There’s a common misconception in restaurants that reporting tools are synonymous with performance management software. It’s easy to get confused, but there’s a difference.
Reporting tools provide visibility into data and show what happens in a defined period. But the burden is on restaurant operators to interpret the information, find opportunities, create and share an action plan, take the necessary steps, measure results, and (if necessary) course correct.
Sound time-consuming? It is. And with restaurant operators pulled in so many directions, you can see why few do this.
Meanwhile, performance management tools collect existing data from restaurant POS systems and frame the information in ways that are helpful for different employees. The data is presented to instigate action, which is what saves operators money and improves margins.
Beyond that, performance management tools help measure a restaurant’s actual performance against expected benchmarks and versus historical data. This provides useful context and is crucial to identify trends and track progress toward a goal.
With reporting tools, an end user has to export the data and spend hours manipulating it to make sense of it. A performance management tool automates this, running hundreds of calculations in the background to distill what is most important and position that information to be utilized.
Performance Management In Action
We created Axial Commerce as a performance management tool because we were tired of spending our time in spreadsheets instead of on the floor at our restaurants.
With our mobile app, servers can see their sales, tips and check averages relative to their peers. We calculate performance using two-week trending metrics that are constantly updating so that servers gain perspective but can also see changes in performance quickly. At the touch of a button, restaurant managers can compare the two-week trending hourly sales to the prior two-week period. This normally would take (at least) a day of Excel work to compile.
These are just a few examples of what’s possible, and what this enables is immediate adjustments and action. This also motivates servers and creates gamification opportunities.
Lots of restaurants use reporting tools. The industry is flooded with them. The best restaurants use performance management software.
To start a free trial, to schedule a demo, or to learn more, register at https://app.axialcommerce.com/register or contact us by clicking here.
