We took restaurants as an example for this article, but the use of checklists is universal and can be applied in any sphere (for example, beauty studios or barbershops, hotels, stores). In this article, you can find ideas to use in your business.
We often hear that the restaurant business is all about creativity, ideas, concepts, etc. In the process of creativity, beautiful restaurants and delicious dishes in creative serving are born. But creativity will never become a business without a system. Business is a system. And you have to build it if you are determined to work efficiently and get good results.
Have you ever had such a thing that you repeat something to an employee for the hundredth time, but the result is always the same, or rather, its absence? Or notice that when performing a familiar task, employees make the same mistakes? If so, it's time to implement management and control tools - checklists.
One checkpoint - one operation.
Checkpoints are the minimum complete operations. What does it mean?
Aligning the tables in a row and wiping the tables are two different operations and should not be written on the same line.
That's why they are shown as separate checkpoints:
- Tables are standing straight according to the layout of the room;
- Tables are clean, table legs are waxed, and there are no foreign objects under the tabletop.
The level of detail in your restaurant checklist depends on the nature of the tasks you include. It's important to find a balance between providing enough detail to ensure that tasks are understood and completed correctly, but not so much that the checklist becomes too complex and time-consuming.
Items should always be written in the affirmative.
The purpose of the checklist is to verify readiness, so it is better to write items in the affirmative as actions already completed: “tables wiped clean.” Compare the wording: “wipe the tables” and “the tables are wiped”. The second option requires more responsibility because it states the result, not the intention to do something that can be forgotten.
Don't mix all processes in one dimensionless checklist.
It is better to make a separate checklist for each area of responsibility or process: for the readiness of the restaurant to work as a whole (hall, staff), for the production area, for the bar, to check the availability of all necessary documents, etc.
Check the reality of the checklist in person.
You can use pre-made checklists as a starting point, but each restaurant is unique and has its specific operations, and its checklist should reflect that.
1. Checklists are developed directly with the participation of employees (those who are monitored by checklists);
2. There is systematic and daily control by the manager;
3. There is systematic control by the owner;
4. There is a correlation between the bonus part of the salary and the successful completion of checklists.