How to Hire Your First General Manager

One of the most important things you will do when planning your restaurant will be to estimate the staff needed to run it. This is an important exercise that holds many implications for the success of your operation, and for your bottom line, so you should devote ample time to it.

You will have to plan for staffing based on your anticipated volume, and that will presumably change as you get going and your sales start to build. At the top of your staffing decision list should be identifying what kind of person should serve as your general manager (GM).

Labor can account for 30 percent to 40 percent of your operating expenses, so it is definitely something to think about and plan for carefully. The management and leadership you put in place will be a critical success factor for you. The management team will be the ones training the new staff, carrying out policies and procedures, and interfacing with the customers trying out your new restaurant and deciding if they will return and tell others about you. The managers will open and close, count the money, interview new employees, discipline and commend employees, and keep an eye on operations, oversee the products coming out of the kitchen and maybe the purchasing and inventory processes. It is a big job.

What are your thoughts on who will be in charge when you open? Some might say, "Well I'll just work all the time and save the money. I need to be there at all times to make sure we get off the ground the right way." Others will think, "I don't have to do a lot, I'll just hire a manager. Anyway, I am not very well versed in some areas; I'll get a manager to do it." Each situation is different and the right manager for one operation would not be the right manager for another operation.