How Mobile Technology Can Improve Restaurant Efficiency

Restaurant managers have one of the toughest jobs out there. They are expected to manage food costs, inventory, sales, employees, and more all while still ensuring the highest food quality and customer service.

But how can one person be expected to keep restaurant operations flowing while chained to a desk in the back office?

New advances are here to stay and will just get better with time.

That’s were mobile technology comes in to play. Managers can now have real-time access to the data needed to make informed business decisions at their fingertips.  

These technologies are no longer “new age” apps for enterprise level organizations. Mobile apps are becoming the norm for any size organization. As the apps get more user friendly and less expensive it may be time for you to start considering trying out a few. Here are a few of the business challenges that can be solved from your smartphone or tablet – no matter where you are:

• Make more informed business decisions by viewing reports for your restaurant (even multiple locations at once) and comparing to past data.
• Reduce fraud by receiving mobile alerts for any suspicious activities involving comp, promo, and void activity.
• Ensure your shifts are covered by editing and posting schedules directly from your phone or tablet and delivering the schedule to employees’ smart phone with the ability to add, drop, or swap shifts.
• Reduce labor costs by setting alerts to notify you when someone is about to go into overtime pay.
• Cut your inventory time by entering counts directly into a smartphone or tablet instead of onto paper to transfer later.
• Improve communications with your team by posting log entries, notes, tasks, and more into the manager log when you think of it instead of from the back office.
• Recruit better talent by making everyone’s jobs more manageable. With each passing year, having mobile technology will become expected by restaurant employees and could be the reason top talent chooses you as an employer.

The bottom line is that these new advances are here to stay and will just get better with time. Why not start looking into how these technologies can help you now, before their absence starts to work against you.