Tips To Prevent Employee Theft

Many restaurant owners and managers cite employee theft as a significant element of costs for the operation of the facility. There are many reasons why employees choose to steal from employers. There is the moral issue, as well as genuine need. Some people simply do not think of taking a steak from the freezer or a drink from the soda machine as theft. Yet the lost funds can add up to a significant amount. These tips may well prevent some of the losses.

It is important that employees understand what behavior is acceptable and what behavior constitutes theft. An employee manual should state clearly whether food and supply is to be charged to the employees or whether it is part of the benefits associated with the job. The manual should also define what the results for non-compliance with the rules will be.

Any standards about use of restaurant supplies and equipment by employees must be applied uniformly. Don't allow some people to "get away with" having a meal from restaurant supplies, while others are prohibited. If you don't want drinks to be poured for the waitpersons, but the manager sneaks one occasionally, there will be a perception that the rules are meant to be broken.

Institute an accounting and record-keeping system that tracks orders and compares them to inventory levels. Regular and complete restaurant inventory management systems are a crucial part of good management. You can use the computer and easy-to-understand software to tie sales to specific waitpersons or bar staff. The manager or owner who doesn't track supplies and inventory regularly is setting himself up for loss.

You can go so far as to set up cameras to record activities in the facility. While this may prevent certain types of active theft, cameras can serve as your eyes and ears about behavior in other aspects of the service as well. Using images to assist in training and service improvement is contributing to the overall quality of your restaurant. Some restaurants arrange for a mystery shopper service in order to monitor some employee activities, although this may not identify situations where theft is a possibility.

All of these elements can be presented in a positive way. The vast majority of employees are basically honest and should not be made to feel as if there is no trust. However, the employer should make it clear that the success of the business depends on the actions of each and every person. Employee theft affects the bottom line of the restaurant.

Restaurant Employee Manuals

Most people will regard working in the restaurant industry as a "happy-go-lucky" job, however anyone in this industry knows that this is not exactly true.
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.

2009 Reservation Book

2009 reservation books are available now so you should go out and purchase one. Most companies, businesses and individuals have already started to schedule in the beginning of the New Year so you need to prepare yourself. If someone should call to make a reservation you need a 2009 reservation book to keep everything in order and make sure your customers reservations do not get misplaced.
You can choose to buy a reservation book that lists all the important holidays. I would highly recommend this, as being aware of all-important holidays is very important for any business that uses reservations. Many times guests will not know the exact date but they will remember the holiday name, so you need a well-supplemented reservation book to find this information as soon as possible.
To keep track of your 2009 reservation book it might be a good idea to keep it with your current reservation book. Additionally if you can add pages to your current book then you could insert and assign some pages for 2009 at the back of your 2008 book, however this is entirely up to you. Depending on the type of reservation book you use all you may need is to buy refill pages. Once 2008 is up just replace the pages with 2009 pages.
Many people chose to use books that utilize refill pages as they pages are much less expensive then buying a brand new book each year. This is particularly handy of you use a leather cover or binder as they can be quite pricey. Refill pages are also great if you tend to make many mistakes and need to replace pages that are difficult to read. Obtaining your 2009 reservation book now will allow you the time to properly organize your system as well as seamlessly move into the new year.

Knife & Fork Productions Reservation Books

You know what they say, 'you get what you pay for', and the same holds true in the case of the reservation book. If you run a business that requires you keep impeccable records and have constant access to appointments and reservations in real time, you will find the use of a reservation book to be a necessity. Knife and Fork Productions reservation books have been proven as the highest quality and are chock full of the best organizational techniques. No matter what type of establishment you run, Knife & Fork Productions reservation books are the perfect way to stay on top of things.
The good news is that finding high-end, reservation books doesn't really have to cost all that much. Wouldn't it be nice to get all the quality you'd expect from a name brand product, without the added price tag?
If your salon, spa, restaurant, hotel, or any other kind of business that relies heavily on reservations for success, you will find that the use of a Knife & Fork Productions reservation book will help you maintain efficiency, even when electronic disaster strikes. Wouldn't it be nice to be the only salon on the block unscathed by a power outage? How about the only spa in town that is unaffected by that black out? Lots of things can go wrong where technology is concerned, and backing up your computer program without a reservation book is a practical decision that shows business savvy. Don't let tech troubles cause you stress, be smart and keep a hard copy of everything!