An Essential Checklist Of Restaurant Manager Duties To Streamline Daily Restaurant Operations

A restaurant manager is usually seen in the action only when there is a conflict between the customers and the staff members regarding the poor quality of the food or if there is any wrong order. However, the role of a restaurant manager is much more than solving conflicts. Restaurant manager duties ensure that restaurants operate efficiently and profitably while maintaining their reputation and ethos along. Read the do’s and don’ts of a good restaurant manager here.

Essential Skills Of A Profound Restaurant Manager

A restaurant manager should possess multiple professional as well as interpersonal skills to oversee the restaurant operations. The restaurant manager, in a sense, is the leader of a team of professionals, and like any company, a manager must have leadership qualities. Thus his skills must include-

• Great Communication Skills
• Prompt Decision Making
• Patience
• Multitasking
• Team Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Handling Customers Reviews effectively
• Empathetic and Understanding by Nature
• Fair and Just
• Cooperative
• Convincing and Inspirational for employees under him
• Understanding
• Optimistic and Positive
• Decisive
• Ability to read situations and act accordingly

Top Restaurant Manager Duties and Responsibilities

Many duties have to be performed by a restaurant manager in the day-to-day business of running a restaurant. In this article, we will be discussing the primary responsibilities and duties of a restaurant manager. 

You can also download the Restaurant Manager Opening and Closing Checklist here.

1. Ensuring Best Customer Service

An essential part of restaurant manager duties and responsibilities is that managers should effectively coordinate activities between the back and front house to deliver a superior customer experience.

The one field where any restaurant manager has to excel is in being successful in giving the customers an excellent guest experience.

• The manager must check that enough staff is available in the service area so that customers don’t have to wait unnecessarily. As soon as any customer enters the restaurant, the manager should ensure that he/she should be greeted with a smile.
• If any customer is unhappy with their meal, it lies on the manager’s line to resolve the issue on an immediate basis. For this, he should be able to train his staff members so that whoever comes to the restaurant shall have an unforgettable experience.
• The restaurant manager has to serve as the primary point of contact for the customers for any service issue.
• The manager also has to look after the customer’s complaints and suggestions.

When there is a conflict between the customers and the staff, no matter how unreasonable the customer is, the manager should be equipped with the patience and expertise to deal with any issue swiftly and avoid future conflicting situations.

If the situation is uncontrollable, it lies as the restaurant’s manager’s duty to deal with this cleverly and ask the guest to clear the dues and leave the premises.

The business aims are to give excellent customer satisfaction so that the customer will return. Therefore, more authority should be given to the restaurant manager to oversee the restaurant’s details, which will allow the owner to only focus on critical tasks.

2. Management of Vendors, Inventory, And Equipment

Placing orders for food, equipment, and supplies may fall under a restaurant manager’s purview. The restaurant manager’s job description also includes tracking food costs and raising menu prices when necessary.

(i) Vendor Management

The responsibility of identifying vendors with the best services and raw materials falls on the manager’s shoulders. It is always better to assess multiple vendors before finalizing the restaurant, as the quality and price of the raw materials affect the foodservice and the Food Costs. While deciding the vendor, the following points should be considered-

• Credit Period
• Rates
• Quality
• Timely Delivery.

Read in detail how to choose the right vendor for your restaurant here.

(ii) Inventory Management

The duties of a restaurant manager also include keeping a check on the inventory and ensuring that they are regularly itemized, counted, and replenished. He should also supervise the Purchasing and Receiving of the stock items. The restaurant manager should create a Purchase Order based on the stock requirements of the restaurant.

The Purchase Order should include all the specifications such as Product Name, Number of Units, Standard Grade, Weight/Size, etc. Another thing that falls under the duty of the Restaurant Manager is to supervise the Storage of the inventory items. Therefore, the items should have proper Storage and a separate area for storing dry, refrigerated, and frozen goods.

Restaurant management software becomes highly critical here. The incorporation of a typical restaurant POS should be able to track your raw material, predict your future requirements, keep a relationship with your vendors, and manage your purchase orders.

(iii) Equipment Management

The Restaurant Manager also must look after the maintenance and repair of the restaurant’s equipment. When there is a need for replacement, placing orders for new machinery and its installation also falls on the manager’s shoulder.

3. Accomplishing Restaurant’s Human Resource Objectives

The restaurant manager must perform the Human Resource functions, which include hiring, selecting, training, planning, monitoring, appraising, reviewing job contributions, planning and evaluating compensation actions, and enforcing policies and procedures among the staff. A Restaurant Manager should make a weekly schedule for employees, making sure all shifts are covered.

Staff Hiring – First, the manager has to reach out to various portals on which they could announce that their restaurant is hiring with the specific job profile for the multiple positions. The candidates are then shortlisted for the numerous rounds of interviews that have to be conducted by the managers, and the final round has to be undertaken by the Managing Director of the restaurant.

Staff Training- The induction program has to be conducted by the manager post-hiring, where the restaurant’s profile and work guidelines are shared in detail. Then the training of the selected candidates starts for a particular period as decided by the restaurant’s terms and conditions.

Employee Assessment- Assessing the restaurant employees’ performance is also an integral part of the Restaurant Manager’s duties and responsibilities. The manager should assign specific tasks to each of the employees for clarity.

Enforcing Policies- The Restaurant Manager should also ensure the restaurant’s HR policies are in place and are implemented.

In a fast-paced, moving restaurant, usually, when there is a larger team, there is a possibility that conflicts might arise. But it is essential that these conflicts are dealt with immediately after negotiations from both sides of the parties. So in such a scenario, the role of a restaurant manager is also to mediate and resolve employee conflicts by listening to the story of both sides. 

Learn how to create a Human Resource structure for your restaurant here.

4. Doing The Marketing Of Your Restaurant Right

Marketing is integral to the success of any restaurant; thus, it is also a segment of the restaurant manager’s duties and responsibilities to ensure all marketing activities are carried out well.

The manager needs to decide on the platforms which can be used for the advertisement of the restaurants. If there is already a marketing team in place, the manager should time to time, have a meeting with them, and decide upon new ideas for promoting the restaurant.

 (i) Online Marketing

Online Marketing is one of their restaurants on social media channels such as Facebook. The manager should also run Loyalty Programs or promotional SMS and email campaigns. Learn more about running a successful SMS and email campaign here and here.

The manager should be well aware of both what attracts their target customers and what might bring in a bad review for the restaurant.

(ii) Offline Marketing

A lot of times, restaurants also screen live events along with other services. It becomes a part of the restaurant manager’s duties and responsibilities to schedule the event in such a case. The special menu or the drinks had to be pre-decided for the event and prepared accordingly.

Also, if any restaurant organizes live competition like the best dish or likewise on a broad scale, the primary concern has to be security. It is the duty of the manager also to ensure that if any mishap takes place, the security staff informs the administration without any delay and further deals with the trouble patiently and swiftly.

5. Planning The Menu

The Restaurant Manager’s duties and responsibilities include planning out the menu for the restaurant after consulting with your executive chef, depending on the food choices of your target audience. The manager should be smart enough to do a prior estimation of food costs and the profits that would come out of it.

The manager should focus on the following area while deciding upon the menu:

• Smartly position your best dishes.
• Try to create something special in your menu.
• Keep the language of the menu simple.
• The manager also needs to be aware and flexible enough to update the menu when required.

6) Ensuring Health And Safety Standards

One of the primary duties of a restaurant manager is to keep the health and safety laws in check. The manager should make sure that the restaurant follows the health and safety guidelines issued by the FSSAI. 

The manager is responsible for overseeing the order and cleanliness of the dining areas, kitchen areas, and restrooms so that the restaurant does not violate and safety regulations.

7) Managing Budget And Keeping Costs Under Control

Many times, Budgeting is often overlooked as part of restaurant management. A budget is a financial plan designed to forecast the sales your restaurant can achieve and the expenses required for producing those sales. The manager must keep a daily or weekly tracking of the costs to keep the costs under control. The manager should also come up with ways to effectively manage the restaurant’s budget and accordingly maintain the restaurant costs under control.

Few ways in which the manager can keep the costs in control are:

• Tracking and Managing Inventory to Control Food Costs.
• Purchasing Raw Materials on Credit to Reduce Costs
• Controlling Labor Costs by Reducing Employee Turnover
• Restaurant Cost Control through Yield Management

Read pro tips to manage your restaurant costs here.

A lot of responsibilities lie on the restaurant manager’s shoulders for efficient and smooth restaurant functioning. For a restaurant manager to be successful, he needs to communicate effectively and handle problems swiftly.

All the duties mentioned above, along with the opening and closing checklists, should be followed to avoid any complications in restaurant operation. Overall, a restaurant manager’s duties include overseeing the processes for the smooth functioning of the restaurant.