Restaurant Manager’s Skills, Duties and How to Find a Good One

Restaurant managers are the people that make sure your patrons are happy and everything is running smoothly. They most likely won’t be involved in cooking, serving or bartending, but they do work with all of these parties to keep the establishment running like a well-oiled machine.

Restaurant Manager Responsibilities

The duties will vary depending on the establishment, but common daily tasks will include:

Staff Management

• Hiring and firing employees
• Training new staff
• Managing employee schedules
• Handling employee complaints, questions and time-off requests

Inventory Management

Manager is responsible for making sure that the kitchen is stocked with all of the necessary ingredients, to-go boxes, cups cutlery and dinnerware, etc. In some cases, the day-to-day management of the inventory may be delegated to an employee, but the manager will still keep a watchful eye over things.

Marketing

• Managing social media accounts
• Overseeing Yelp, TripAdvisor and Google My Business accounts
• Ordering brochures
• Managing online and print advertisements
• Scheduling and planning events, such as live music and celebrations

Managers may hire third parties to carry out some of these tasks, or they handle everything themselves.

Handling Private Special Events

Many restaurants host private special events, such as birthday parties, anniversary parties, and rehearsal dinners. When customers want to host their event at a restaurant, they typically deal with the manager to make these arrangements.

Financial Management

Most restaurants have accountants, but the manager is still actively involved in the establishment’s budget and financial matters.

Customer Service

Being a restaurant manager also means being the face of the restaurant. If customers have a complaint, question or problem, they speak with the manager.

Restaurant Manager Skills

Good restaurant manager skills include:

• Communication
• Organization and Time Management
• Problem-Solving
• Business Awareness
• Eager to Learn and Improve

The best restaurant managers will always find room for improvement and be eager to improve their skills.

Find a Right Manager for Your Restaurant

Hiring a restaurant manager is no easy task, nor is it something that should be taken lightly. Ideally, you would hire someone with restaurant kitchen management experience. Hiring someone with experience may make restaurant manager training much quicker and easier.

But you may prefer to promote from within. There are many benefits to going this route. The person you promote may not have technical managerial experience, but they will already have a good understanding of the restaurant’s day-to-day operations.

Finding a good restaurant manager will take time, and it’s not something that you should rush. Be clear about expectations and responsibilities, and appreciate all that your manager does to keep your establishment running smoothly.

Source: https://mcdonaldpaper.com/blog/restaurant-manager-duties-and-responsibilities