In a restaurant or food services hospitality operation an operations manual is a most useful and vital tool and support. You might even consider operations manual as vital and essential to your business or service as the very utensils in your kitchens. An operation manual will help you to train employees to perform specific duties for each position, from pot scrubber to maitre d', from fry cook to general manager.

In your operations manual or manuals take the time and effort to thoroughly explain each position, including duties, standards and objectives. Make it a point to tell your employees what they are on the job to do, how to perform those tasks and services, when to do it, your quality standards and so on. It's up to you to be clear and specific. Vagaries are not a wise idea or choice. If you do not take the time to provide this reference - explaining the rules and procedures of the game, and what is expected how else can you expect your business to be solid, consistent and maintain it or your reputation and lastly grow as well. You cannot be on hand 24 hours a day. However an operations manual is always there and on hand. Ready to be used, utilized and referred to as a most valuable reference.

The more detailed you can be, then the more thorough and successful your training will be. Outline in black and white what you want your staff to do. You may well feel like you have to spend a lot of time outing together, checking and revising to a final cut, your operations manual. When the dust settles in the future it will well be the best investment of time in your restaurant or food services business that you will ever make. You will not have to spend time explaining and re-explaining how, when and why to do things or certain tasks. The details will be written down in a clear, well explained fashion - not on the seat of your pants in an emergency or late of night. With the details written down clearly and succinctly for employees, the time, effort and money spent on employees and their training time spent. You will be up and running your operation and specific events such as banquets or catering much more rapidly or quickly than otherwise.

As an example of the specifics that should be included in job-specific operations manuals.

For example in the case of servers and food or beverage serving staff. Your server operations manual should include standards of service , time cycling ( that is when to order which food , when to clear plates and tables for example), product knowledge, opening and closing procedures, side work expectations, kitchen interaction parameters and cash handling procedures.

In the case of the operation manuals sections dealing with "line cooks" - this line cook operations manual should contain station openings and closing procedures, standardized recipes for that station, prep amounts based on volume. Along with these should be such concerns and procedures as station -specific proper food handling rules and state regulations and guidelines. Lastly a crystal clear kitchen cleaning list, procedure and most importantly a kitchen cleaning responsibilities chart. In some cases this may be listed by specific employees. In larger and more fluid food service operations the assignments can be by title or position. If there are a number of separate areas or departments each should have its own specific manual.

Lastly you may think that with all the effort you are putting into setting up a seamless organization that your staff and service levels may be so good and outstanding that your best employees may be "stolen "or pilfered by competitors. This may happen and may occur. This is the best complement, advertising and promotion that any food services operation can ever hope or wish for. Imitation is the best complement and advertising. If your service levels and staff are exceptional , if presentation and delivery is so free of any troubles , mistakes or mishaps that your food service business indeed gets known by these standards. On top of that if all the above positives can be counted on to be consistent you've done more than your job and should be commended and congratulated. Maintaining levels of service in a consistent manner all begin with an investment of time and effort in developing your company's employee manual and manuals.