How To Monitor Restaurant Employees
Maintaining a restaurant requires a great effort since you have to make sure operations run smoothly, customers are satisfied, and expenses are kept to a minimum. Nowadays, restaurant owners monitor operations and employee performance using specialized computer software.
Computer monitoring software gives real time insights into employee activity without scaring off customers. This article sheds light on the use of monitoring software in restaurants and its advantages.
Which Employee Activities Should be Monitored in a Restaurant?
The first step in effective monitoring is to determine the main areas or activities that should be monitored.
Cash Handling
In restaurants cash handling usually involves cash flow, balance, online transactions, and void transaction monitoring. Careful handling of cash is necessary to assure accurate financial reporting and prevention of theft.
According to the National Restaurant Association, employee theft is responsible for 75% of inventory shortages and roughly 4% decline in restaurant sales.
Inventory Management
Inventory management includes the supplies of food and drink and preventing losses. Excess inventory and increased expenses might be the outcome of inaccurate inventory management. Studies show that restaurants that use efficient inventory control see a profit rise by 10%.
Food Safety Adherence
This includes monitoring temperature and following food handling procedures in compliance with health and safety regulations. Foodborne infections can have detrimental side effects such as reputational harm and legal warnings.
Customer Service
It is important to evaluate the employee-customer interaction, service quality, and duration. Customer satisfaction is vital to positive reviews and brings more customers to restaurants. 60% of customers give priority to service quality and positive reviews when selecting a restaurant.
Labor Efficiency
Labor efficiency is determined by evaluating worker expenses, task completion times, and staff schedules. Labor costs are particularly higher in the restaurant industry making up between 30% and 35% of total revenue.
Best Practices to Monitor Restaurant Employees
There are various methods to gauge the performance of restaurant employees such as following:
Real-time Observation
To analyze employee performance, managers can watch workers in real time. This method can be time-consuming but it enables quick feedback and action. Moreover remote monitoring software has made the task easy.
CCTV Surveillance
Restaurants can also use cameras to monitor both the public spaces and behind the scene activity in a restaurant. Video surveillance not only monitors employee behavior but safeguard restaurants against conflicts of different kinds. On the other hand, customers may consider CCTV cameras as intrusive and privacy issues can emerge.
Tracking Time & Attendance
In the restaurants where employees work on a per hour basis, this approach is the best to monitor them. Digital attendance logs and biometric scanners are two systems that can assure correct payroll processing.
Point-of-Sale Systems
This system provides data about sales, stock levels, and worker productivity. Managers can keep an eye on transaction failures or refunds, identify popular items, and track sales trends. The information gathered from point-of-sale systems is crucial for making educated choices about menu modification and making informed marketing decisions for future campaigns.
Computer Monitoring Software
Computer monitoring is becoming popular in the hospitality industry. These software provide multiple options for labor, inventory, cash flow, and customer feedback monitoring. Popular monitoring software are Wolfeye, ActiveTrak, and Hubspot.
What Is The Role of Monitoring Software in Restaurants?
Monitoring software is a useful tool for managers and owners of restaurants. This software can monitor employee activity in real time, identify areas of improvement, and provide data driven insights into a restaurant’s operations. Monitoring software can also time trackers and identify irregular patterns in financial transactions.
The data from monitoring software can help in labor schedule optimization, inventory accuracy, and maintaining operational efficiency. A study by restaurant management platform Toast says that businesses that used monitoring software had a reduction in labor expenses and a boost in revenue by 20% and 10% respectively.
It is important to employ monitoring methods in a transparent and ethical manner. When a monitoring tool is used improperly, it can lead to a hostile work atmosphere, low staff morale, negative customer feedback, and potential legal ramifications.
Why Should You Use Wolfeye for Monitoring Restaurant Employees?
Wolfeye offers a complete package for restaurant employee monitoring and promotes productivity and security. A number of features in this tool are designed to maximize its potential:
Real-time Monitoring
Using Wolfeye, managers can keep tabs on workers’ activities in real-time to make sure jobs are completed correctly and quickly. This feature makes it easy possible to take actions immediately after a problem arises, which eventually improves the output.
Detailed Reporting
This feature produces ample data on important KPIs including customer interactions, task completion times, and employee attendance. Reports created using this data help in decision-making, save labor costs, and improve operational efficiency.
Cash Flow & Inventory Management
Wolfeye can monitor transactions and inventory by integrating with POS systems, which lowers the possibility of inaccurate financial reporting and inventory calculation.
Ethical Use & Transparency
It is important to use Wolfeye within legal and ethical bounds. Maintaining compliance to standard regulations and building trust among employees depends on Wolfeye’s ethical use. Open communication regarding data use can lead to a collaborative work environment and a decrease in privacy concerns.
Using Wolfeye, restaurant managers can boost output, tighten security, and promote a welcoming and safe environment for employees and customers.
Balancing Monitoring with Employee Privacy
Monitoring boosts productivity but employee privacy should not be compromised. Building confidence among employees and avoiding conflict require clear communication of monitoring policies. Hence, employees must know why they are being monitored and what will be done with the collected data.
Monitoring policies should be included in written contracts and it should be made sure that the monitoring procedures are impartial, unbiased and non discriminatory. Soliciting feedback from employees on monitoring methods can be helpful in addressing concerns and promoting a sense of cooperation.
Micromanagement should not be the purpose of monitoring employees as it can adversely affect the productivity of workers. Regional labor laws and employee monitoring policies should be respected.
Balancing Security and Customer Service
A perfect balance should be maintained between monitoring the restaurant and creating a hospitable atmosphere for customers. Use discreetly placed cameras on staff counters to not attract unwanted attention from customers.
Adding high-end lighting and sound systems ensure that security measures do not become a worrisome for customers. Employees’ behavior with customers should be scrutinized to avoid any conflicts.
The use of monitoring techniques and customer service should not contradict. A positive customer experience will increase sales and a negative one will increase cost and overhead for the business.
Conclusion
Monitoring employees of restaurants can increase the performance of employees and ratings of the eatery bringing in more customers and boosting revenue. Monitoring can be useful if done carefully and morally. Use Wolfeye for vigilant monitoring of your restaurant.