10 Skills for Food and Beverage Managers to have in 2018

When you Manage a Hotel Food and Beverage Team and someone tells you that good Food and Beverage Management simply does not exist, it can be more than a little frustrating…

So, for what it’s worth, I’d like to share my current list of ten things great Food and Beverage Managers do.

They Hire Well… It’s better to not lose a superstar here or make a hire that’ll disrupt or ruin your Department. The most fool-proof way to recruit a good person is to know, over years of interaction, that the person is great. Hire people with proven track records then let them get to work.

…Then Get Out of the Way If there’s one thing great Hospitality Employees tend to be really good at, it’s working autonomously. I’ve found that when you have a brilliant Waiter or Chef in your employment, it’s best to get out of her way and be available for support as it’s needed.

Protect the quality of your Teams’ work time and ensure a distraction-free environment. Great Food and Beverage Managers know how to support the team without getting in the way of progress. They empower teams to make recommendations and decisions.

They Stop Working Shifts in the Department… There’s no way around it: To become a Food and Beverage Manager, you’ll have to give up something you love. In F. & B., that something might be waiting, working a conference or working behind the bar. Regardless of what type of team you lead, there will be at least one thing you miss doing...

But Maintain Technical Competence as hands-on, technically competent Food and Beverage Managers are the best leaders for hospitality teams. Although your days are no longer devoted to working shifts facing customers, technically competent managers will still keep a finger on the pulse of the tools, technologies, and methods their teams are using.

They Set Good Goals… To manage a Food and Beverage team effectively, you need to set good goals. It doesn’t matter how talented or driven your employees are; if you’re not working toward a common objective, there’s no way your team is going to help drive the Food and Beverage Departments forward.

…And Minimize Meetings By taking a “less is more” approach to meetings, effective Food and Beverage Managers limit unnecessary interruptions and protect those precious hours when employees are focused and productive. Stick to the meetings that are meaningful.

Food and Beverage Managers Can Still Get Their Hands Dirty… The work of a Food and Beverage team is often punctuated by times of crisis. It’s in these times that great managers build trust and develop a spirit of camaraderie by simply “doing.” They can tell when it’s time to be the first responder and aren’t afraid to roll up their sleeves and get their hands dirty along with the rest of the team.

…While Still Thinking Long-Term There are two things you should always be thinking about: people’s day-to-day and their year-to-year. On the day-to-day front, you can keep employees engaged talking about problems as they come up. As part of this structured routine, you need to keep your eyes on progress toward quarterly goals.

They can Evolve The best Food and Beverage Managers know when to stick with a process that works—and when it’s time to try something different. As Hoteliers, it’s important not to be distracted when your processes need to be improved. Instead of chasing shiny objects, map out your ideal process and never forget the needs of your teams.

While these best practices and leadership qualities reflect my viewpoint in Food and Beverage, they can be applied to many other disciplines, departments, and roles such as Rooms Management, Marketing, Sales and Human Resources.

Through his electronic writing, Stephen attempts to help those without the time or often the money to attend College by providing them with Learning. Watching these vlogs and reading these blogs will assist hospitality students and workers in the Global Hospitality Industry to train and develop using Social Media.