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Running a restaurant can oftentimes be considered overwhelming as is, and the idea of adding data analysis on top of the daily work load is generally unappealing. Being in such a fast-paced, high stake industry means restaurant owners need an extra edge over their competition when looking to grow, or to even keep their current establishment running; however, if owners can’t keep track and utilize their business and employee data effectively, how can they expect to gain this edge or possibly even remain successful?

Accurate data reporting is necessary when facing competition and battling high turnover, but how much effort is needed to use this data effectively? Thankfully, we live in the 21st century and modern technology allows restaurant owners to manage and organize their data with a click of a button! Now that it’s organized, what do you do with it?

In today’s fast-paced business world, restaurant owners are constantly looking for ways to streamline operations, improve efficiency and increase profitability. With the advent of technology, a new wave of solutions has emerged that offer promising potential. In this post, we delve into the ingenious mind of Matt Forbush, the founder and CEO of Zignyl, and his innovative software designed to revolutionize the restaurant industry.

Everyone in the restaurant industry is well aware of the ever-increasing turnover rate and how it poses a problem for every restaurant it affects; however, not everyone understands how drastic this effect is. The cost of losing an employee can be much more harmful than most think., but even more surprising is how this turnover is often self-imposed. The infographic below provides some insight on the ugly truth of restaurant employee turnover:

Hi, we’re Zignyl. We’re new to the market and just launched our franchise management app earlier this year. First, a little bit about us: Zignyl was founded by a...

Forecasting, Simplified 

Restaurant forecasting is complex and it’s easy to make mistakes. As a restaurant owner you’re already dealing with technology disruption, changes in consumer preferences, and the rising cost of labor. Accurately predicting performance is more important than ever. How can technology improve your forecasting process? 

Anticipating store sales is crucial to the overall success of your business. Forecasting gives you more control over the decisions you make about business operations. How many people do you need to work? How much product should you order for next week? 

Forecasting is best done by using your historical sales to predict what you’ll do in the future. Starting with that baseline, different factors will affect whether you think you’ll make more money or less money than you did last year.

Being in a season of high turnover, maintaining good employees past the 90-day mark has never been more important or more difficult. Especially with good customer service, a skill perfected by a strong and long-term restaurant staff, being one of the most important attributes of a restaurant establishment. A restaurant with great customer service creates a lasting effect on its customers and can determine whether or not they return or encourage others to visit. This is clearly shown with how 25 percent more people turn to consumer reviews on sites like OpenTable, Yelp, and TripAdvisor than reviews by professional food critics. 60 percent access customer reviews before heading out for a meal, a habit that is prioritized over getting directions to the restaurant, or looking at photos of the food. (OpenTable)

This all begs the question: How can a restaurant properly train a strong set of employees while also retaining them? Listed below are just some of the solutions you can implement in your restaurant to solve this problem!

Employee disengagement can plague all forms of business but can be especially detrimental to restaurants. Whether it be inattentive cashiers or absent-minded cooks, mistakes made by restaurant staff can make or break the entire establishment and its ability to retain customers. This issue begs the questions of ‘Why are employees not engaged?’ and ‘How can I increase employee engagement in my restaurant?.’ Allow the following infographic to provide some insight on the causes of disengagement and some tips on how to increase engagement in your business:

When imagining a job in the restaurant industry one may think of preparing food, waiting tables, or working as a cashier if the establishment is a quick-service restaurant. The last thing on anyone’s mind, despite being one of the most necessary, is the number of tasks, or ‘side work’, needed to run a restaurant effectively. These tasks include things such as cleaning tables, mopping floors, restocking the makeline, etc. However, despite being detrimental to the store itself and its health score, side work is often overlooked in the grand scheme of a functioning restaurant. Several restaurants decide to simply write checklists on a large whiteboard and wipe it off when completed. This method, while a good start, implies there is no record of completed tasks once they’ve been erased and, more importantly, no accountability for those who completed them (that is if they completed them).

Now you may be asking, “How do I keep better track of tasks and those who complete them?” The answer is much more simple than you think! It’s a tool that has been used ever since man could write: a checklist, but, in the case of the restaurant industry, we’ll call it a task list.