Fundamentals – People – Manager

People

Let’s start with people

Lot of people forget that in the end it is people running the restaurant. No matter how good your food or system maybe, if your team does not have right mindset and perform, it will not work. As a restaurateur, you must keep in mind that your team must be on a same boat heading towards same direction. Let’s discuss one by one starting from most important position.

Manager – This can be in a several different titles such as Owner, Manager, or a Chef. Sometimes owner like to manage the restaurant themselves, in that case they are effectively Manager of the restaurant even if he/she hires a manager(s) or chef(s). Sometimes Chef owners actively manage the restaurant and makes a final call on important decisions. Most of the times, it would be Managers actively managing the restaurant with different titles such as Director, General Manager, Assistant manager, etc. It is important to emphasize that this Manager position is most critical. This applies to any business, depending on who is the manager managing your business, they can make your business very successful or simply break it and cause a bankruptcy.

So what is a Bad, Good, Excellent manager?

Bad Manager – This person would prioritize his/her own benefit even if it causes damage to the restaurant or his team. Furthermore he/she would have poor discipline, not punctual, show laziness, and lacks leadership.

Good Manager – This person would show good amount of discipline, responsible, punctual, and show leadership to his team. He/she would be focused on performance of the restaurant, focuses on training his team, and be responsible for his action.

Excellent Manager – This person is like a partner, he/she will show strong leadership, leading by an example to his team, and most importantly show genuine care for the restaurant. He will demonstrate willingness to be hands-on, one of the first or last person to be in the restaurant, care about restaurant sales and profitability, service, reputation, and his team. Many managers or team members tend to have an attitude such as “it’s not my job” which is not desirable. Having a team that truly cares about your restaurant will make your restaurant successful and it all starts with your manager because he will hire your restaurant team members and guide all of them.