Food Business Optimisation training programme
This programme sets out some simple, easy to do habits, for you to adopt and to cascade to your teams. The combined compounded benefits are extensive; improving your operations, culture, welfare, costs and profit. The program has evolved from a food focused eight step strategy to become an all through business development program covering 24 essential areas over 12-24 months that support, improve and maintain your business: Future proofing whilst generating savings and increasing performance.
This training program is a focus on optimising food business performance and is aimed at senior catering operations people or corporate management. It is a 12 month course with regular monthly Teams meetings, some face to face development days and one 2 one coaching also via teams. Year 2 is in the pipeline but not written yet.
Year 1
Back of house essentials
Starting behind the scenes sets the foundations for your business that will quickly grow to show benefits to your front of house services.
1
Environmental considerations & energy efficiency
This workshop starts with a review of your current practices and will identify dual benefit improvements that help your business to be more efficient but also more attractive to customers that wish to spend in businesses with a similar mindset: Environmentally conscious customers.
From simple tips through to best practice day to day activities that will maximise your potential for responsible sourcing, environmental impact, considered nutrition and minimising energy use.
2
Mental health and team welfare
Did you know: Deloitte found in a recent survey that 39% of employees had suffered from mental health relating to work, leading to 11% of all absenteeism. 50% of all lost working hours can be attributed to stress in the workplace & 84% of hospitality professionals reported increased stress because of their job.
In this session we show you some simple strategies that offer support to your team, giving them confidence that leads to a better environment and calmer interactions, particularly during periods of higher pressure or when problems occur. The outcome benefits include better production rates, improved team retention, forecasted succession planning, improved confidence and motivation.
3
Production methodology & batching
This workshop explores your current strategy identifying strengths and weaknesses in your team culture, available skills and use of your equipment, including exercises that you can cascade to your teams.
With simple ideas for recording your production information and how to put it to beneficial use through monitoring and review, ultimately leading to a clearly forecasted production plan that everyone can follow with confidence.
4
Production waste & customer waste
We evidence the true cost of food waste that goes far beyond the value of the food itself. For instance; the time it takes your team to receive, store, prep, final cook, serve and then throw away a returned or uneaten dish is perhaps visible at your workplace, but is it being acknowledged and monitored? And then what about beyond: the farm, the distribution, storage, third party supplier, the true waste cost is often colossal.
Moving on we provide lots of positive ideas that will incentivise your teams to become fanatical about waste reduction that will improve your costs, and reduce your waste management fees.
5
Suppliers & product prices
The fastest way to reduce your costs is renegotiating your supplier prices or changing suppliers to a better priced alternative. This session explains how you can become an expert in tender management to ensure you can achieve best market price while maintaining quality and service.
We also introduce tools that can take a lot of the hard work out of the process and give you a clear and concise plan for any ‘three quotes to qualify’ situation.
6
Goods receipt, storage & consumption
We recommend never overlooking the basics of good stock control. Did you know that one in three invoices/delivery notes are wrong! You are likely losing money without even realising it, simple human error or perhaps just human nature… we explore best practice and highlight ‘flags’ to look out for.
This session includes a reminder of the processes, records and best practice that will ensure you have the maximum value from your food, grocery and sundry supplies.
7
Preservice briefing: Portions and customers
One of the most common employee comments we hear is: “I didn’t know that” or “the management didn’t tell us”. This session defines how you can run quick, daily or multi-daily briefings that will maximise your efficiency, give you team huge amounts of confidence and create a cultural feeling of inclusion whilst giving out specific responsibilities: Cascading important tasks and answering the question before it is asked.
8
Financial reporting & assessment
Almost all businesses have regular financial reporting, but what are you doing with the data to make it beneficial? And are you using it to maximise your team to further improve your financials?
We present some simple strategies that are easy to do and proven to create financial focus that will lead to better performance and financial results.
9
Planning your menu/Understanding menu reasoning (centrally produced/branded/local/ bespoke menus)
This session exposes the engineering behind the backbone of every food business: The Menu
Understanding the complexity of menu balance gives the wider team more respect for the dishes and time it takes to produce a menu or, more challenging, to make changes without risk. We explore the basics of ingredient and visual appeal through to the challenges of developing new ideas while retaining a narrow, confident pallet of ingredients.
10
Forecast uptake & Calculating food orders
We often find unbeneficial habits lead to wasted time and money. In this ‘back to basics’ session we explore and remind how food and beverage orders should be considered, forecasted and calculated accurately to ensure any unbeneficial habits with your business are eradicated.
This essential skill reminder leads to better storage capacity (not holding goods unnecessarily), reduces wastage and aligns your expenditure with your income ultimately improving cash flow.
11
Innovations & ideas
Is there any ‘totally new food’? Why try and reinvent the wheel?
In this session we explore best practice competitors and ideas from across the globe that could be beneficial to you and your business. If you can see how long it takes your team and your company to do new, why not look at someone else’s work for initial ideas of what can work for you with the confidence of observing how well the concepts have done.
This session typically reduces development time and costs. It may lead to some simple style ideas or all the way to a new menu section or concept.
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12
Quality control: Supporting continuous improvement
The final session of year one reflects on all the elements covered to date and sets a schedule for review whilst identifying quality control points that you can use to easily monitor progress.
The outcome is a plan for the future that can be followed to support your continuous improvement plan in a manageable; ‘constant trickle of change’
Please get in touch for more details
Year 2
Front of house essentials
13
14
15
16
17
18
Environmental considerations & energy efficiency
Customer attraction
Social media, local presence, and ratings
Up selling
The benefits of customer service excellence
Deals, bundles & discounts
15
19
20
21
22
23
24
In-Menu marketing
Complaint handling
Revenue capture
Gaining & retaining repeat customers
Awards & Accreditation
Evaluation & maintaining standards for continuous improvement