Restaurant Manager: Job Profile and Role

Do you have a good and sensible business head, so to speak? Do you also enjoy running a place, working with and delegating people, planning events, and having a strong passion for good food and drinks? But you have not found a way yet to turn these passions into your dream job?

In this case, we invite you to read this blog which is about the job of a restaurant manager. Here, we will explore what it takes for you to become a restaurant manager, what salaries you can expect, where you can find employment, and which ways will help you thrive as a restaurant manager. You will also get your first insights into a day in the life of a restaurant manager and an overview of your daily responsibilities.

Short Summary

• As a restaurant manager, you are responsible for supervising and delegating your restaurant staff. Staff supervision can also include hiring and training new employees.
• As a restaurant manager, you are in charge of overseeing all daily restaurant operations and ensuring that they run smoothly.
• As a restaurant manager, you are responsible for handling your restaurant’s customers. This includes dealing with bookings, event enquiries, issues, and complaints.

Job description

Your job as a restaurant manager involves a multitude of daily and regular tasks. One of the most important ones is to oversee every restaurant operation. You are also in charge of working with and delegating your team, planning and executing events, and managing your restaurant’s budgets and finances. As a restaurant manager, it is also your job to have an appropriate skill set which should include strong customer service, communication, problem-solving and interpersonal skills, to name but a few.

Responsibilities

• Menu Planning/Development
• Compliance with Regulations
• Adaptability/Problem-Solving
• Relationship Management
• Leadership/Team Building
• Marketing and Promotion
• Operations Management
• Financial Management
• Staff Management
• Customer Service

Different types of Restaurant Managers

• Beverage Manager/Sommelier
• Front-of-House Manager
• Back-of-House Manager
• Fine Dining Manager 
• Catering Manager

Salary

Your annual salary as a restaurant manager starts at ￡28,000 and can increase to ￡38,000 over the years. Note that you earn less in an entry-level position, such as that of an assistant restaurant manager. Here, your annual salary typically ranges from ￡24,000 to ￡34,000. Besides your position, your employer and the location of your employment will affect what you earn each year.

Working hours

As a restaurant manager, you need to be prepared to work between 40 and 50 hours a week, not all of which will take place in a traditional office setting and traditional office times. As a restaurant manager, you will also work in the evenings and on the weekends, often including Sundays. Keep in mind that your weekly workload can increase through events held at your restaurant, for example, weddings or Christmas/New Year’s Eve parties.

Employers

As a restaurant manager, you can find employment in the hospitality industry, with restaurants being the most obvious choice. As a restaurant manager, you can equally find employment in cafés, hotels, or any business that offers in-house catering.

Qualifications

You can become a restaurant manager by completing a college course or an apprenticeship. Generally, you need between four and five GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including maths and English, or the equivalent A-Levels, for example, in business studies or hospitality, as entry requirements for these educational approaches. 

Besides, you should be proficient in time-management and staff software, such as Zenefits and Sage Payroll, Microsoft Office (Excel and PowerPoint), and other restaurant management software, such as TouchBistro, Toast, Lightspeed Restaurant, and NCR Aloha.

Skills

Being resilient to stress is an important skill you need if you want to work as a restaurant manager. Naturally, you should also have strong interpersonal, verbal, non-verbal, and written communication skills. Even though the specific skill set may vary from job post to job post, we are fairly sure that the mentioned skills will be expected of you. But you should also check which skills your future employer values the most. 

To give you an idea of what other skills might be expected of you as a restaurant manager, we will now look at three more competencies you should have or develop.

Teamwork and Leadership

Every management position requires strong teamwork and leadership skills. Therefore, as a restaurant manager, you should have these skills. On the one hand, you have to lead your restaurant team and make sure they are confident and proficient in their respective jobs. On the other hand, you also need to work with them closely, for example, when it comes to planning an event and deciding on the things needed to make this event a success.

Adaptability

To a certain extent, each restaurant has a set of fixed guidelines, for example, menus and staff rotas that are pretty much set in stone. If you have already worked in hospitality, you know that these guidelines do not automatically prevent unforeseen events that need dealing with quickly and efficiently. Therefore, as a restaurant manager, you need to be adaptable. This helps you to navigate your job and your team and to deal with whatever is thrown your way professionally and smoothly.

Problem-Solving

Your ability to be adaptable should go hand-in-hand with strong problem-solving skills. It is all well and good to know that a situation needs dealing with. This will, however, not help you to solve it if you do not come up with a solution. Only strong problem-solving skills will ensure that the daily workflows will continue uninterrupted.

It’s all about your Attitude

One of the most important qualities you should have as a restaurant manager is a positive attitude. Not an easy feat by any means – but a lookout that will make everyone’s jobs and lives a lot easier – including yours. Meeting each day and each situation with a smile on your face ensures that your team and customers are happy. It also helps to find something positive in even the most challenging situation.

Career Path

Your restaurant manager’s career starts at entry level, usually as an assistant restaurant manager. After you have worked in this position for about a year or slightly longer, you can get promoted to the job of a restaurant manager. After that, you may have the option to progress to more senior positions, for example, the job of a senior restaurant manager or a regional manager with a hotel chain. You can also look into starting your own restaurant management business.

Educational Background

You do not need to earn an academic degree to become a restaurant manager. The typical approach to this job is through completing a college course or an apprenticeship. Alternatively, you can work towards this role or take part in a graduate training scheme. 

Appropriate college courses can be the Level 3 Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership and the Level 4 Diploma in Hospitality Leadership. If you want to complete an apprenticeship in which you already gained your first practical experience as a future restaurant manager, you can look into doing a hospitality supervisor advanced apprenticeship or a hospitality manager higher apprenticeship.

Entry Level

Your first step to becoming a restaurant manager is starting as an assistant restaurant manager. In this position, you learn the ropes of restaurant management. By working closely with a restaurant manager and other staff, you gain valuable work experience which sets you up for progressing up the career ladder.

Continuous Learning

Even though an academic degree is not mandatory, you may still want to think about earning one, for example, a BA (Hons) in International Hospitality and Tourism Management that also covers food and beverage management, or a BA (Hons) in International Culinary Arts.

These and similar courses are currently offered by five UK universities. You can also take part in a graduate training scheme which is offered by a restaurant or hotel chain. These graduate training schemes resemble an apprenticeship, meaning that your training will be both classroom-based and hands-on by working in a restaurant.

A Day in the Life of a Restaurant Manager

One thing is for sure: almost every day as a restaurant manager will present you with different situations, exciting things to plan, and sometimes difficult people to deal with. This little bouquet of daily occurrences is what makes this job so versatile, challenging, and satisfying. In this section, we will take a look at three typical tasks you will perform daily or regularly as a restaurant manager.

Set-Up and Staff Briefing

Before you open the restaurant for business, you need to check the day’s schedule. This includes looking at bookings and reservations, checking that every part of the restaurant is clean and inviting, and setting up the front and back of the house. This setup usually also involves a staff briefing in which you delegate the day’s tasks to your team.

Operational Oversight/Quality Checks

As a restaurant manager, your next jobs can be operational oversight and quality checks. You check with the kitchen and bar staff if everything is running smoothly and you also check if both meals and drinks are presented the way they should be. This task includes quality checks to ensure that everything you offer is of the highest standard. Your operational oversight furthermore extends to managing the day’s reservations and arranging the seating plans. 

Peak Hours Management

Every restaurant has times in which it gets busy. Excellent peak hour management, therefore, is another job you perform daily as a restaurant manager. Here, you not only make sure that your team works like a well-oiled restaurant machine. You also deal with customer enquiries and issues and unforeseen situations that need a quick solution to ensure an uninterrupted restaurant performance.

Tips for Thriving as a Restaurant Manager

Gaining further qualifications and/or an academic degree are important measures you should take if you want to thrive as a restaurant manager. But thriving in your chosen profession is not all about books, certificates, qualifications, and degrees. What other tips can help you thrive as a restaurant manager is what this section will explore in detail:

• Financial acumen
• Technology integration
• Community engagement

Financial Acumen

As a restaurant manager, you are responsible for your restaurant’s finances. You need to plan budgets for stock, events, and your staff. You also need to monitor all the costs related to the daily running of your restaurant. This involves increasing the revenue, ideally without compromising on the quality of your customer service, food, and drinks.

Technology Integration

We have already listed some of the software you should be proficient in when you work as a restaurant manager, for example, Zenefits for managing your staff or Sage Payroll for keeping track of their wages. We live in a world that gets more digital daily. If you want to succeed and thrive in your job as a restaurant manager, you need to embrace the digital side of your profession. Getting an in-depth knowledge of all the relevant software and digital tools is mandatory if you want to perform your job more than just well.

Community Engagement

Engaging with your community is an important factor if both you and your restaurant are to thrive. See it as necessary networking with which you include the people frequenting your restaurant. You can offer your restaurant as an event venue, for example, or discuss sponsorships and partnerships with local businesses. This is a typical win-win situation that will benefit everyone involved. It is also a brilliant way to spread the word about your restaurant and attract more customers.

Frequently Asked Questions