An operating manual serves as a crucial document for any organization, providing detailed guidance on how to operate and maintain equipment, systems, processes, or procedures.
For the restaurant business, an operating manual - which could be the basis of a "Franchise manual " at a later stage, has many sections but is not limited to the below:
1- A brief history of the brand/concept and Mission and vision of the owners
2- Brief of menu section's
3- Brief of design elements & brand's language
4- kitchen & dining area layout plans
5- Brief of training & development programs and strategies
6- Service Philosophy
7-Sanitation & HACCP policies & procedures
8-Back of house operational details (Sourcing, Receiving, Storage, Kitchen, Preparations, etc...)
9-Front-of-house operational details ( Recruiting, onboarding, training, service standards, cashiering, scheduling, tips sharing, etc...)
10- Marketing section (Fonts selection, in-house Vs outsourced works, Corporate identity, etc... )
11- Specification of front and back of house equipment & Utensils with supplier source & images if possible.
If a business owner doesn't have an operating manual in place, this means simply that the business will not deliver consistent products & quality of service.
The manual will be used for training newcomers and in case of opening new branches but also can become the base of a "Franchise manual " the moment the owner decides that it is time to expand and franchise out the brand!
The common mistake that many companies fall into, is the fact that they don't keep the manual up to date ...
As you can imagine, any restaurant business will change the menu during the year, add and remove items, buy new equipment, set promotional activities to boost the business,... Many companies fail to update all of these on their operating manuals.
To complete this task, each business should create a committee (Chef, Manager & Marketing person ) that sits once every quarter and updates their respective operating manuals.
Privé Montreal has helped many restaurant owners in the development of their operating & Franchise manuals.
