Foodservice management companies are always interested in talking to qualified candidates. While many of the jobs in restaurant management services are support and administrative entry-level positions, there are other opportunities in restaurant management companies that are best achieved with additional restaurant management group training. Educational opportunities are available to candidates who want to advance their career in food and beverage management.

Consider a degree in business or hospitality to get you started and add food service management professional development courses through a restaurant management company, training centers and trade groups. Take advantage of every cafeteria management training course or seminar to fatten your resume. Watch for training for restaurant management companies in a number of places.

1. Watch restaurant management corporation job boards

2. Participate in food service management trade groups

3. Ask for guidance from restaurant management group experts

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look for training from foodservice management websites

While you are job hunting, or doing your regular industry news updates research, keep an eye out for the trends that are leading the industry to point you to the training that you need to meet the demands of the times. Consider the requirements of the jobs you might like to pursue and find out what certificates or training you can get to make yourself a desirable candidate.

I recommend: Training and professional development are an integral piece of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers. Get certifications and other career enhancing activities at the American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute.

Join food and beverage management associations for training

Most trade associations offer continuing education and professional development courses for their members. Some groups can guide you to special certification courses that will help you advance your career while offering events and meetings at which you can meet other professionals and find out about other training options.

I recommend: Find a plethora of training options and educational resources through the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. Through the Foodservice Consultants Society International you can find a number of educational opportunities including scholarships and seminars meant to help advance your career.

Take classes or get a degree in restaurant management services

Whether you can relate to a good manager who might take you on for mentoring, or you seek out a professional in a trade group or other professional association, follow the advice when you're pointed to special training opportunities. Often a designation or degree can make all the difference when you are looking to advance.

I recommend: Go to Restaurant Owner for classes and seminars to advance your career in restaurant companies. Get a Bachelors degree in restaurant management from the Scottsdale Culinary Institute. The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration is at the top of hospitality education. The Culinary Institute of America trains chefs in restaurant management.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Talk to your employer about what kinds of restaurant management group training they will either pay or reimburse you for, including membership fees in trade associations.

Food service management companies offer many valuable services to restaurants, hotels and schools and universities. A restaurant management group can help both new and existing restaurants establish a firm client base, improve sales, boost staff moral and enhance overall customer satisfaction. However, these services do not come cheap and are out of the price range of many small, independently-owned eateries.

Restaurant management companies can help restaurants, as well as other hospitality businesses, identify and solve problem areas within their businesses, as well as design a program to increase sales and profits. A restaurant management group can help in the following areas:

1. Recruiting and training

2. Cost control

3. Marketing and advertising

4. Purchasing programs

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get your new restaurant up and running with a restaurant management company

A restaurant management company can help prospective restaurant owners with all the preliminary work of opening a new restaurant. A restaurant management firm can do everything from a site selection and analysis to finding that perfect location or helping write and design the menu.

I recommend: The qualified staff at Restaurant Experts can put together an entire restaurant start-up plan, detailing each area of development and design for a new restaurant.

Gain a competitive edge with a restaurant management firm

As the restaurant sector continues to grow, there is more and more competition to stay on top of industry trends. Consulting a restaurant management corporation is one way to help stay abreast of the competition. Restaurant companies deal with helping existing restaurants analyze their entire operation and can make suggestions for increasing profitability. They can create new food and beverage order methods, calculate menu profit and help create new marketing strategies and ad campaigns.

I recommend: One restaurant management company who works with both new and existing restaurants is Creative Dining Services, which offers recipe and menu development, labor and payroll analysis, as well as floor plan and seating designs.

Cafeteria management is made easy with food service management companies

Restaurant management companies also include cafeteria management companies, which oversee large-scale operations in hotels, universities and large businesses. These companies provide a full-scale catering operation, integrating nutrition, good food and attractive presentation, all designed to appeal to customers, students and employees.

I recommend: Aramark is a leading cafeteria management company. They offer both large- and small-scale catering options, ideal for everything from a benefit dinner to a business luncheon. Bon Appetite Management is bringing an earth-friendly touch to the big business of cafeteria dining. Their eco-friendly products and sustainable foods are leaving big impressions on customers, but a small impression on the environment.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you are thinking of starting a restaurant in an unfamiliar area, it is a very good idea to have a feasibility study done first by a professional food service management company.

Restaurant companies change with the times. And as the landscape surrounding foodservice management companies continues to evolve, following technological and financial forces, you have to keep up with restaurant management services to remain competitive and make sure you’re getting the most up to date products. If you work in the industry, the food service management industry should be followed closely so that you can make the best presentations and know what your competitors are doing.

Follow the trends that are affecting restaurant management group developments in a variety of ways. Read restaurant management group publications that can keep you updated with news and information. Subscribe to white papers and foodservice management articles. Take advantage of food and beverage management trade groups that keep members apprised of news and trends. Look for restaurant management companies news and trends in a number of ways.

1. Get email alerts and restaurant management company newsletters

2. Participate in associations for restaurant management companies

3. Subscribe to magazines for restaurant operating companies

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get alerts about restaurant management corporation news

Set up a separate email account to get email alerts, RSS feeds and industry newsletters that will send you news as it happens, the latest trend pieces and information about what the major industry players are up to. Check this email daily so you don't miss out on important news.

I recommend: Read Nation’s Restaurant News to keep up with all the breaking news and management trends going on. News Zoom follows the news across the country and complies it all together in one site for restaurant management updates.

Join food service management groups

Association with other professionals in the same field will provide you with an inside track to news, often before it hits the press. Get involved with your trade association and take advantage of the networking opportunities to develop relationships as well as the group's newsletters and communication vehicles.

I recommend: Keep up with the most important news and emerging trends that are driving the industry through your membership in the National Restaurant Association. Industry news for restaurant management companies is closely followed for members by the National Council of Chain Restaurants.

Read about the latest food and beverage management trends

Take time to read in-depth reports and magazines that cover the industry further than the headlines. Often the best information that can help drive your own business decisions comes from investigative reporting and research articles that take a deeper look into industry issues.

I recommend: Restaurant News is updated daily to keep managers and owners in the loop with the latest news. Restaurants & Institutions is a great source for restaurant management company executives and owners to keep up with the inside scoop.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Encourage your staff to read publications and websites that can bring even more news about restaurant management services. Make it fun by giving a prize to the team member who comes up with the best news tidbit each month.

Restaurant management companies provide a wide range of services to restaurant owners. They may be hired to choose a site and develop a restaurant's concept and menu. Some restaurant management companies also develop operational handbooks and employee training programs. If you're opening a restaurant, or need help managing a business that's up and running, learning some key terms can help you navigate which types of services a restaurant management company offers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Concept development

Concept development happens in the beginning, when developers decide on a theme and price point for their business. Based on these decisions, they'll develop a marketing strategy, design a menu, and plan the decor, employee uniforms, music, and other aspects that'll make up the identity of your restaurant.

I recommend: Quantified Marketing Group provides comprehensive concept development services.

Operational audits and analysis

When management companies are called in to improve a restaurant that's already running, they need to get a handle on how things stand before they can recommend improvements. Operational audits provide managers and consultants with a picture of a restaurant's overall efficiency.

I recommend: National Restaurant Consultants analyzes financial and operational factors, including vendors, operations, human resources and marketing, to come up with a plan to increase profits.

Cost control techniques

Controlling food and beverage costs is a key issue in the restaurant industry. Most cost control techniques focus on minimizing waste through a combination of smart purchasing and menu planning.

I recommend: The Food Cost Control Blog has a lot of tips on maximizing purchasing efficiency, and by extension, profits.

Operation manuals and employee training

Some restaurant management companies develop operation procedures, write manuals, then ensure that employees are trained and adhering to rules and regulations.

I recommend: Topserve Consulting trains front house staff.

Marketing programs or solutions

To turn a profit, a restaurant needs to build and maintain a solid customer base. Some restaurant management companies specialize in marketing programs targeting the segment of the population most likely to appreciate the food and concept of your restaurant.

I recommend: Restaurant Report has an article on how managers can stretch their marketing dollars.

Site selection

Restaurant management companies hired to develop a concept may also be involved in selecting the restaurant's location, or site. A good site has a rent or mortgage that the owner/operator thinks she can afford, and gets good traffic flow, among other factors.

I recommend: Realtor.org has a brief guide to site selection.