Online ordering, digital payments, the rising demand for plant-based items and sustainable packaging, and preference for alcohol-to-go and outdoor dining are just some of the trends that restaurants are adjusting to. 

While consumer behavior and dining preferences have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant industry sees a glimmer of hope. Sales are expected to increase from $864 billion in 2019 to $898 billions this year, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry Report. Meanwhile, the foodservice industry is predicted to generate 400,000 jobs, for total industry employment of 14.9M before the year ends.

However, Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group at the National Restaurant Association, emphasized that the restaurant industry may never completely return to its pre-pandemic state. 

Over half of restaurant operators believe that the return to normalcy would take a year or more. Restaurants are still grappling with employee retention and recruitment, food, labor, and occupancy costs, and supply delays or shortages of key food or beverage products.

“We still have work to do to ensure that those operators struggling the most can survive.  The Association will continue to champion the necessary government support needed at the federal and local levels to help keep these businesses — cornerstones of our communities — on a path to better days,” said Marvin Irby, Interim President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association.

What Can Restaurants Do

Use data to adapt to changes. The NPD Group recommends studying restaurant visits each daypart–morning meal, lunch, dinner, and P.M. Snack–and adjusting operations according to the behavior and motivations of diners. “The ability for restaurants, particularly full-service restaurants, to operate at total capacity, consumer comfort with dining in, and more business and recreational travel will aid recovery at the dinner daypart,” NPD states.

Exceed expectations to retain customers. Heleri Rande, a partner at Think Hospitality, a Florida-based real estate development and hospitality company, believes that restaurants should go beyond their usual services. They can add special touches like recipe boxes and contactless drop-off. She also suggests upselling “sides, bottles of wine, and desserts” and encouraging customers to buy gift vouchers. 

Track performance using KPIs. During uncertain times, every business decision is critical. Understanding where a restaurant has potential or needs improvement can help owners develop and implement a customer-focused strategy. This is only possible when they have the data to support their decisions.

The KPI Institute released The Top 25 Restaurant KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition, which compiles the most popular 25 KPIs used by food and beverage units worldwide throughout 2016 and 2020. The 25 restaurant KPIs identified are categorized into six divisions:

• Restaurant Financials – Incorporate the sales generated by the business from different perspectives and the investments made for its functionality
• Service Quality – Refers to issues that influence customer’s satisfaction, such as unavailability of menu items or service diversity
• Customer Feedback – Offers information regarding the customers’ assessment of the restaurant as an indicator of their satisfaction and loyalty
• Restaurant Occupancy – Represents the attraction of customers and the capacity at which the restaurant operates
• Restaurant Workload – Reflects on the intensity of the restaurant’s activity and the impact of peak periods on employees
• Restaurant Governance – Indicates the principles and practices that guide the decisions of the restaurant’s management

Discover the 25 most popular restaurant KPIs today and read each of their profiles, all packed with exclusive in-practice recommendations. Download The Top 25 Restaurant KPIs – 2020 Extended Edition now!

A high-performance culture is characterized by behaviors and norms that allow organizations to achieve outstanding results and superior performance. 

Citing the book “Leadership in High-Performance Organizational Cultures” by Stanley Truskie, the University of Ottawa states that organizations with a high-performance culture experience financial and non-financial success at the same time. Some examples of non-financial success are employee retention, customer satisfaction, competitiveness, and innovation. 

How can leaders build and sustain a high-performance culture? Vibhas Ratanjee, Senior Practice Expert — Organizational and Leadership Development at the analytics and advisory firm Gallup, stated that there are five cultural drivers of such culture. He emphasizes that leaders must know how to communicate clearly and consistently to help employees understand what is expected of them. In addition, identifying values and rituals guides employees in interacting within the organization and resonates with how they deal with clients. 

Ratanjee points out the need to establish and optimize work teams and structures. Work Gallup’s findings show that how employees perceive work structure has an impact on their engagement. Another driver is the development of a company’s human capital. He suggests that managers must hold coaching sessions that drive performance “based on how each person is enabled to use their own unique abilities.” 

The final cultural driver is performance management. One of Gallup’s recommendations is to invest in hiring high-performing managers. “Investment in managers is critical. They account for 70% of the variance in team engagement but an alarming 65% of managers are not engaged or are actively disengaged.”

Cristina Mihăiloaie, Business Unit Manager and Performance Management Consultant at The KPI Institute, wrote in her article on performancemagazine.org that embedding performance within an organizational culture impacts both internal and external stakeholders. 

For internal stakeholders, it can increase accountability regarding the quality of their work and establish their role and contribution to the organizational strategy. For external stakeholders, it means positioning the organization as a trustful and reliable partner, enhancing customer experience, and improving employer brand and market image.

If you would like to learn more about how to nurture a performance culture and manage your organization’s performance in different scenarios, join The KPI Institute’s Certified Performance Management Professional Live Online Course on 20 – 24 February 2022 (EMEA: 09:00 – 13:00 GST and ASEAN: 13:00 – 17:00 GMT +8). 

The 40-hour course will discuss the ins and outs of a performance management system architecture, the fundamentals of performance review meetings, and how to use data to enhance the decision-making process. 

Do not miss this opportunity to gain knowledge, practical experience, and a chance to connect with a community of industry experts and professionals. Invite your colleagues and sign up here.

The global data visualization market size hit USD 9.48 Billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 20.16 Billion by 2028. What is data visualization, and why is it so important?

Emergen Research attributes its optimistic forecast to the “generation of large data volumes and the rising need for multi-device access facilities.” It added that cloud computing and the need for fast decision-making, particularly during volatile times, are also accelerating the adoption of data visualization.

The rise of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) that help companies process data in 3D formats pushes the demand for cloud computing in data visualization, according to Emergen Research. These are further driving the market revenue growth.

The KPI Institute defines data visualization as “the visual representation of data, in order to better understand information and present it in a clear and effective manner.” Data visualization can help detect and analyze patterns, trends, and correlations.

According to the report “TDWI best practices report: Data visualization and discovery for better business decisions,” some of the benefits of data visualization are the improvement of operational efficiency, better response to business changes, identification of new business opportunities, and higher employee and partner productivity. 

Based on Emergen Research’s findings, the software segment revenue would increase steadily during the firm’s forecast period. Moreover, the standalone visualization software segment revenue is soaring due to the need to produce useful information from huge volumes of data. Such data usually comes nowadays from social media and other online platforms. “Use of data visualization software such as Oracle, tableau, and SAP made this approach feasible,” the forecast report states.

Developing and designing a visual representation is not a walk in the park. To communicate data visually and effectively, you need the right tools, knowledge, and expert guidance. 

The KPI Institute’s Certified Data Visualization Professional course teaches participants how to create better and more relevant reports and present intelligible data sets to decision-makers. If you would like to improve the visual communication within your organization, secure your slot on 21 – 25 February 2022 (EMEA: 09:00 – 13:00 GST and ASEAN: 13:00 – 17:00 GMT +8) by signing up here.

If 2020 was the year for survival mode, 2021 was the year for adapting to changes that came our way. Adaptability is not just about keeping up with modern technologies and trends. It’s more about how we use them to accelerate change and foster a culture of innovation in the workplace, and this won’t be possible without valuing learning and development.

That is why The KPI Institute continues to deliver quality live-online certification programs in strategy and performance management. These learning sessions are designed to help organizations and professionals address business challenges, gain competencies, and achieve results.  They are packed with tools, frameworks, resources, exercises, and expert recommendations.

Before we put 2021 behind us, let us revisit the courses that made a mark on you. According to our data, here are the top live-online training programs of The KPI Institute that received the highest number of participants last year.

1. KPI Certified Professional and Practitioner: “Embedding more than 15 years of research, this educational program will provide you the necessary knowledge and skills to differentiate yourself from other professionals through a rigorous and structured approach to measuring performance.”
2. Strategy and Business Planning Professional Certification: “The course aims to offer participants a chance to build up a strategic mind-frame, understand key strategy planning concepts, use strategy planning tools, in individual and team exercises, and reflect on the best practices in the field through case studies and debates.”
3. Balanced Scorecard Management System Professional Certification: “The training course provides the pillars, tools, and resources required for an immediate application and Balanced Scorecard Management System in your own organization.”
4.  Certified Performance Management Professional and Practitioner Certifications: In this course, participants will “Obtain a premium recognition for your competencies both as a professional and practitioner to demonstrate your ability to monitor and improve current performance levels in different scenarios, in a standardized and effective manner.”
5. Certified OKR Professional: “The three-day course trains participants in how to set and work with OKRs and offers them the opportunity to get certified on the ability to deploy and use OKRs in accordance.”

To learn more about other certification programs, check out the Performance Management Training Calendar 2022.