A Can-Do-It-All Specialist: What is a Restaurant Manager and How to Become One?

Contents: 

• What does a restaurant manager do?
• Where to learn to manage?
• What professions can you transfer to this position from?
• What skills does a manager need?
• Why does a manager need marketing knowledge?
• What do employers expect from a manager?
• Useful materials from the editors of Skillbox.by

What does a restaurant manager do?

The manager is the main specialist in the restaurant business. Herecruits and trains staff, builds a system and processes, is responsible for implementing the plan and achieving results.

The manager's responsibilities depend on the scale of the restaurant. For example, if the establishment is small, the manager may only have two waiters, a bartender, and a cook under his command. In a large restaurant, it is the opposite: ten waiters, an accounting department, cooks, and administrators. Each establishment has its own structure.

The good work of the manager is invisible to the guests. If the waiter knows the menu, the guest was well-fed, and the hostess kept the restaurant spotlessly clean, there's no reason to call in a manager.

Where to learn to manage

The answer is the same for all professions—practice. Whether a future manager read two articles before starting work or studied four years at university, real skills can only be acquired through practical experience in a restaurant. Therefore, choose the option that suits you best: 

• Higher education.For this profession, the management specialty at BSU or the Faculty of Higher School of Tourism at BGEU are suitable. Here you will receive basic knowledge of management. This option is suitable for those who want to study the field in depth;
• Courses.On courses, you can learn the basics of management, learn from leading managers, and immediately move on to practice and earning money. This is a middle ground between university and self-education. Because a course is not as long as higher education. But it is also not as fast as self-education, in which you immediately move on to practice without experience;
• Self-education and career growth.There is a shortage of employees in the HoReCa industry, so you can come to work in a restaurant without experience. For example, as a waiter, administrator, or hostess. Start from a low-level position and rise to a manager in the same restaurant. But you will have to learn and make mistakes yourself. This path takes longer and is not suitable for everyone.

From what professions can you transfer to this position?

From any profession where you had to communicate a lot with colleagues and clients. For example, salespeople are suitable for the profession of restaurant manager. Professions where there is no communication are not quite suitable. For example, a miner. But it all depends on the person. If you are always open, sociable and ready to help, you can consider the profession.

A good manager knows how all teams work. Therefore, you can get your first experience in the restaurant business from your first day of work in the positions below:

• Waiter. Communicates with guests every day, knows how to find an approach and resolve conflict situations. These skills will be useful for every manager;
• Bartender.The bartender is the soul of the establishment. He is like a psychologist behind the bar: he listens to people's stories, communicates with and empathizes with the guests. This employee understands the pains of visitors better than anyone else and knows what they lack in the restaurant. In other words, an ideal candidate for the position of manager;
• Hostess.It seems that the hostess only keeps order: washes dishes, cleans the kitchen, makes the restaurant clean and pleasant. But often the hostess is the main observer. She sees what is happening in the team of cooks. Knows what the waiters are arguing about. It would also be useful for the manager to become a hostess for a day;
• Administrator.The second person after the manager. Often their tasks are similar: training staff, working with guests, filling out paperwork.

What skills does a manager need?

Responsibility, communication skills, and multitasking sound simple until the manager encounters them in practice. The restaurant business is working with people. Therefore, sometimes it is useful to forget everything that is written in the textbook and act according to the situation.

• Responsibility.Hiring honest and responsible staff is a difficult task. Therefore, if a new waiter overslept and did not show up for work without warning, the manager must resolve this issue. For example, quickly find a replacement or become a waiter for a while. This is just one example that reflects the skill;
• Problem-solving.The manager knows what to do if a waiter and a cook got into a fight. Of course, this is an exaggeration. But even in such a situation, the manager must know what to do and resolve any conflict;

• Communication and charisma.Guests come to the establishment not only for delicious food. They also come to the restaurant for service and atmosphere. Imagine that an angry guest who was just fired from his job came to the restaurant. The manager's job is to make their day better, provide good service, and make them a regular guest;
• Adaptability.The ability to adapt to any conditions is essential in the restaurant business. Situations are different. For example, when a manager is called to save a restaurant on the verge of closing. The manager should not be intimidated by difficulties and non-standard situations;
• Planning.No manager can do without time management. After all, if the whole day is spent searching for an employee, the quality of the staff's work will suffer.

Why a manager needs marketing knowledge

Because not all establishments are ready to invest in marketing. Especially if the restaurant has just opened or, conversely, is on the verge of closing. Then attracting customers and creativity are also the manager's responsibility.

The manager must follow the latest trends and events. For example, know which blogger to contact for advertising, pick up a trend in time, or come up with a promotion that will go viral.

Immediately recall a well-known Minsk bistro, where a six-liter mug of coffee with a giant dessert was introduced into the menu. We don't know who came up with this: a marketer, a manager, or an owner. But it's brilliant!

What do employers expect from a manager?

Instead of guessing what skills are in demand now. Let's find out what Belarusian companies want from vacancies on Rabota.by.

The employer offers from $1,300 per month. The restaurant is looking for an experienced manager who has more than three years in the field. For this payment, the company expects the organization of staff work, communication with guests, fulfillment of performance indicators, reporting and marketing knowledge.

This vacancy is for less experienced A manager with at least a year of experience in the restaurant business. For $800-$900, they offer to manage staff work, plan budgets, maintain standards, monitor guest reviews, organize inventory, and manage restaurant paperwork.

As in any profession, the following rule applies to this position: the more duties and responsibilities, the higher the salary. And also experience, for which employers are willing to pay as a guarantee of quality.

Useful materials from the editors of Skillbox.by

We have collected useful materials for those who want to get acquainted with management and the restaurant business. Books for those who are already confident in their choice and want to learn how to manage. Films and TV series for those who want to get to know a niche from afar.

Literature:

• "The Practice of Management" by Peter Drucker is a book for aspiring entrepreneurs, executives, and managers at all levels. After reading, you will learn how to make decisions and motivate subordinates;
• "Emotional Intelligence. Russian Practice" by Sergey Shabanov and Alena Aleshina is a book for managers who want to effectively build processes in a team. You will understand how to recognize destructive emotions, manage them and inspire your team to work.

Movies and TV series:

• The Founder - find out how the world's most famous restaurant chain was created. The film teaches that the foundation of a business is laid not by the one who comes up with an idea or business model, but by the one who scales it;
• Hotel Eleon - the intrigues that rage in the hotel have little to do with real work. But the series clearly notes that everything in this business is decided situationally. Think about what you would do if a bear came to your restaurant. Don't know? But the characters at Hotel Eleon do.