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JOHN FOLEY: You wouldn’t go on a trip without a map or an itinerary, yet restaurant owners open restaurants every day without a manual. Employee manuals are one of the most vital elements of the restaurant business.

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What Employee Manuals Do:

-Explain Owner’s Expectations

-Gives Employees Input

-Facilitates Dispute Resolution

-Sets Hygiene and Dress Codes

They explain to your employees what your expectations are, they allow employees to voice an opinion, they give you the ability to arbitrate any disputes, they lay the groundwork for dress code, hygiene, and the expectations of working for your company. If you don’t have an employee manual, you have to write one. It’s very, very simple: put yourself in the employees’ shoes and just write it from their point-of-view. Once that’s accomplished, check it out and make sure everything’s legal. If you don’t have the ability to write a manual, go to your favorite restaurant, speak to the owner, and ask him if you can borrow his. Most restaurant owners are more than happy to let other owners look at their employee manuals.