Sponsored by CrunchTime!
Restaurant management software has been a business-scaling revelation to thousands of multi-unit operators. Restaurant operations dashboards, a key component of these systems, made available across the organization is the fastest, most efficient way to provide that information to a team.
Restaurant Management Software: “The 6 Must Haves”
Following are 6 traits common to highly effective operating dashboards.
1. One view of the truth
The answer to “How are we doing?” shouldn’t be debatable. An operating dashboard should pull all of its information about purchases, inventories, sales, labor and so on from a single source whenever possible.
When leadership can trust that they have the facts about their business performance, they can quickly make the right decisions necessary to improve. As a plus, when performance is measured in an agreed-upon, factual way, it dramatically reduces defensiveness on the part of those being measured, and leads to a more collaborative culture. …read more
2. KPIs in sharp focus
A dashboard should make it easy to modify which Key Performance Indicators apply to each user, so that managers can make it clear to each employee what success looks like. The system should also have a broad assortment of KPIs to choose from, so that any important company initiative can be measured and supported with appropriate indicators. …read more
3. The right information to the right people
Reporting hierarchies make it possible to determine which information in a system is available to each user. A simple example would be a restaurant manager who might see labor costs only for his store, while a district manager would see labor costs for all stores under her control. This ability to limit access helps users focus on their most critical priorities.
Another means of grouping data is consolidated reporting, which aggregates performance data for any group, whether it’s made up of stores, districts, concepts, or geographic regions. …read more
4. Opportunities Spotlighted
In addition to important sales data, the dashboard should feature reports that reveal potential cost savings and top line sales opportunities. Examples might include reports showing Actual vs. Theoretical costs, most and least profitable items, best sellers, labor performance, or any other information the people running the business might desire. These reports form the basis for coaching conversations: they establish factual performance data, allow ongoing performance to be tracked, and create opportunities for feedback in real time to speed improvement. …read more
5. Duties Detailed
An indispensable feature of the most powerful dashboards is a dynamic task list: a centrally controlled means for managing task assignment and execution. It’s essentially a time management device, which is hugely valuable since so many people struggle with time management. …read more
6. Configurability
A dashboard helps each user support a company’s efforts to reach its goals, and since both users and goals change, configurability is key. Examples include the ability to customize KPIs for each user, to determine which reports are defaults, or to set a language default by user. “Custom fitting” the dashboard to the user makes the company’s expectations clear, and provides the tools necessary for success. …read more
Conclusion
The 6 “must have” restaurant management software capabilities listed above are critical components for truly powerful dashboards that can act like a lens and focus a company on its most vital priorities. When properly constructed, the dashboard provides not just the path to success, but the timely feedback that allows for course-correction, which saves untold amounts of time and energy. By using uniform factual data, it makes it easy to see the truth about a business, and provides a solid foundation on which all serious improvements are built. Contact CrunchTime to learn more.
