Domain:

Atomistic Skill:

1
1.5

Communicating
Writing

Skill:
I can write so that I can produce reports, schedules, emails, meeting
agendas, inventory reports, and staffing guidelines.
Level:
Well enough to have produced more than 1,200 daily reports and
emails, 260 weekly schedules, daily staffing guidelines for 3.5 years, and a training
guideline that was instituted in the complete region around and including Knoxville,
TN.
Conditions:
Computer, printer, paper, and network connection.
Scheduling software.
Email software
Point of sale POS software
Food and beverage sales
Servers and kitchen staff.
Notebook, pens, pencils, markers
Cash deposit bags and slips
Company sales goals and staffing goals
Inventory software
Knowledge: If I Know
Merriam-Webster defines writing as: 1. the act or process of one who writes: as
a: the act or art of forming visible letters or characters; specifically: <HANDWRITING> 2:
something written: as a : letters or characters that serve as visible signs of ideas, words,
or symbols b : a letter, note, or notice used to communicate or record
Troy University defines Business writing as workplace or technical writing: Definition of
Technical Writing: Writing that transfers information about a situation, product, service,
or concept to audiences of varying levels of technical knowledge, so that each member
of the audience clearly understands the message.
The role of guest service coordinator requires writing in multiple formats. I must
write to inform servers and other staff of their goals and opportunities for improvement.
I must also write reports daily to relay information to other managers, district managers
and corporate executives. Writing in the restaurant business also calls for knowledge of
terminology that only restaurant workers recognize. Knowing the meaning and using
the terms correctly is essential to writing effective emails and reports to posting daily
sales reports on the communications board. Because the guest service coordinator is
involved with all aspects of the service of the store it is mandatory that I know how to
communicate in writing to the group I am speaking. Daily memos are posted to notify
servers of their performance from the previous day and their accumulated totals of the
week and month. I must also write reports to the kitchen staff and kitchen manager
about items that were spoiled, prepared incorrectly, and over produced items. Nightly I
must write and email to the district manager with the days sales, food losses, customer
complaints, and promotional items that were sold. For the closing of the store I write out
BAAS PLA 12/05/12

Somerville, Hunter

Writing

the cash deposit bag and deposit slip, notes about the shift in the managers log, and
record food outages for the morning staff.
My duty as guest service coordinator was writing schedules for all of the front of
house staff. Front of house is as the name implies, anyone that doesnt work in the
kitchen. To ensure adequate coverage of staff on holidays and others days that are
historically busy, I must write out days that cannot be requested off. In order to write the
schedule I must obtain the companys allowed number or hours for my department and
allocate them to the corresponding days. I write in the requested shifts that servers
want to be off in pencil. Writing a schedule can be complicated and if not prepared
properly would create a shortage of staffing on busy days and an overage of staffing on
slower days. If a server has requested to be off work on a busy day and there is no
other server to cover, their request is denied. Completion of the schedule requires
writing to cover per company required service staff on a given day. No one can work
over 40 hours and should not work more than six days in a row. If I do not write an
effective schedule employees will get burned out and quit or the other possibility is
someone may receive overtime which will cost the company money.
Writing in a restaurant is a continual process and involves electronic writing and
hand-writing as ways to convey the message. Servers must write down guests orders
and then enter them into the point of sale computer. I must ensure that the server is
writing down the order correctly for it to be entered into the computer correctly. The
writing in the computer is abbreviated and everyone must learn the language. In
addition the other language of restaurants is different and the use of this language is
daily. For instance when I post the daily reports of how the restaurant has performed
and how each server has performed, I have a list of acronyms that I use. When we
have new employees or new items on the menu, I check the CBT report to see where
we stand on training completion. CBT is computer based training. The staff member
completes their CBTs on the MICROS and they also clock in/out and enter their orders
on this machine. MICROS is short for Modular Integrated Cash Register Operating
Systems. When I am writing the server schedule and assigning sections for the day, I
write the totals from the GHI on the daily staffing sheet. GHI is the Guest Hospitality
Index that reports how well our store did for the previous day and separates out each
server. The servers must meet certain goals. I use the performance indicator of PGA
which is Per Guest Average which is how much each guest spends. I also use the Tip%
evaluator as well as specific sales tracker of star rating that is calculated by the
computer. The higher the PGA and Tip% the higher their star rating in which I write
them into the better sections with higher volume of guests. This process is known as
writing the seating grid.
When I schedule a training session, I must write the schedule in a way that does
not allow them to get overtime and will have the most effective schedule of people on
the floor. I prepare for training sessions by writing a brief outline from the managers
communication log of opportunities of improvement. I go to the staff and get feedback
from the highest earners and other star performers. I then write my agenda and write
handouts for each employee. I must write in a way that conveys the message that I
want to achieve and that will improve the opportunity areas. Writing bullet point
statements usually works best with servers and I write it in a format that will fit in their
server book that they carry daily. All training that is written and delivered to the staff
must be approved by the general manager and district manager. If the training is
effective and cost efficient the training will be used in other stores that have similar
situations.
BAAS PLA 12/05/12

Somerville, Hunter

Writing