4 May 2010
Employee Manual for a Restaurant: Policies and Procedures
Posted by Crystal under: Restaurant Business .
Having an employee manual is one of the best ways to train your restaurant’s staff and keep them informed of the restaurant’s policies and procedures. A written employee manual is designed to teach your employees how to do things correctly in a restaurant setting and how to provide the best possible customer service. A good manual at the very least should contain the following information:
General Policies. Define how employees should answer the phones and provide your staff with the exact phrases you want them to use when greeting guests on the phone. Prohibit harmful activities, such as smoking in the kitchen, food preparation area, or in front of the customers. You may also prohibit personal phone calls during business hours. Define the exact dates that employees get their paychecks and your policy towards advances.
Time Management. An employee manual should denote the exact clock-in time, such as a particular scheduled time that each shift should report to work. Define the rules for employees’ absence, and identify acceptable (or inacceptable) ranges for absence, illness, and tardiness. Clearly identify the times when breaks are allowed. Define your policies for scheduling process, including how scheduling requests can be made, what is the deadline for making scheduling requests, and where the schedule itself will be put up once approved.
Personal Hygiene. The manual should outline your requirements regarding personal hygiene of both the front of house and the back of house staff. This includes requirements to have neatly trimmed hair, clean hands without cuts or sores. Staff should have clean, short fingernails without dirt. Make it a policy that employees wash their hands after using the bathroom, before and after preparing foods, and emphasize that clothing should be clean and neat at all times.
Menu Description. In your manual, outline the menu breakdown and provide your servers with background information about each menu item. Have your cooking staff contribute to the detailed description of ingredients and preparation information so that servers have a clear understanding of each food item. Do the same with drinks descriptions, providing your staff with detailed information about drinks ingredients and how they are prepared.
Serving the Table. Outline clearly in the manual the proper way to set the table, serve the table and seat customers at the table. Identify key phrases you want your staff to use when greeting, seating, and serving your guests. Have a seating chart to make it easier for staff to plan.
Alcohol Policies. Define your alcohol policies, such as the common policy not to over-serve your customers with alcohol drinks. Outline in the manual the signs of extreme intoxications and how to detect such signs in restaurant’s guests, so that your staff does not unknowingly encourage intoxication by over-serving alcohol drinks.
Employee Agreement. At the end of such manual, create a page where employees can sign an employee agreement acknowledging that they have read this manual. This acknowledgment should include an agreement that an employee clearly understands the manual and will keep the copy of the document for his reference and that the violation of such policies may result in immediate dismissal.
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