There’s a lot going on behind the scenes of a fast food restaurant that the customers are rarely exposed to. They don’t understand the stress and pressure that’s put-on employees to get food out speedily but yet in a manner that meets public standards. It takes a lot of skills to be a great fast food manager, and this doesn’t just mean being able to motivate your team to work hard. Here’s how else you can successfully manage a fast food operation.
No Wastage Policy
If you really want to make sure that you meet your company’s targets and bring in maximum profits, you need to work on reducing your wastage. First go about this by training employees on how they can prepare food so as to have minimum amount of ingredients wasted. Remember, not only does this make you a more environmentally conscious company but it drastically increases your savings. Have regular meetings that emphasize this policy and you can even think up an incentive that will make them be more likely to adhere to it.
Be A Team Player
A good manager would never hide away in his office at the back of the kitchen. No, he would get involved. He would be talking to various members of the team and listening to their updates. Using observation, he’d be able to see where some people are slacking. By being at the centre at things, he’d also be able to position himself as a team player and help out the rest of the staff during peak business hours. This is how you command their respect.
Training
You’ll find that most of the employees in the fast food industry are really young. They’re inexperienced and, most of the time, students trying to pay their way. This inexperience means that they’re likely to make a lot of mistakes if you don’t give them the right training. So don’t just throw them into the arena and lecture them later on not being able to do their work- show them the ropes, how to work around the IMPOS POS system, how to use the grills etc. and minimize the chances of any accidents.
Product Quality
In the fast food industry, it’s usually the case that food is bought pre-cooked and the employees are taught to focus on preparation of the meal. This means food has to be stored well so perform routine checks on storage to ensure no food goes spoilt due to improper storing. You also need to oversee how much food is in storage before ordering new ingredients. If you have too much food in storage, food will inevitably get thrown away and the company will lose money. Stay on top of product quality and quantity so you’ll know exactly when to get more.
Managing a fast food joint definitely comes with its ups and downs. But as a breather from the constant stress and fast paced action, you need to create a positive work culture and team-playing spirit within your employees if you want things to work. So, make this your priority and you’ll be good to go!