Ask Dave
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August 2001
Please send your questions to dave@dinersoft.com

Q.  Dave, I have a question about the hierarchy of restaurant management. Let me explain:  I am a unit manager in a small company.  I have had this position for a couple of years now and it has become increasingly difficult to balance personal time and work time.  As you know, restaurant management is very physically and mentally challenging!  I have a family and I never see them on weekends. I rarely get a weekend off.

Money not being a primary issue with me, I approached my boss, the owner, about creating an administrative position within the company that I could fill. My forte in running my restaurant has always been operational and administrative.  I wrote a proposal outlining ways I could help the company drive sales and save money.  The advantage to me would be a more normal and flexible schedule.  I offered to do marketing, negotiate vendor and utility contracts, maintain a website, do fill in management and work openings.  (The company is looking to expand rapidly).  I also made it clear that I would take a significant salary cut in order to make this feasible for the company.

Well, in a nutshell, my boss turned me down flat.  He doesn't see the value of a position that isn't directly involved in making sales.  He himself is constantly busy scouting locations and planning new stores.  I feel that I could free him up to concentrate on that angle and I could also provide a cohesiveness among all the stores as I am one of the two senior employees in our entire company.

My question for you, then, is what kind of precedent is there for such a position within a restaurant corporation?  This is a rather small, but growing, company and I want to know if my request is something legitimate, or rather totally unheard of!  What would the name for such a position be and how could I better pursue such a position? 

- "Jean Smith" (anonymous pseudonym)

A.  I understand your situation very well.  I just left my restaurant position for exactly the reasons you have described.

In response to your question, yes there is such a position within many restaurant chains.  The position in my experience has been called corporate operations assistant or corporate administrator.  In small companies they do exactly what you describe and for larger companies they act as an administrative liaison for the the President or COO (this position tends to be more administrative). 

As your company gets larger you would either need to become more specialized or you might see yourself phased out as this position would morph into marketing director, buyer, MIS manager etc.

As for pursuing the position, you have taken the first step by making your boss aware of your desires.  He may not know it yet but eventually he will need the help in which you describe.  The trick is to convince him that you are the right person for the job and that it is better to have you in the position rather than out the door because you are not happy.

One reason he may not want to see you create this new job is because he would have to replace a good manager.  I would come up with a plan to replace yourself with minimal negative consequences.  The easiest and most economical way to do this would be to groom someone from within to take your place.  Start by training them as a supervisor or lead hourly then start planting the seed in your boss's head. 

Another reason he may be resisting is that right now his budget may not include the position in the short term.  Ask him if there is a possibility of making room for this position in the future.  This will let him know that you understand his stance now but that you are not going to give up.

Continue to come up with ideas on how you may be even more beneficial to him.  For example, does your company have anyone acting as the training dept.? You could take on this task also.  Cost analysis is another area where you could show him a financial benefit that could justify your salary.  Also human resource help is an area where you could potentially save the company many dollars on insurance, worker's comp. and labor relations liabilities.  These are all segments where your company may have no active corporate representation which might fit into what your boss may deem needful in the future.

Finally, try to find out if your boss sees you working in the role you describe, ever.  If not, I would pursue this type of job at a larger chain restaurant company. You may not find a job that will be as diverse as you describe but I guarantee there are jobs within the training, marketing and administrative departments that based on your experience you should be able to fill.

Hope this helps and good luck!!!!

Dave

From the Restaurant Manager's Pocket Handbook Series...
Menu Pricing	Labor Cost	Purchasing & Inventory	Cost Controls