not there to show them.
Manager Guide
Does your manager have a task list? What are their daily or weekly expectations? How about directions for the POS (Point of Sale) system? Outline those in a manager guide.
Employee Handbook
What is the social media policy in your restaurant? How about employee romance? How long are staff breaks? If you have more than 3 people on staff, you need to create an employee handbook to outline your policies and procedures. This is to protect you and your employees from things like sexual or workplace harassment, or other unforeseen issues that can impact the workplace.
Need help creating employee handbooks for restaurant staff? EyeSpy has helped hundreds of businesses get on the right track with operational development and creating comprehensive employee handbooks & staff manuals that are created by HR and training professionals working in the industry.
As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” so don’t delay, get started creating guides and handbooks that help your restaurant run better.
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