How To Become a Deputy Restaurant Manager

Published
17 Jan 2020

17 Jan 2020

If you’re a natural born leader, enthusiastic, hardworking and ambitious, then a Deputy Restaurant Manager role could be your calling. If you’ve got plans to climb the managerial ladder then this is a great place to start.

You will learn everything you need to know about how to manage a team, without all of the responsibility that comes with being a general manager. Of course, you can’t just step into a Deputy Restaurant Manager position, you will need to work very hard to get there – read this guide to find out how to become a deputy restaurant manager.

Though this role involves long hours, many responsibilities and tasks you may end up doing that you think you didn’t sign up for, helping to manage a team and seeing the team grow and succeed is a great reward for all of the hard work you put in.

What qualifications do you need to land yourself a deputy restaurant manager job?

GCSE’s A*-C or equivalent are desirable. You don’t necessarily need A levels or a degree but any further qualifications will only make you stand out more and give you an advantage. Some companies may offer management training schemes where you can be trained on the job. Some qualifications you could consider are:

  • Level 2 Award and Certificate in Leadership and Team Skills
  • Level 3 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Leadership and Management
  • Level 5 Award, Certificate and Diploma in Leadership and Management

University:

A higher national diploma, foundation degree or degree can be obtained in management and hospitality fields. Entry to a UK university usually requires multiple A-levels or qualifications of the same level or in some cases an undergraduate scheme is available across some universities.

Universities and courses can be found using the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) website. An example of a course that you can take to become a deputy restaurant manager as well as having experience under your belt could be a hospitality management course. A course in hospitality management focuses on the application of management principles in the field of Hospitality. It involves not just study but hands-on work in the various operational areas of Hospitality management like Food Production, Food and Beverage Service, Front Office Operation and House Keeping.

So, you’ve decided front of house management is the pathway you want to go down, what next?

Before becoming a deputy restaurant manager, you will need to first develop your knowledge and general skills in the front of house sector of hospitality. A great place to start would be a waiting staff position. Starting here, you will mainly be charged with greeting customers, taking orders, serving food, ensuring customers are satisfied and taking payment from customers.

During this role you may be promoted to head waiter / waitress depending on the establishment you are working in. From working as a front of house member, you will have gained personable and professional skills which will usually include the following:

  1. People Skills / Communication skills
  2. Multi-tasking
  3. Time Management
  4. Presentation
  5. Team work
  6. Problem solving skills

What’s the next step up?

The next step on your journey to becoming a deputy restaurant manager would be becoming a floor supervisor. As a floor supervisor you will manage the front-end operations in the restaurant, such as staff performance, opening and closing operations, delegating tasks to your front of house team throughout the day, and ensuring each customer has an excellent experience. You will work closely with the management team to ensure the smooth running of the restaurant and front of house team.

A floor supervisor can then be promoted to a deputy restaurant manager / restaurant manager. This is a career defining step and the biggest question is, are you ready?

So, you have reached your goal...

Yes, the journey to becoming a deputy restaurant manager, there’s a lot of hard work involved but don’t be disheartened by this… with this title comes plenty of benefits and you are now one of the main figures to which your juniors will look up to for guidance, leaderships and support. Your position now plays a huge part in the success of the restaurant, and what is more rewarding then seeing your hard work and effort reflecting in your team and the restaurants’ success?

As a deputy restaurant manager, you will be supporting the manager in any way that you can, holding down the fort when the manager is away, and keeping staff happy whilst assisting them whenever they need support. As well as assisting the general manager, you will also be responsible for the following duties:

  • Evaluating work performance of staff
  • Handling customer complaints
  • Allocating work to team members
  • Assisting with recruitment, training, promotion and performance evaluation
  • Motivating employees
  • Conducting team meetings
  • Implementing business procedures
  • Controlling cost or expenditure
  • Preparing reports

This career defining job title is now yours. But does it stop here?... Of course not! 

After you’ve proved yourself and gained some valuable experience as a deputy restaurant manager, the next step for you would be to climb the ladder to become a restaurant manager.

Or, you could see what else is out there – how about moving to a different company – perhaps manage a larger team of people or if you’re looking to switch things up you could even change to a totally different industry. Once you have the experience, employers will be more likely to consider you for the job.

Take the plunge; you never know what opportunities could be out there for you. This could be the career that you’ve always been looking for.