It’s another busy day at your restaurant. Customers are coming in and out, shift changes are happening like clockwork, and the bathroom is … well you’re not sure. You need to go check your clipboard and see which of your employees was responsible for checking the bathrooms. And what happened to that sticky note you left about the timecard changes for your new hire?
Restaurant managers are notorious for juggling too many things. The industry is also known for doing things the same inefficient way because “that’s the way it’s always been done.”
The problem is … what got you here won’t get you there. Where is there? Wherever your restaurant wants to grow. But in this highly competitive environment, spare pieces of paper, sticky notes, and your memory just aren’t going to cut it anymore.
That’s where a Restaurant Manager’s log comes in. In this fast-moving industry, and with a ton of information flying around your restaurant, you need a way to consolidate all of your shift information in one central hub.
HotSchedules Senior Director of Client Support RJ Hines, Director of Customer Success Laura Johnson and Brett Linn, National Sales Executive served up some unique ways to make the most of The Manager’s Red Book.
1. Use Customer Feedback to Change Your Restaurant Experience
Linn says that more restaurants are using The Manager’s Red Book to drive customer engagement. Hines mentions a particular client who wanted to add a coffee shop to their restaurant to enhance the experience. But they didn’t want customers to grab-and-go, they wanted the coffee shop to draw guests in and keep them for that true cafe experience. The restaurant came to The Manager’s Red Book team with a coffee checklist but didn’t know the first thing about making a latte. The Manager’s Red Book was able to take the coffee shop checklist, customize it for the experience and bring their new cafe plus restaurant to life with streamlined, efficient operations.
2. Create Your Restaurant’s Social Media Strategy
Restaurants have to get social in this day and age. Johnson says she continues to get requests from restaurants looking for ways to organize their social strategy. Some restaurants are using The Manager’s Red Book to house and distribute their social media standards across their stores. Others are using reviews from OpenTable, Google, Yelp, and NextWave to enhance the customer experience. With The Manager’s Red Book as the central source of truth, you can make your restaurant’s social strategy is both consistent and dynamic.
3. Keep Your Restaurant Compliant with Food Safety Standards
Is your meat prepped right? Did your line cooks complete the correct handwashing procedures before creating a customer’s order? Food safety has always been top-of-mind for restaurant operators. Johnson says a lot of restaurant operators look to The Manager’s Red Book to provide consistency in their food safety operations. The problem happens in the implementation portion for restaurants because many have their line checks in several different books. The Manager’s Red Book allows you to store all your checklists and food safety standards and procedures in one book. When the health department comes for their visit, you’ll make the inspection much easier for them (and for you) with all of your standards in one place. The inspector has access to your restaurant’s checklist and can see the corrective action you took to reduce (and eliminate) the risk of a foodborne illness.
4. Track the Weather
Rain or shine, tracking the weather is an important part of your restaurant’s success. Johnson says many customers use the Restaurant Manager’s log to create store-specific weather data. Keeping a consistent record of the weather allows restaurants to plan ahead when it comes to staffing. After reading last year’s weather data from your Restaurant Manager’s log, you can create your schedule with HotSchedules online scheduling software. Sunny day with a high of 75 degrees? Time to staff up the patio! 100 percent chance it’s going to rain for the third year in a row? Check sales data and staff according to your needs.
5. Employee Recognition
Every employee wants to feel appreciated at your restaurant. Johnson sees a lot of restaurant operators using a customized Manager’s Red Book to develop employee recognition programs. In a lot of cases, Johnson works with the corporate offices to build out engagement programs. Once they are fully developed at the leadership level, the books are printed and delivered to all the stores. From there, store managers are trained on using The Manager’s Red Book so that there is consistency among all stores when it comes to implementing the tool and giving employees much-deserved recognition.
