What makes one restaurant consistently busy while the competition struggles to fill the dining room? Tracking profits and losses is key to staying in business, but many of the most important aspects of running a restaurant successfully are intangible and can’t be classified as a line item on a spreadsheet. 

In this article, we’ll cover the key aspects that any successful restaurant owner should be mindful of when running their business.

 

Recognize the importance of your staff

If you want to run a successful restaurant, your staff will be the number one factor in keeping guests coming back. The kitchen staff is the backbone of a restaurant, while your front of house crew is the public face and persona. While guest experience is number one in the hospitality business, it cannot exist without a happy, motivated and devoted staff.

In order to hire and retain the best possible staff for your restaurant, you should: 

• Create a hiring method that aligns with your personal values and hire your staff based on those key traits.
• Show your staff that you appreciate them through appropriate pay raises, outings, acknowledgments and more.
• Identify stressors in the workplace and work to eliminate them. 
• Measure tenure and provide a path for growth within the company.
• Conduct periodic check-ins or send out staff surveys to keep your finger on the pulse of staff satisfaction.

Tip: Make use of a workforce management software like roubler to simplify processes, increase efficiency and drive employee productivity in your business.

Offer a seamless guest experience

The guest experience must be seamless and immersive from beginning to end. Parking, seating, service, food and drink quality, the payment process, their departure and all interactions with staff and management in between must be on point. The goal is to exceed expectations in each individual step. When a restaurant fails to meet expectations, even in one category, it can potentially ruin a guest’s entire experience and receive a negative review. 

And because no night of service is without its flaws, it’s not always about what happens, but how we handle it. If a mistake is made, acknowledge and fix it. Our job is to make sure there’s a happy ending to every story, even if that means that the guest felt like management heard and responded appropriately to a complaint. 

Invest in technology that will help your streamline your business

To set themselves up for success, savvy restaurateurs are turning towards new technologies designed to weather unpresented challenges, allowing them to reconfigure their restaurant floorplan and integrate new revenue-generating sales channels that work alongside their in-house service with ease. Additionally, restaurants that incorporate delivery and takeout position themselves to emerge as a stronger, more resilient business in the long run.

We recommend switching to Lightspeed K Series POS. The POS system offers a truly cloud-based/mobile experience which will keep your business running even when you have load shedding.

Be proactive about accounting

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “A place for everything, and everything in its place.” This goes for physical items as well as accounting procedures and standard operating procedures. Clearly communicate the expectations, follow through, be organized, label everything, set pars, forecast your sales and set goals. This starts with really knowing your business, getting your hands dirty and having your finger on the pulse of your business. Set up systems for everything and continually enforce them. 

Opt for cloud-based accounting software, like xero that can integrate with your restaurant management system so you’re always in the know.