As it stands, some in the United States restaurant industry are doing their best to prepare to reopen. However, due to the impact of COVID-19, the reopening process is proving problematic for restaurant owners across the country.
Whether you’re implementing social distancing parameters, setting up a more robust takeout and delivery service, or are simply ready to welcome diners back after the lockdown, it’s important to follow some key best practices to ensure your team is in alignment during this period. The following guide can help you prepare to tackle this ambitious goal.
Rethink your company strategy.
During the downtime of the United States COVID-19 lockdown and quarantine period, you probably had a fair amount of time to reassess your internal best practices. Of course, reopening is more than enforcing social distancing. You’ll probably be operating at limited capacity and perhaps even running a virtual kitchen of sorts. This means that you need to review your business’s key results and determine which metrics are most important at this time.
If you’ve ever heard of key performance indicators (KPIs), you’ve likely heard of OKRs. You’ve probably even asked, “What is an OKR?” OKRs are also known as objectives and key results (hence the “O” and the “KR”). The OKR framework is used to track measurable results, assess company strategy, and help set stretch goals. By using OKR tools, you can more easily view company objectives and determine how you’re performing. Due to the swift spread of COVID-19, many of those goals have likely changed. By following this goal-setting framework, you’ll have a powerful tool in your arsenal to help with the reopening.
Give your business an upgrade.
These days, Uber Eats, Doordash, GrubHub, and other delivery apps are helping keep the hospitality industry working. Successful companies know how to leverage technology options to facilitate online orders more smoothly. In fact, while you should still focus on filling tables, you need to take the crucial steps to offset any profit loss by making takeout service and your online ordering platform a top priority. Online ordering doesn’t seem like it’s going to slow down any time soon.
Of course, it’s hard enough for business owners and restaurant workers to handle an influx of dine-in and takeout orders. When you add numerous disparate platforms into the mix, it becomes that much more complicated. That’s where a business like Cuboh (cuboh.com) can help. Cuboh allows staff members to ditch the numerous takeout tablets and consolidate online ordering to one device. This can help streamline your virtual operations and allows you to send orders to your POS system with the click of a button. Though it’ll be a while before the industry returns to a sense of normalcy, Cuboh is one of several reliable ways to adapt and hit your business goals.
Set clear policies.
Masks, social distancing, and CDC guidelines are all going to have an impact, not only on your diners but on employee engagement as well. Over the next quarter, businesses that are able to set and enforce policies across their entire organization are going to boost their business profile. Those that don’t, on the other hand, may harm their online reputation and struggle to fill the dining room. You need to put the safety of your team members and customer base at the forefront. By enforcing smart policies for masks, restaurant capacity, and workplace hygiene, you’re doing just that. This is especially important with staff, as they will be returning to a completely different environment to before and so they need clear policies that are easy to follow. It is well known that you can get more out of your employees with better performance management, and clear policies with set goals relating to these policies will ensure everyone is on the right page and that the company is moving in the right direction.
Whether you’re setting OKR goals or are looking to reassess your virtual kitchen space, food service entrepreneurs can still thrive during this uncertain time. Though restaurants have been some of the hardest hit, the industry can still have a bright future.