By Deagon B Williams
See here is the funny thing about a restaurant operating manual… so often it is a dry useless document that seems to have no connection to reality and therefore gets little more than a passing glance on the way to the required signature on the last page.
I recently wrote two different operating manuals- one for a catering company and one for a bakery- I first did some research on what others have done, and what the state of California requires in a manual. Then I thought about how to make it an engaging and living document. Once the research and thinking was complete I started with an opening paragraph reaching out to my audience- the new hire. I wanted that person to feel a welcome part of a great team. In essence that was my single driving objective- to engage. Period.
I accomplished this by sharing the greatness of the business with the goals and values. It’s important that the goals and values are approachable as well as admirable. Once that is done the details and legal requirements are being read rather than skimmed over. Try it. Let me know how it goes.
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