Staffing represents one of the biggest challenges restaurant owners face. As a business owner, it’s important to understand the different restaurant positions you’ll be hiring for — from food preparation roles to front-of-house (FOH) positions, like food runners and restaurant servers.
We’ve compiled a handy guide to the five most common jobs in the restaurant industry. From quick service to fine dining restaurants, you can find these job titles at most restaurants.
We’ll go over common responsibilities, necessary skill sets, and median pay for each of the five restaurant positions. You’ll also pick up a few hiring and productivity-enhancing tips along the way.
Depending on the type and size of restaurant you have, there are a variety of positions you might need to keep things running smoothly. But here are five common roles that most restaurants will need, including their responsibilities, required skills, and median wages.
Servers assist customers with seating, ordering, and making payments. The term server is often used synonymously with waiter or waitress. However, some restaurants use the word more loosely to describe other FOH roles, such as host/hostess or maître d’.
Servers maintain high customer service standards by providing a pleasant guest experience from beginning to end. Servers may greet customers at the door and direct them to their tables. After presenting the customers with menus, the server might offer suggestions before taking the customer’s order. The server will deliver food, check in with the customer throughout their meal, and present the bill at the end of the meal.
At quick-service-style restaurants, servers may work behind the counter taking orders, processing payments, and delivering food from the kitchen to the service counter.
Servers must have a high level of customer service ability. They should help to create an excellent dining experience by greeting customers with a smile, listening patiently, and communicating effectively.
This restaurant position requires good physical endurance. Servers spend much of their shift on their feet moving back and forth across the restaurant. Sometimes, servers will need to carry heavy dishes.
In 2021, the median server wage in America was $12.50 an hour, or $26,000 a year for a full-time server. In some states, you’re allowed to pay servers below minimum wage as long as their tips cover the difference.
For example, in New York City you can pay a server $10 an hour as long as they receive enough tips to bring up their total pay to the city-mandated $15-an-hour minimum wage for servers.
While some restaurants ask that servers set tables and clear dirty plates, bussers more commonly perform these duties. Bussing is an entry-level restaurant position that may act as a stepping stone to a server position later down the line.
Bussers will set and clear tables, assist with stocking, run food to customers, and perform miscellaneous tasks around the restaurant. Servers may treat bussers as assistants by asking them to perform front-of-house duties that they’re too busy to attend to. Bussers may be called on to help customers with food service.
This restaurant position requires high levels of energy and superior customer service. Bussers typically juggle multiple tables, and they may be asked to perform various tasks, such as restocking salt and pepper containers and rolling silverware. An ideal busser should be able to think on their feet and have excellent physical stamina.
In 2021, the median hourly wage for food and beverage serving workers was $12.49, which equates to $25,980 a year full time. Bussers often share tips with servers on top of their hourly wage. The particulars of this arrangement will vary from restaurant to restaurant. Bussers often work part-time making it an excellent job for students.
Chefs are important members of the back-of-the-house (BOH) staff, as they cook and prepare food. Different types of chefs include sous chefs, prep cooks, pastry chefs, line cooks, head chefs, and executive chefs.
Duties and compensation can vary quite a bit between these different restaurant positions. For example, sous chefs assist with food preparation while a head chef may act more like a kitchen manager by overseeing meal production and ensuring a high level of quality.
Chefs prepare food for guests. Depending on the size and complexity of the restaurant, a chef may be involved in all stages of the cooking process or they might specialize in a particular task or area. However, it’s most common for chefs to assist with multiple parts of the cooking process from preparation to completion.
Many chefs attend special schools to attain the necessary skills to work in a kitchen. Others start in a lower-level role and work their way up. Regardless of their education, chefs should understand the appropriate cooking techniques for the food served at their restaurants. In addition, chefs may need to undergo food safety training to stay in line with local rules and regulations.
In 2021, cooks made a median hourly wage of $14 an hour, or $29,120 per year for a full-time employee. However, head chefs pulled in a more impressive $24.11 an hour or $50,160 per year. It’s important to note that many chefs work in excess of 40 hours per week.
Depending on the size and sophistication of the restaurant, assistant managers may be responsible for a specific area within the restaurant, such as BOH or FOH staff. Consequently, duties for this position can range quite a bit.
Generally speaking, assistant managers will assist with administrative duties, such as placing orders, creating schedules, and managing kitchen staff. They may handle customer complaints and resolve disputes with staff members.
Assistant managers typically become eligible for their role after demonstrating excellence in lower-level service or kitchen roles. Since assistant managers are often promoted from lower-level restaurant jobs, they should be familiar with service and administrative skills common to the restaurant industry.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not distinguish between managers and assistant managers when collecting workplace data. However, Salary.com reports that the average assistant restaurant manager earned $46,349 per year in 2022.
As a restaurant owner, it’s important to hire a competent manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of your establishment. A good general manager will keep your restaurant profitable and running smoothly.
Managers take responsibility for virtually all restaurant operations — from deciding which menu items to serve to hiring and firing staff members. General managers are responsible for both BOH and FOH functions, including managing staff and inventory.
Managers should be adept at multitasking. This is a challenging role that requires successful candidates to keep track of large amounts of information and multiple restaurant positions. They should have at least basic knowledge in human resources and bookkeeping. Good managers are detail-oriented planners with solid customer relations skills.
According to the BLS, the median restaurant manager made $28.58 an hour, or $59,440 per year in 2021.
If you’re a restaurant owner looking to attract the right staff members for your business, try out the following tips when hiring your next team member.
During the interview, check the candidate’s work experience against your job description. You don’t need to see a perfect match, but the candidate should have relevant experience for the position they’re applying for. You may ask successful candidates to complete a paid trial shift. This will allow you to see their skills in action.
Restaurant staff wages have risen sharply in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With ongoing labor shortages impacting a variety of restaurant positions, it’s vital to offer competitive wages to attract solid workers. What qualifies as competitive will vary by location. Consider providing benefits like health insurance to entice high-quality staff members.
It’s generally more costly to hire and train new team members than it is to retain existing staff. Providing staff training programs, performance-based raises and regular schedules can help you hold on to your staff members for longer periods of time.
Assist your FOH staff by integrating a self-service kiosk solution into their workflow. KioskBuddy lets you slash labor costs and boost productivity in the following ways:
Self-order kiosks let you staff your restaurant with fewer servers.
Customers enjoy a personalized ordering experience and faster service.
BOH staff can easily keep track of complex orders.
Successful restaurant owners understand the ins and outs of both front-of-house and back-of-house staffing. Knowing what to look for during the hiring stage will help you find the right servers, bussers, cooks, assistant managers, and managers. Look for experienced candidates and don’t be afraid to ask for a paid trial shift. Use on-the-job training to help your staff learn important tasks and processes.
Providing competitive pay, flexible schedules, and promoting from within can help you attract and hold onto high-quality staff. Consider using KioskBuddy to enhance front-of-house productivity by filling key restaurant positions. Let our intuitive software system help you reduce staffing costs by allowing your customers to order and pay quickly and conveniently.
Use KioskBuddy’s self-ordering app to streamline your front-of-house operations. You can save on staffing costs while enhancing workplace productivity.
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