How to set SMART restaurant goals

A sound restaurant owner probably has a business plan that includes things like menu items, dining experience, loyalty programs, how to get new customers, and how to increase sales. A business plan helps people see the vision of the restaurant and makes sure people are aligned. What gets missed when business plans are created are proper goals. And not just any goals, but SMART goals. Now, we know that goal setting acronym won’t be new to everyone. So, in this article, we won’t just be showing you how to create SMART goals for restaurants. We’ll also be sharing: 

• How the SMART goal methodology helps restaurant managers and owners 

• 4 tips to create and actually achieve your SMART goals for restaurants

• Examples of good SMART goals for a restaurant preparing for 2024

But, first, let’s start with the question you need to know the answer to for any of that to make sense! 

What Are SMART Goals for Restaurants?

SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Let’s look at each component in detail as we build out an example of an excellent SMART goal for restaurants!

Specific

Vague goals are uninspiring. So, you need to make sure your restaurant business goal includes the specific outcome you hope to see.

For example, instead of writing “we are going to increase revenue,” which is broad and general, consider “we are going to increase monthly revenue.” By adding “monthly,” you know exactly where you’ll be focusing your attention when going after this goal.

But, as we’re sure you can imagine, that’s not enough. Your goal also needs to be…  

Measurable

Increasing monthly revenue sounds good. But what will determine that you’ve achieved it? Is a $1 increase in revenue enough for you to feel accomplished? Probably not! A measurable metric will help.

Going back to the example, you can make that goal measurable by changing it to “we are going to increase monthly revenue by 15%.” With that small addition, you’ll be able to easily determine whether you’re achieving your goal or not.

Of course, this goal is still not good if it’s not... 

Attainable

Is increasing your monthly revenue by 15% a realistic goal for your restaurant? If not, you’ll need to make some changes. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself and your staff up for failure. Not ideal! 

To make sure your goal is attainable, look into your past performance. For example, if your monthly revenue has been increasing at a steady rate of 10%, going after 15% is probably attainable with the right strategy. Going after a 50% increase...? Probably not. 

But even if it is attainable, is this goal relevant to what really matters for your restaurant? 

Relevant

There’s no point in increasing your revenue by 15% if that goal isn’t relevant to the current needs of your business. You may have more important things to worry about.  

Some questions that can help you to determine the relevancy of your goals are:

• Is this the right time to focus on this goal?

• Is this applicable to the current socio-economic situation?

• Is this part of our long-term vision?

If you answer “yes” to those questions, then you should probably write that goal down for 2024. But don’t give yourself the whole year to achieve it. Avoid procrastination by making it...

Timely

The last thing you need to make this an excellent goal is a deadline. By when would you like to see that monthly revenue goal? If you set it too far ahead in the future, you remove the sense of urgency that pushes you to achieve it. But if you set it too soon, you may not give yourself enough time.

For example, you can add timeliness to your goal by revising it to be, “we are going to increase monthly revenue by 15% by the end of the second quarter.”

Setting a timely goal like that one will also help you to map the timeline and break the goal down into smaller, achievable milestones!

How the SMART Goal Methodology Helps Restaurant Managers and Owners

Why go through all those steps just to set restaurant goals for the new year? Well, as a restaurant manager or owner, using the SMART goal methodology can help you:

• Have a clear direction. It’s easier for you and your staff to focus on the right things throughout the year with goals that are relevant to your business strategy.

• Increase motivation among staff. Regularly achieving relevant goals can boost morale and encourage your employees to work harder to achieve the next milestones. 

• Determine metrics to evaluate progress. Measurable goals make it easy to determine if you’re making progress and evaluate which employees are contributing to that progress. 

• Support your business vision and mission. At the end of the year, you’ll have a better idea of what did and didn’t work, making it easier to set even bigger goals for years to come.

How to Set and Achieve SMART Restaurant Goals for 2023

Now that you have learned about this goal-setting methodology and how it can help your restaurant succeed in 2023, it’s time to create your own SMART goals! You’ll do that in step 1. And in steps 2-4, you’ll take action to make sure you actually achieve them.

#1 Write Down Your Goals and Make Them SMART

Start by writing a rough list of your short term and long term goals. It’s okay if, initially, your goals are vague or uninspiring. You can use the SMART method to eventually create better goals. For example, a goal to “recruit more staff” might become “Hire 10 additional staff members by the end of March 2024.” Or if you’re tasked with boosting your marketing strategy you could say “have marketing strategy up and running by end of month.”

That goal is now specific and measurable as you aim to get 10 new employees. It’s also attainable with the right hiring strategy . Given the current labor shortage , it’s also likely to be a relevant goal. Lastly, it’s timely because you can determine whether you’ve achieved the goal at the end of March.

Go through this process for all of the goals you write down. Then, move on to step #2!

#2 Share Your Restaurant Goals with Your Team

After coming up with your SMART goals, share and discuss them with your team. After all, you’ll need your team to get the tasks moving! So, it’s important to get their buy-in.

In this process, team members might also have feedback that you may want to take into consideration. Document any changes to the goals and share them with everyone involved. This is also a great way to build a strong company culture !

#3 Create an Action Plan

Once your goals are set, you need to plan the tasks that you and your employees need to do to achieve that goal. You can even run a brainstorming session with everyone to get their input.

For example, someone might suggest that you start using recruiting software to improve the hiring process !

The plan should also cover the following questions:

• What specific tasks need to be done?

• Who will be responsible for the steps?

• When should those actions be completed?

And guess what! You can even use the SMART methodology when assigning tasks for each point of your action plan. 

#4 Schedule Date to Follow Up and Review

It’s not enough to have your SMART restaurant goals and action plan. It’s also important to track the progress.

When the deadlines of each goal arrive, set aside some time to review what works and what doesn’t. This will help you find areas for improvement and know when it’s time to celebrate success. 

2024 SMART Goals for Restaurants Examples 

If you’re still not sure of what type of goals to set for 2024, we’re here to help provide some inspiration! Here are five examples of SMART goals that cover different aspects of running a restaurant.

1. Finances: “Lower business costs by 8% before the end of March 2024.”

2. Service quality: “Decrease wait time for take-out orders by 5% before summer.”

3. Marketing: “Improve Google customer review rating by ½ star by Easter.”

4. Employee retention: “Reduce turnover rate by 35% by end of the third quarter in 2024.”

5. Hiring: “Onboard three new top-level employees with at least 3 years of experience by the end of February 2024.”

Key Takeaways 

You can and should use SMART restaurant goals to help your restaurant thrive in 2024! These types of goals will help you set clear expectations for your staff, determine the metrics of success, increase team morale, and set even better goals in the future.

As a reminder, SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. 

Once you’ve created your SMART goals using the steps we’ve shared in this article, make sure to also share them with your team for feedback, create action plans, and schedule times to review your progress. If you get stuck while creating your goals, use the examples we’ve shared here for inspiration!

And, if you’re not sure how to create the action plans that accompany those goals, check out the rest of our resource section where we share tips on topics like how to reduce your business costs and hire top-quality hourly employees !