It’s no surprise that the restaurant industry took a large hit during COVID-19, as businesses shuttered in many cities. However, restaurants experienced a bounce back after the summer, with a surge in restaurants hiring, sales, and shifts scheduled.
Everybody’s priority is society’s collective health and safety. The last few months have shown that there are ways to serve customers restaurant food that are perfectly safe for COVID-19. Read on to learn more about three crucial things restaurants need to survive.
The Right Team in Place
Now more than ever, you need a team you can trust to get the job done safely and responsibly. Finding the right people begins before the prospective employee has joined. For this reason, the importance of restaurant job interview questions can’t be overstated, as they filter out the average from the outstanding.
Ensure your team is adaptable, dependable, committed, and jives well with your restaurant’s culture and vibe.
Employee Scheduling Software
Some modern technology helps you run a more efficient business, saving you money and headaches. Employee scheduling software reduces the time it takes to create amazing work schedules by up to 80%, so your employees spend more time working and less time planning when they’ll work in the future.
Off the bat, this technology can result in a 3% reduction in labor costs, historically one of the biggest drains on a restaurant business. Scheduling software has incredible communication features that keep teams effortlessly connected.
Employees can let their manager know their work availability through the app, so they don’t need to write it down in a crowded calendar in the break room. It’s streamlined, organized, and simple. If a manager needs to find a replacement for a shift on short notice, they can send a group message to the team in need — whoever’s free to take the shift can let the manager know, and the problem is nipped in the bud.
Adaptability and Flexibility
Everyone is adjusting to new and changing circumstances right now, and you need to find a way to satisfy market demands better than your rivals. The good news is, your customers are dying to be fed. They just need a safe and convenient way to get the food, and it’s up to you to find it for them.
Offer subscription meal kits, DIY meal kits, social-distanced drop-offs, or cook right there on the street. You need to be safe for the sake of everybody’s collective health, but your approach needs to be perceived as safe so people will buy your food.
There are other new approaches, too — research other people’s solutions to problems like the ones you face, and select one suitable given your style of restaurant.
When a restaurant has the right team in place, the technology that helps them operate smartly and efficiently, and a flexible and adaptable attitude, not even COVID-19 can stop them from succeeding. Keep these tips in mind, and your restaurant can survive and thrive for years down the road.
