The pandemic changed a lot of rules, shifted the culture of the restaurant and hospitality industry. But the food-service landscape is always in flux, and owner-operators must be flexible and willing to move with the times.
As we watch the industry morph to accommodate post-pandemic operations, adjust for labor and supply issues, and embrace the digital age, there is one role in particular that has changed significantly: the General Manager. A General Manager is the heart of a restaurant’s operations, serving as the bridge between ownership and the staff who make day-to-day functionality possible. While this concept hasn’t changed, the execution of it is new.
Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) writes, “The general manager – the quarterback or point guard of a restaurant, if you will – has become an even more critical role. [GMs] are tasked with overseeing the day-to-day complexities of running a restaurant – from the inventory to food safety to the balance sheet – [while] also ensuring their employees are happy.”
The last year’s labor crisis certainly has driven this shift. With fewer employees and less hours covered, general managers were called upon to fulfill broader roles and responsibilities, making up for whatever was missing that day, from seating and greeting to help in the kitchen. And while General Managers have always been held responsible to fill in the gaps, with fewer employees to count on, there was potential for a manger’s duties to fall behind in the name of immediate operations.
Another leading cause of the manager’s role changes: a younger labor pool. “Younger members of the workforce – specifically millennials and Gen Z – are changing how we approach our jobs in general. Flexibility, balance, impact – all of that is more important than ever. Money is also important, but it’s not the singular driver it used to be,” says Nation’s Restaurant News. This means that managers have a larger obligation to the working culture of their restaurant than ever before. It isn’t a negative shift—studies show, across the board, that happier, secure employees will provide the best effort—but it still does reprioritize how a manager must lead throughout the workday. The “evolution has included more engagement with team members and, accordingly, more people skills.”
As part of our restaurant consultants’ expertise, we have hired many General Managers to steer the restaurant ship in a new, positive direction. With solid, on-the-ground leadership, a restaurant will be steady and profitable. This is still true, and our consultants look for the same strengths in a General Manager as before—but also someone who understands the turning tide of the workforce and how to meet them where they are to lead well.
“The General Manager truly defines the personality of the restaurant, and this in-turn forms that restaurant’s entire culture and identity,” notes Richard Weil, principal and owner of National Restaurant Consultants.
“Paul Hendel, owner of McDonald’s franchisee Hendel Products Group, spent time earlier in his career as a GM, and agrees that things have changed quite a bit in the 30-plus years since. ‘The people part of our business is so critical now. Some of the older managers are great managers and know how to run operations and the PnL, but the people part of it – that’s part of your personality, it’s innate. That’s what makes you really stand out in this role, which is the heart of the store,’ Hendel” tells NRN.
The article goes on to stress that there are several key factors to look for in GMs in order to best facilitate the changing work culture: people skills, able to meet high expectations, labor training, and soft skills are all crucial in the new general manager role.
National Restaurant Consultants has a team of experts to help your restaurant hire well. When we work to staff your restaurant, our extensive interview and training processes ensure that your newly appointed GM is ready for the challenge of the new industry culture and can confidently lead your restaurant to success.