Friday, December 28, 2012

Restaurant Consulting NYC | Happy New Year! | 4Q Consulting, LLC

Wishing Everyone a Safe & Profitable Year Ahead
 

Restaurants, Caterers and Food Service establishments, it is time to review your operating procedures from 2012?! Do you have the correct operating systems in place to be as profitable as you want to be? 

Take a look at our last blog, 4 Warning Signs That Your Operating Procedures are Impacting Your Bottom Line and then call or email 4Q Consulting, LLC today for a complimentary business evaluation!
 
Noelle@4qconsult.com

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Restaurant Consulting NYC | 4 Warning Signs That Your Operational Procedures are Impacting Your Bottom Line | 4Q Consulting, LLC

4 Warning Signs That Your Operational Procedures are
Impacting Your Bottom Line –
Year in Review

As 2012 comes to a close, now is the time to take stock of your business’ operational efficiencies. Whether you are restauranteur, caterer or food service provider, examine which procedures are currently working and get rid of those that are not.

Here are 4 warning signs that indicate that you have a problem with some of your operating procedures that may impact your bottom line:

High Employee Turnover - This is an indication of a larger human resource issue.  Exit interviews can uncover a pattern of something amiss in your organization. For example, are your managers adhering to the guidelines of your employee handbook?  Our Blog,  4 Reasons Why Your Restaurant Needs an Employee Handbook,  takes a look at this.  High employee turnover becomes expensive due to the cost of recruiting, hiring and training new staff.  High turnover can also make it hard to maintain your desired level of product and service quality, as it pulls management away from running the business to train new staff and by always having novice front-line staff.

Theft - If you think you don’t have any, you are wrong; and if you are aware of some theft, the problem is larger than you think it is. Re-examine the obvious places where theft occurs to ensure your controls are in place and being used.  But also look at the less obvious places.  In our previous blog we discussed, how theft is a major drain on your bottom line. Our Blog entitled: How Much of your Profits are Being Eaten by Employee Theft? Four Basic Ways to Prevent Employee Theft in your Establishment, examines this more in depth.  Holding your staff accountable with strict controls, checks and guidelines can help you to maintain your bottom line profits.

Safety and Sanitation – Poor safety and sanitation can lead to waste, unnecessary health department fines, and a PR nightmare. Now is the time to review your food safety and sanitation training program.  As discussed in our blog entitled  4 Reasons why it is Vital that All Employees are Trained in Food Safety,  having dirty bathrooms, employee accidents, fruit flies at the bar, or violations from the health department can hurt your quality, effect employee morale and lead to a loss of business.

Quality –There are many components to quality.  They all lead back to proper training and execution of operating procedures by your staff.  Seeing an increase in improper order taking, plates being returned to the kitchen and general complaints about service and cleanliness are often red flags, as are negative on-line reviews. A positive customer experience is the ultimate goal. Turning poor customer experiences into positive ones can be a valuable training tool and learning experience, and can lead to customer loyalty.  Our blog Bad Experiences Can Make Loyal Customers explores this.

The issues above can erode your profit margin quickly and lead to your business’ demise. If procedures are not working now, they won’t work in the future and need to be changed. Improving upon your guidelines and procedures can ensure that 2013 is your most profitable year yet.

Don’t know where to begin?  Ask yourself, do you have the proper written procedures and operational guidelines in place so you can be as profitable as possible?  4Q Consulting can develop customized operational guidelines and training programs to meet your needs.  Call or email us today for a free business consultation!

All original content copyright Noelle E. Ifshin, 2012-2013.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Restaurant Consulting NYC | Top 4 Mistakes Managers Make in Managing People | 4Q Consulting, LLC

Top 4 Mistakes Managers Make in Managing People

Managers are the front line representation of your business and must effectively work with a diverse group of people. They must live and breathe your company core values and practices. Unfortunately, many managers lack fundamental training in people skills, which prevents them from being truly successful in running your business.

Here are 4 common mistakes managers make in working with people:

1 – Managers fail to get to know employees as people.  Developing a relationship with team members is a key factor in managing. You don't want your managers to be your employees' divorce counselor, therapist or best friend, but they do want to know what's happening in the lives of their employees. Getting to know employees can make a manager more responsive to employee needs, moods, and life cycle events.  However, managers should not get too close to their direct reports: this makes it difficult for managers to direct, supervise and discipline fairly without the perception of impropriety or of playing favorites.

2 – Managers fail to treat all employees fairly.  It is not necessary to treat every employee the same, but they must feel as if they receive fair treatment. The perception that managers have pet employees or that they play favorites can undermine their efforts to manage the team. This goes hand-in-hand with why befriending reporting employees is a bad idea. This perception of favoring one employee over another destroys teamwork and harms productivity.

3 – Managers fail to provide clear and open communication.  Work with your managers to communicate clear expectations to all employees. Ensure that the directions are specific for every task and project.  Managers need to achieve an appropriate balance that allows them to lead employees without dictating or destroying employee empowerment and  engagement.  Managers should ensure open lines of communication in both directions with their subordinates.

4 – Managers fail to take responsibility or give credit.  When things go wrong, managers should take responsibility for the entire team.  The manager needs to understand where things went wrong within the team and correct the actions as needed. When managers blame others, they look unprofessional and their employees will not respect them.  Managers need to understand that nothing breaks trust more than blaming someone else or taking credit for work that isn’t theirs.

Hiring a manager based on technical skills is often the route owners follow, however a manager who is deftly able to handle interactions with people will add immeasurable value to your business.  The four points above are basics that even the least “warm and fuzzy” manager should be able to handle, and can have a positive impact on your employee satisfaction, product quality and customer service.  This, as we have shown, can lead to greater productivity, lower turnover and an improved bottom line.

Don’t know where to begin?  Ask yourself, do you have the proper written procedures and operational guidelines in place so your manager can help you be as profitable as possible?  4Q Consulting can develop customized operational guidelines and training programs to meet your needs.  Email us today for a free business consultation!


All original content copyright Noelle E. Ifshin, 2012-2013.