How to Improve the Workflow at Your Restaurant and Make It More Efficient

When the pandemic hit in 2020, the US restaurant and food service industry almost collapsed. Over 100,000 restaurants were closed (either temporarily or for good), and 2.5 million jobs were lost or became unstable. The restaurant and food service industry saw their sales fall by $240 billion that year. 

Now that things are much better with COVID, restaurants are looking forward to bringing in more business than ever. However, it’s not going to be easy.

The restaurant business is a fast-paced and demanding one. Restaurants have to be able to manage the food they serve while also managing their staff, which can be difficult to do in a way that keeps things running smoothly. A lot of restaurants rely on manual processes for their workflow, but there are many ways to improve workflow with automation, training, and using the right equipment. 

Here are a few ways you can improve the workflow at your restaurant.

Invest in Modern Equipment

When it comes to improving your restaurant’s workflow, the first place to start is with the equipment. By investing in modern equipment, you can cut down on the amount of time needed to prepare food and drinks, clean up after customers, and make sure your restaurant runs smoothly.

When you invest in high-quality equipment, you’re ensuring that your kitchen will run smoothly without any unexpected problems or delays. You’ll also save money because high-quality equipment lasts longer than cheaper options and requires less maintenance overall.

So, if you’re serving slush drinks, you need to invest in the latest professional slush machines. With the help of these machines, you’ll be reducing labor and cleaning costs and whipping out slush drinks on-demand. Life becomes much easier this way, and the workflow becomes more efficient.

Train Your Staff

According to reports, 51% of restaurant operators believe that staffing is one of the most difficult tasks in the industry, and 35% believe that training the staff is also a challenge. However, without proper training, there’s no way to improve the efficiency at your restaurant unless you plan to get everything done by robots.

When you train your staff on proper procedures, they will be able to perform their tasks more efficiently and effectively. This means that they can get more work done in less time, which leads to fewer errors being made on the job.

By making sure that each employee has been properly trained for their position or task, you can ensure that all aspects of the business operation run smoothly from start to finish. This will help maximize productivity throughout every department within the company by allowing all workers to focus on what matters most instead of worrying about mistakes or lacking knowledge about their job responsibilities.

Integrate Automated Ordering System

Automation can help improve the workflow at your restaurant by providing a seamless connection between various systems in your business. This seamless integration allows you to operate more efficiently and with fewer errors, which will lead to higher customer satisfaction and retention rates, as well as higher profits for your business.

You don’t have to automate the cooking or serving procedure. However, you can automate the ordering process. Each table can have a QR code that customers can scan and then see the menu. They can then place their order while sitting at the table and pay online. That way, you don’t have any long queues in front of the counter, nor do you have to deal with customers who are indecisive about what to order.

Go Cashless

Experts predict that worldwide cashless transactions will grow at an annual rate of 18% from 2020 to 2025. So, if the world is going cashless, why isn’t your restaurant?

One of the main reasons going cashless improves efficiency is that it reduces the number of human interactions needed to complete a transaction. With cash, each transaction requires a customer to hand over money and receive change in return, which takes time and effort on both sides. When you’re serving dozens (or even hundreds) of customers per day, those seconds add up. They may be enough to make or break your bottom line.

Another reason that going cashless improves efficiency is that it allows you to track purchases more easily. Once you’ve collected payment information from your customers, it’s easy for you to keep track of what they’ve been buying so that you can suggest new menu items based on their preferences or offer special promotions when certain items are running low. This can help encourage repeat business.

There might be other ways to improve the workflow at your restaurant, but these four are integral. Start here, and then you can work out other ways you can improve the workflow and efficiency at your restaurant.