Supervision

“Supervision is the art of checking on the progress of actions and orders without undo harassment”

Supervision is the follow-up to training. Proper supervision allows employees to develop efficiency by giving them the guidance, motivation, and leadership needed to increase their skills.

Management supervision is simply getting things done properly through other people. To a degree, it is not necessarily being able to do all things well yourself that will make you successful. It is being able to develop in your employees the willingness and ability to handle their responsibilities that are really important. This is particularly true in a restaurant as it is virtually impossible to do everything in the store yourself.

Proper management supervision requires first of all that there be a manager present in the store at all times. Without a manager, the employees will work or not work depending upon the situation. In most cases, they will wait on customers when they come in, but that is probably all. Usually this means that they will not perform as they should. It soon becomes quite obvious to customers that there is no manager present as the store standards tend to be lower. Also, the attitude of the employees becomes more and more carefree. This is especially true of less experienced employees.

These signs of “absentee supervision” are evident almost immediately to customers as the store operation begins to deteriorate.

"The customer(s) sees that the employees do not care about them as they should, and why should they when the member’s management at the store do not care enough to be involved themselves in supervising and directing the activities of their employees?"

Perhaps one of the most important ingredients in management, supervision in particular, is attitude. A positive attitude is a must to effectively manage people and get them to be productive. As has been said many times, the attitude and personality of the manager will quickly become the attitude and personality of each individual employee and the store as a whole. The manager must create a feeling of confidence throughout the operation. The manager sets the example for the employees to follow, and through the employees, the customer(s) form their image of the operation. A sense of urgency, enthusiasm, and pride must flow from the manager to the employees and to the consumer.

How is this accomplished? Never ask an employee to do something you have not done or will not do yourself. Work with them. The harder the manager works, the more enthusiasm the employees will have, the more respect the employees will have for the consumer, the more effective/productive the employees will be. It all starts; however, with the manager and the way the manager responds to and works with the employees in the store.

Supervision of the employees’ activities is an important part of the total management process. Unless you supervise their activities, you can never be sure you are attaining efficiency and productivity. Without this, most goals are unattainable. In supervising your employees, you must also generate enthusiasm, motivation and teamwork. These three things are extremely important qualities to instill in your employees. As an employee it is one thing to go through the motions of working to do no more than the fundamental basics of a job, but it is another matter altogether to actively do the job to the best of one's abilities. This is a work characteristic that must come from the manager or operator. As in the selection and training processes, the attitude of management will most likely be the attitude that the employees will adopt, positive or negative, enthused or not.

Supervision is the ability to think on your feet and to direct and control the activities of others. To do this you must lead by example. Work with your employees to earn their respect and confidence. If the employees look to you for direction and follow your lead, then efficiency can be achieved. Leading by example will develop employees with the ability and attitude necessary to provide excellent customer service. They will be able to promote and enhance the image of your store, taking pride in their responsibilities and in the success of “their” store.

Indirectly, the purpose of supervision is also to determine how effective the training program has been and how the employees have been able to apply what they have learned. To increase the employee's confidence in his/her own ability, they should be encouraged and praised for effort and good performance. The manager should be in close contact displaying a continuing interest in the employees. The manager should check to determine the employee's skill, smoothness of operation, and general competence as well as confidence. If incorrect methods have crept in, the employee should be retrained.

Once the fundamentals of the position have been learned and mastered, additional refinements can be covered. This type of active supervision also helps to reassure the employee that guidance and assistance is there at hand if problems arise or if part of the training process if forgotten.