Whether you run a local community Tenancy or a single site or small chain of Franchises that you have plans to turn into the next mega Pub co, your business is your empire and you’re the boss!
Like any successful business entrepreneur, to run your business efficiently and effectively you need data, stats, controls and management information. A well-known business coach once said “By pro-actively implementing knowledge management systems, companies can re-write the old saying, “Change is inevitable, growth is optional” to “Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.””
You can have a whole wealth of information available to you but if you do not know which key data to focus on then the path to success can become a lot less clear.
The latest published rate of pub closures is circa 30 sites per week so to give your business the greatest possible chance of not being a victim of the current economic state of the hospitality sector, you should make use of the focussed support that Venners provides to its clients.
Of all the management information that is supplied through having regular stocktakes, one of the most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is the yield. This is a measure of how effectively you are turning your stock consumption into cash in the till.
Many businesses have good levels of sales but if they are haemorrhaging stock through poor controls then the operation is destined to fail.
Here are five ways to help to improve your yield:
One, conduct regular line cleans
It is a common misconception that if you extend the length of time between cleaning your lines then you will reduce your levels of stock wasted. If you do not clean your pipe lines at the intervals recommended by your suppliers then you will lose far more stock through fobbing due to the build-up of yeast than you ever would by carrying out the clean in the first place.
Two, correct product dispense practices
Train your staff to dispense drinks with the minimum amount of wastage (ideally none!). How many times have you been in a bar and the staff keep topping up a pint because there is a large ‘head’ on it? All of the excess beer flows in to the drip trays and this ultimately gets poured down a drain. Encourage your staff to think of this product as cash not stock and then ask them if they would be as willing to throw money down the drain.
Three, do not over-pour
If you serve wine by the glass, ensure that your staff only fill the glass to the line on the glass and not above it. This also applies to oversized beer glasses and significantly, postmix products. If you have a postmix system that dispenses set volumes, ensure that your staff do not ‘top up’ without charging extra. In most operations postmix is the product that generates the highest margins and the practise of ‘topping up’, for instance with a spirit and mixer that does not fill the glass, can have dramatic impacts on your achieved margin and yield.
Four, stock rotation
Ensure that when you are restocking your bar that the stock is correctly date rotated. Vast amounts of stock are lost in the hospitality industry due to the products going past their sell by dates as a result of poor stock rotation procedures
Five, pay for your drinks!
If you have a drink from the bar, be seen to pay for it. If your staff see you drinking stock and not paying for it, then they will probably do the same! Yes, it may be your stock but it sets a bad example to your staff and a dangerous precedent if you are seen to be having a drink and not paying for it.
These are just a few simple examples and practises that can help you to improve your yield and subsequently give your business the chance of becoming that empire that you dreamed of building.
If you would like to talk to Venners about how you can achieve a higher yield and focus on the most important pieces of Management Information through stocktaking, please fill in the form on this page and we’ll have one of our experts get back to you.