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Let's Get Fiscal: Looking at the Other Side of Profitability
There's an old joke that's sad, but true, about our
industry:
Q: How do you make a small fortune in the restaurant
business? A: Start with a large one.
Noted economist John Maynard Keynes said, "The engine that
drives enterprise is not thrift, but profit." True. But the other truth is that
the hospitality industry is the only business I can think of where there are
more ways to lose money than make money. So let's start with the basics. Lesson
Number 1: All money is not created equal. For instance, $100 in sales is $100,
less expenses and taxes. A $100 saved is $100. So while "making more money" is
important, it's sometimes just as critical to lose less, too!
Here are a few practical and creative cost control
training tips for those of us who need to watch our "waste":
- Teach everyone on your team Profitability 101. The first
few pages in your training manuals, and the first topic covered live in your
new employee Orientation or videos should be "Restaurant Economics 101", even
before "Guest Service". Why would a server or cook understand the importance of
suggestive selling or following recipes without first understanding the basics
of gross versus net in our business?
> DOWNLOAD FULL STORY | |
 Year-end End Marketing Review
December is here and the end of the busy holiday season is
in sight. As the season winds down, take a step back and evaluate your email
marketing efforts over the past year to see what worked, what didn't, and what
you should change for 2010.
To get started, spend some time reviewing the results of
your email campaigns over the past 12 months. If you're using an email
marketing provider, such as Constant Contact, you'll have access to detailed
campaign tracking reports that show your open rates, click-through rates
(CTRs), opt-out requests, bounces, and other useful data for each campaign. Take
a look at those reports to determine how successful your campaigns were both
individually and on the whole, then consider the following questions:
Did you meet your goals?
This is the big question. Did all your work and effort help
you achieve what you set out to achieve?
> DOWNLOAD FULL STORY
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Gold Power: Getting the Most From Older Hospitality Workers
What do the Compass Group, Fairmont Hotels, McDonald's
and Tim Hortons have in common? Like many other leaders in the hospitality
industry, they've discovered a wealth of talent in older employees. They've
also recognized that workers 55 and older will make up roughly 20 percent of
the U.S. labor force by 2012, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so
these hospitality giants are actively integrating golden power in their
operations.
At Chartwells School Dining Services, a division of Compass Group, 60 percent
of the employees are over 50, and many have worked for the company for 15 or 20
years. Regional director Cathy O'Connor calls it a "happy accident"
that Chartwells works with so many mature workers. Turnover, especially among
older workers, is very low, and mature employees work side by side with younger
staff benefiting from the combination of expertise and enthusiasm. Says
O'Connor, "We find older workers bring maturity, life skills, positive
attitude, experience, and skills from other careers."
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Reducing Chemicals in Your Restaurant
Tools and Tips from the Green Restaurant Association
There are hundreds of ways to reduce the
amount of chemicals used in your restaurant. Switching your cleaning products
to non-toxic alternatives is one step, but there are various other ways to
reduce chemical use, too...ones you've probably never even considered. That's
where the GRA comes in. It's our job to think outside the box and come up with
solutions that help you run your restaurant in a more environmentally
sustainable way.
Restaurants typically spruce up their walls with
a fresh coat of paint every year, or every couple of years. When the time
comes, try some of these sustainable alternatives:
Low VOC and Zero VOC Paints: These paints contain little or no Volatile
Organic Compounds, or VOCs. VOCs are emitted as gases from paints and include a
variety of chemicals that continue to affect air quality even after the paint
has dried on the wall.
Natural Paints: These paints are biobased and made from natural
dyes and binders like soy ink and milk.
> DOWNLOAD FULL STORY
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At Sysco iCare , we've done
our homework, so you don't have to. iCare partners are Sysco approved and
uphold the highest service levels, quality standards and performance guarantees
of anyone in the industry.
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