Restaurants often run on thin profit margins; therefore, any advances that help streamline operations and eliminate unnecessary overhead expenditures are worth your consideration. A solidly built, online restaurant audit software solution can meet these needs and benefit your business in the following ways.
1. It saves time.
It takes time for your employees, managers and auditors to complete all of your checklists, audits and action plans. In addition, paper forms have to be printed, stored, and eventually transcribed into digital form and even sent back to the office for documentation – all of which can add days to your operational processes.
With restaurant audit software, all your workers download the app onto their mobile devices. They all work from the same set of digital forms; as each form is filled in with a few clicks, each one is instantly recorded into your system and available to users throughout your network. Temperature-based tasks are included in your restaurant operations data in real time. Even more time is saved by appending photos and videos to the records. Got a piece of equipment making an unusual noise, for instance? Rather than spending time trying to decide how to describe it, workers can simply upload a short video with sound.
When it’s time to create and assign action plans, your managers can start with customized templates, fill in the details, and assign tasks to each employee involved, complete with deadlines. Having these plans available throughout your system also makes it easy to follow up.
Wondering how much time can be saved? Consider MeazureUp’s client Golden Chick, who found they were able to conduct assessments 50 percent faster, reducing both overhead time and overall costs.
2. It reduces errors.
At the same time it saves time, a digital solution also reduces the chance for human error – and if errors aren’t being made, no one is having to spend time and money to fix them. As mentioned above, a digital solution ensures data is input only once and is almost immediately available throughout your network. No one is trying to decipher someone else’s handwriting to transcribe a report. Paper forms aren’t getting lost in any location or misfiled at the main office.
In addition, a digital solution can help ensure tasks are done right the first time, supporting safety and compliance as well as the consistent experience your customers expect from your brand. For instance, MeazureUp’s built-in task descriptions can serve as job aids as each task is completed, photos of signature dishes can be included in the line checks, etc.
3. It streamlines reporting.
A digital solution reduces overhead by providing automated audit and compliance reporting. All entries are saved into your official records with time stamps and GPS location verification; in other words, these important aspects of reporting are already complete so no one has to compile them. Generating reports and official records is a matter of a few minutes at the main office.
4. It provides solid data to support your best decisions.
Speaking of generating reports, the data saved by a restaurant audit software solution provides instant real-time scoring and other transparencies in information sharing, available to all users. The data from each location can be quickly and easily aggregated with data from other locations so you can identify and take action on any issues before they become serious – or, conversely, identify and transplant best practices from one successful location to others.
This can reduce overhead by, for instance, uncovering the fact that a common piece of equipment often fails at a certain number of hours of common usage, so locations can create a backup plan to work around its potential failure without shutting down the kitchen. Another example would be a trend analysis between locations showing how certain shifts at certain locations are overstaffed or that operational hours should be adjusted.
Further, with a digital solution, you’re free to adjust and change reports based on your business needs, enabling quick reaction time while also facilitating comparisons over time to monitor performance improvement. Your restaurant chain is then able to focus on developing a high-quality, consistent customer experience that encourages repeat business. The reporting also follows a hierarchy that matches your organization, so each user will only see the reports that pertain to them.
5. It can help reduce turnover.
As is true with many businesses, one of the main contributors to overhead in the restaurant business is staffing. However, the turnover rate in the restaurant industry is far higher than in the private sector as a whole. In fact, the overall turnover rate in the restaurants and accommodations sector was 74.9 percent in 2018. This is concerning when you consider that it costs thousands of dollars to replace any one employee and train their replacement; while estimates on actual costs differ, Investopedia has stated the cost to replace an hourly employee is around $3,500 when you factor in the entire hiring process.
Restaurant audit software like MeazureUp has another important function: it provides the customizable online training that today’s restaurant staffers have come to expect in their highly digital world. Technology makes it crystal clear what training they must complete and how it applies to their job responsibilities. This shifts the emphasis from remembering procedures to executing them by fostering a work environment that’s supportive of your employees’ work habits.
In addition, a digital solution supports the communicative, feedback-friendly environment that’s important in retaining today’s employees. Feedback between an employee and their manager goes both ways as a subordinate provides a different perspective that can often help the superior create positive change such as updating cleaning policies or adapting training efforts. This can increase employee engagement and retention.
Reducing Overhead, Safeguarding Your Brand
In summary, restaurant audit software like MeazureUp reduces overhead by automating time-consuming administrative tasks, reducing errors, and supporting data-driven decision-making, which ensures the right actions are being taken on time, every time, so all your locations deliver a consistently strong customer experience. In fact, as one of our clients has said, “With an estimated reduction of 30 percent in overhead, and the real-time tailored data dashboards, MeazureUp is the key to supporting our accelerated growth plan while safeguarding our brand and ensuring replicability.”
If you’re ready to control unnecessary overhead costs while safeguarding your brand and building consistency, contact us today to learn more.
