Working as a restaurant manager, food-service manager, or general manager of any food-based business involves wearing many hats. From fast-food joints to fine-dining establishments, restaurants of all kinds require a manager who knows the ins and outs of the industry and can juggle various responsibilities.
But what exactly does a restaurant manager do?
We’re here to answer that question and any others you might have with this comprehensive guide to restaurant managers and their duties. We’ll cover which elements of a restaurant’s operations the manager is responsible for, the critical skills needed for a hospitality management position, and valuable tools to help restaurant managers carry out their duties more efficiently.
You’d be forgiven for thinking you need advanced qualifications to be a restaurant manager, but that’s not strictly true. You don’t need to have attended culinary school or completed an advanced degree. Some restaurant managers stopped their formal education after getting their high school diploma.
Rather than looking at qualifications like a bachelor’s degree, restaurant owners tend to look for restaurant manager skills — the type of skills someone can develop through years of experience working in a restaurant or other management role.
We’ve compiled a list of the essential skills needed to be a good restaurant manager.
“Hard skills” are the technical skills needed to carry out a job — as opposed to “soft skills,” which are personal attributes and elements of a person’s character that can make them better suited to a particular role.
A restaurant manager needs a good understanding of local food safety regulations and hygiene standards. Various food safety and food hygiene courses exist to provide qualifications on this matter.
A restaurant general manager should also have financial management know-how and budgeting skills. They must also know how to use any tools or software needed in their restaurant, such as point-of-sale systems (POS systems) and inventory tracking software.
Restaurant managers also need various soft skills to succeed in their roles.
Problem-solving skills are crucial. Things can easily go wrong in a food-service setting, so restaurant managers must be able to resolve any issues that come up quickly, whether dealing with a customer complaint or tweaking the menu after an inventory issue. Restaurants are a fast-paced environment, and fast action in times of stress is vital.
Management skills are also crucial. It’s the manager’s job to create a happy working environment for front-of-house (FOH) and back-of-house (BOH) staffers. Leadership skills are vital, but so is knowing when to delegate and when to work together as a team.
Customer service skills are another crucial element of a restaurant manager’s duties. This usually involves communication skills — knowing how to be an active listener and reading non-verbal cues.
Now that you understand the type of personality and knowledge required to be a restaurant manager, we can delve deeper into the duties that fall under this broad job title.
A restaurant manager’s primary role is to ensure the smooth day-to-day operations of a restaurant — and that can involve a massive range of tasks. Let’s take a closer look at some specific restaurant manager responsibilities.
Restaurant managers are in charge of the daily operations of their businesses. They set out the restaurant's brand standards and standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure a cohesive workflow and high food quality.
Managers must also order supplies, including ingredients and non-food items like napkins and cutlery. They need to set a budget and keep operational costs down while ensuring profitability by choosing the menu pricing structure.
Another aspect of a restaurant manager job description is ensuring that all food safety standards are met. This can involve organizing food safety certifications for FOH and BOH staff, creating a thorough emergency protocol, and monitoring inventory best-before dates.
Restaurant managers also have to act as the face of the business. It’s their job to ensure each staffer knows how to provide excellent customer service and make the guest experience as good as it can be.
This can involve:
Ensuring that hosting staff greet diners in a polite and professional manner
Keeping wait times as short as possible to boost the dining experience
Addressing any customer complaints quickly and courteously
Regularly assessing customer satisfaction rates and looking for ways to improve service
Restaurant managers can also be responsible for various aspects of staffing and human resources.
It’s often the manager’s job to oversee the process of hiring new employees. This means writing job postings and preparing interview questions to ask of potential new team members. Later down the line, it also means ensuring that each staff member knows their specific role within the wider team. Each restaurant staff member should be able to articulate their responsibilities on every shift.
Managers are also in charge of organizing work schedules and shifts. It’s essential that there are enough wait staff, kitchen staff, and bartenders for busy periods — and that there aren’t too many people working when it’s expected to be quieter.
Managers can also be responsible for staff retention. It’s essential to provide regular feedback to team members by carrying out staff performance reviews. Good workers should be rewarded with praise and incentives to ensure the best members of your team continue to work for your business rather than going elsewhere. This might mean budgeting for a bonus, providing extra vacation days, or just ensuring your staff has everything they need.
With all these aspects of the role, budding managers will be pleased to know that various types of restaurant management software exist that can simplify certain aspects of the job. We’ll briefly examine four types of this software now and explain how it can help restaurant managers get their work done more quickly.
Point-of-sale systems: POS systems are advanced payment processing tools that often have integrated data collectors. POS data includes sales statistics, inventory levels, customer demographics, and product data.
Self-service kiosks: Self-service kiosk apps, like KioskBuddy, let customers place and pay for their orders without needing a server. It can reduce queues in busy restaurants and be an excellent alternative if a front-of-house team member can’t make their shift at the last minute.
Inventory management software: Inventory management software works with a POS to automatically track stock levels. Advanced options can place orders when items run low, giving managers one less thing to worry about.
Kitchen display screens: Also known as a KDS, a kitchen display screen synchronizes with a restaurant’s POS and self-service kiosk to instantly notify the kitchen team when an order is made. A sound KDS lets the chefs see incoming orders in real time, ensuring no order gets forgotten and there are no errors due to illegible handwriting on a paper ticket. A KDS can help restaurant managers by speeding up service and reducing the number of wrong orders.
The restaurant industry is a busy one, and restaurant managers have various tasks to juggle. From organizing shifts and dealing with customer complaints to pricing menus and managing inventory, there’s a lot to keep food-service managers on their toes.
KioskBuddy lets customers place orders and pay for the food themselves, leading to fewer wrong orders and no more issues if a FOH staffer calls out sick. It’s quick and easy to set up — simply download and synchronize with your Square POS inventory.
Make your restaurant manager’s job easier with KioskBuddy — download the app today.