For a restaurant operator rules and regulations are a must. In addition, one must also clearly understand his or her expectations in regards to staff members.
On the other hand, the employees should also be aware of these expectations, as well as what's important to that restaurant. One Most effective way of ensuring that this information is passed on to the employees is by using an employee manual.
Though the manual serves numerous other purposes, its most important use in any restaurant is to provide a structure.
While the customer requires that they get the same experience each time they come to the restaurant, the high turnover experienced in this restaurant industry makes it impossible for the operator to keep everyone up to speed. This situation makes the employee manual a must have for any restaurant operator.
The employee manual also plays the role of a reference manual. This makes it a very important reference tool. In cases where employees do something wrong, you are able to refer the employees back to the manual. This way employees cannot complain that they were not told something.
A restaurant manual will also prove useful to everyone working in the restaurant as it helps them understand what the restaurant brand stands for. It keeps everyone honest to the brand ensures that everyone has a very clear understanding of what they're doing each day.
Here is some important advice on good employee manuals:Before your new hires can even start training, ensure that they read it and sign off on the manual. Rather than referring to it as an employee manual, refer to it as the Employees Rules and Regulations. This makes it a bit more serious sounding.
Employee manuals are not training manuals but should give the basics of your company. The restaurants motto plus mission statement should be laid out clearly from the very beginning. Have the manual explain briefly about the restaurant's history and those elements that differentiate you from your competition.
Secondly, detail the expectations. That is, what is expected from the employee in terms of cleanliness, their attitude, expectations regarding to phone usage or texting, what to do when they are sick or how they should request time off. In addition, the employees should know when they should expect their remuneration, so the manual should cover that.
The employee manual includes: a welcome note; the business motto, mission statement and goals; the person to contact plus how; policies regarding cellphone usage, employees sick days, how tp giving notice; details regarding uniform, employees attitude and etiquette; cleaning and side work; how they should deal with any secret shoppers and also what a typical secret shopper report looks like.
It is recommended that at least one electronic copy of the manual is provided to each employee. It is also advisable to keep the manual short with details about expectations, ways to handle basic situations, and a welcome.
Note that the restaurant employee manual is not training so avoid filling it with unnecessary details.The manual should be availed electronically or otherwise in paper format. This gives employees the option of reading it online. In addition, keep a manual in each store for reference.The manual can go much deeper to make sure employees are aware on all fundamentals of the business, to ensure basic understanding of what your focus is, to ensure a very clear direction and making sure you try to express your passion of why we're in business. Talk a bit more on the execution, how you expect your employees to act while working at the restaurant,and on what kind of restaurant you are. Also talk about your culture. It's about committment to a clear vision."The manual can additionally detail employment policies, your recruitment and hiring policies, ways of handling problems, jury duty, their benefits, giving notice, their safety and security, harassment and discrimination, among many other topics. It can also have examples of reasons why an employee can be terminated.
The manual should spell out everything and answer the questions so employees didn't have to ask. Always stay open to ammending changes to your employee manual.
Review the employee manual every year and have each employee sign off on the manual annually to keep it fresh in everyone's mind.After effecting changes to your manual, inform all your staff members. If it's a major change have all employees resubmit their signature.
