An organizational restaurant chart is a guide to the structure of a business. It shows how employees are organized and where they work and helps managers keep track of their employees’ schedules. In this article, you’ll look at a common structure of restaurant organizational chart and explain what makes them effective tools for communicating with workers at your restaurant. But first, let’s know more about the organizational charts.
Restaurant Organizational Chart-Explained
As mentioned before, an organizational chart is a diagram showing an organization’s structure. It depicts the relationships between positions and titles, showing who reports to whom within an organization. It also depicts lines of authority and responsibility within a restaurant, as well as any other features, such as reporting structures or titles specific to a particular company or industry.
Here is an example of a small restaurant organizational chart:
Here is an example of a small restaurant organizational chart:
Owner
|
General Manager
|
Assistant Manager
|
Head Chef
|
Sous Chef
|
Kitchen Staff
Waitstaff
|
Host/Hostess
|
Bartenders
|
BussersIn a small restaurant, the owner may be heavily involved in the day-to-day operations, and the general manager may also have a more hands-on role in managing the staff and operations. The head chef may also be responsible for managing the kitchen staff, and there may be fewer layers of management. It’s important to note that this is just one example of a small restaurant organizational chart, and the specific roles and responsibilities may vary depending on the needs of the restaurant.
An organizational structure for a restaurant may include the following positions:
| # | Position | Responsibilities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owner | Responsible for overall operations and decision-making for the restaurant. |
| 2 | General Manager | Responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, including staffing, inventory management, and financial performance. |
| 3 | Assistant Manager | Responsible for supporting the general manager and managing staff, including scheduling and training. |
| 4 | Head Chef | Responsible for managing the kitchen and creating menus. |
| 5 | Sous Chef | Responsible for assisting the head chef and managing the kitchen in their absence. |
| 6 | Kitchen Staff | Responsible for preparing and cooking food, as well as maintaining cleanliness in the kitchen. |
| 7 | Waitstaff | Responsible for serving food, taking orders, and handling customer service. |
| 8 | Host/Hostess | Responsible for greeting customers and managing seating. |
| 9 | Bartenders | Responsible for preparing and serving alcoholic beverages. |
| 10 | Bussers | Responsible for clearing and resetting tables. |
Types of Restaurant Organizational Chart
The most common type of organizational chart is vertical, which shows all employees in ascending order. This is the most popular way to organize a restaurant’s staff because it gives you an easy way to identify which employees are supervisors and managers. Along with the organization’s charts, the restaurant works in horizontal charts as well. Horizontal is a bit more typical than vertical charts.
The horizontal organizational chart works like this: each employee has a specific assigned role on their team. Then they are listed along with their job title and work duties at the top level of your list (e.g., “Food Runner”). You’ll see that there are two columns: one for each column line, so when talking about the Food Runner’s responsibilities as part of their team in overall restaurant organization structure, you will see both under the Food Runner column.
Finally, there’s another type called matrix or cross-functional team, where everyone works together in multiple departments within one restaurant. However, these charts are less commonly followed than vertical and horizontal charts.
Examples of organizational restaurant chart
An organizational restaurant chart can follow this hierarchy. The guide will look at each hierarchical component one by one so that you can understand them clearly.
Executive Management
First comes executive management. This management stays at the top of the hierarchy.
CEO
The CEO is the top leader of a restaurant and is responsible for overall operations. They usually lead the business through all growth phases, including hiring new employees and planning for future projects.
COO
The COO oversees financial operations, budgeting and marketing strategies within an organization. This position can be very important in helping businesses succeed as it determines how well their finances run smoothly and how much money they can spend on advertising campaigns or other marketing efforts to attract new customers to their restaurants. The COO also holds the responsibility for keeping track of costs so that they stay within any given limit set by management team members; otherwise, this person could lose their job if things get out of hand too quickly!
CFO
This person manages all financial matters directly back up top. They keep track not only of what’s happening right now but also of what happened last week or a month ago.
Front of The Restaurant
The front of the restaurant serves customers food, drinks and other items. It’s a team that includes servers, hosts, bartenders and barbacks.
The Positions In This Department Of The Restaurant
These positions are visible to the customers, so they are responsible for most of the interactions with the customers.
Hosts (also called waiters) or Waitresses –
These take orders from customers while customers dine at the restaurant. They interact with customers throughout their meals by checking their needs and refilling water glasses.
Servers:
This position requires someone who knows how to handle large groups well because it can get chaotic during peak hours at some restaurants. At small restaurant organizational charts, this position is optional. As in small restaurants, the hosts and waiters also play the part of servers. The positions need someone with experience as an assistant server and waiter.
Back Of The Restaurant
The back of the house is responsible for preparing and serving food. They are often called line cooks, pantry staff, prep cooks and dishwashers.
The back of the restaurant or kitchen staff hierarchy is a key part of any restaurant. Not only does it help organize employees, but also it helps them perform their jobs better and more efficiently. A good kitchen hierarchy will ensure that all orders are organized at the front of the restaurant. The back of the restaurant provides peace of mind for the owner or manager overseeing multiple locations.
Let’s look at some examples of how you can create your version of this system by breaking it down to make up a successful kitchen staff chart:
Line cook hierarchy
The line cook hierarchy is a hierarchical structure of kitchen staff used in restaurants and other food service establishments. It also ensures that the kitchen stays properly staffed and organized. Sometimes they also work as front-of-the-house employees, such as bartenders and servers.
The line cook hierarchy starts with the dishwasher, who works under an apprentice who will train them until they reach a level where they are ready to take over their shifts. Once this happens, they become someone who knows how everything works behind doors. But it isn’t ready yet—the prep cooks and chefs further continue the hierarchy. Prep cooks work closely with chefs on all things culinary. They can learn to make sure everything tastes delicious before customers even get served their meals.
Banquet kitchen staff
The banquet kitchen staff is responsible for food preparation and delivery at events. Banquet kitchen staff can be divided into two categories:
- Kitchen manager
Manage the kitchen’s daily activities while giving all staff members competent leadership and guidance. Kitchen manager also checks all food preparation, portioning, garnishing, and storage while supervising cooks. Manage the kitchen staff and cooks, create new recipes, take care of the ordering and inventory, and cover for the bartender.
- Kitchen supervisor
They keep an eye on worker performance and give them feedback to help them get better. Also, they are responsible for making shift schedules, hiring new hires, training them, and monitoring current staff to ensure they go with company standards. They access the state of the equipment and place orders for supplies as necessary while also helping develop new recipes and menu items with management that will appeal to customers.
Executive chef
An executive chef’s primary role in a restaurant is as the manager or head of the kitchen. They are responsible for assigning cooks and other kitchen staff to their various daily tasks and managing administrative tasks related to running the restaurant.
Small Restaurant Organizational Chart- Explained
Most restaurant businesses are small businesses. So, the above-given chart is not appropriate to demonstrate the small restaurants as the small restaurants. One person can take responsibility for two or more positions. So, let’s take an example of a small restaurant organizational chart.
Management
- Owner
- Administrator
Kitchen
- Chef
- Head Chef
- Cook
- Dishwasher
Front of House
- Manager
- Cashier
- Host
- Waiter
- Barista
- Bar & Beverage
- Cleaning Staff
This is one of the common hierarchies seen in the small restaurant business. If you want to start a small restaurant, follow this chart. Feel free to make your adjustments to this chart. For example, the owner sometimes works as the manager and cashier, making starting the business less costly. Once your business has established itself, hire someone for these positions.
Benefits Of Having A Restaurant Organizational Structure
- There are numerous use cases that can explain why restaurants require a top-notch restaurant organizational structure. We have gathered some information that will help you see a restaurant’s value.
- The organizational chart for a restaurant helps each position or department understand its responsibilities and understand what it takes to operate a thriving business.
- It provides business leaders with the crucial insight they need to make important decisions for restaurants or other enterprises.
- The diagram presents how the business is organized internally, including the departments, employees, and connections, to the board of directors, managers, and other executives.
4 types of organizational structures are functional, multi-divisional, flat, & matrix structures.
1. Work specialization.
2. Departmentation.
3. Chain of command.
4. Span of control.
5. Centralization/Decentralization.
Formalization.
Conclusion
The restaurant industry is demanding, but having an organized system of checklists can assist you in staying on top of things. The key takeaway from this list is that there are many different kinds of organizational charts for restaurants, and each one has its strengths. For example, the banquet kitchen staff hierarchy may seem like an odd fit given how much serving prep work goes into ensuring everything goes smoothly at a wedding reception or corporate event—but having such a system in place can ensure everything goes according to plan when something unexpected happens.
To make your own chart, you must learn about the positions, connections, and departments. Collect data about the operations of the various departments, their interactions with one another, the ways in which they contribute to the success and expansion of the restaurant or business, etc. To prevent mistakes, put it in writing and talk it over with your superiors and other colleagues. This will help you create a more effective chart for your business!
