Proposal to create an Employee Manual for the Biz Caf By Hanna Gustrin

Executive Summary Introduction

The Biz Caf is a very popular and busy place, increasingly since the UNT Union was torn down, and the Biz Caf stands as the lone supplier of good coffee and grab-and-go food on that side of campus. Since we have prospered so much, we have had to change a lot of things to improve the structure and make things run more smoothly. While they absolutely do, there is an ongoing transition process which results in a lot of confusion among the employees. None of the workers know the exact recipes, procedures, or systems of organization anymore. We are given different instructions from different managers, and the communication between the coffee shop and you in the main office, is affected by the distance between the two, as they are located in different buildings. This is why I am proposing the solution of writing an extensive employee manual for you, which will cover absolutely everything a worker needs to know. It will contain all recipes, all procedures, all machine manuals, all cleaning instructions, all closing instructions, etc. My idea is that you can keep the manual in the back room, hanging on the wall. If an employee ever has a question, he or she can simply look it up right there, and the risk of receiving a different answer depending on who is working, is eliminated.

Problem definition
The main part of the problem at the Biz Caf arises from the fact that it is not its own entity, but actually run by you at the UNT Retail and Dining Services Department. The coffee shop is a small part of something bigger, with the main office located in a completely different building, The Food Pavilion. A wide range of communication issues arises from this, especially between the different managers. At the coffee shop, the only manager who actually works on the floor with the employees is Amy. She has an inside view of what is going on at the coffee shop and what is needed there. The employees also get a lot of different directives from the other managers, who work with you at the Food Pavilion, and actually work above Amy. They look at the big picture and have to compare the needs of the coffee shop with those of the other, larger, entities of UNT Retail and Dining Services, such as for instance the dormitory building cafeterias. The problem with comparing the coffee shop to the other entities is that it is a completely different environment. A small Starbucks-serving coffee shop is not supposed to be run the same way as for instance the Kerr Hall cafeteria, or the Food Pavilion. The managers working under you at the Food Pavilion often let us know what we have to change about certain procedures. An example is when they told us we have to keep the cups for the fountain drinks in the back room instead of right by the machine. Before, customers could simply pay and go grab their own cup. They were quickly out of the line, giving way for the next customer. Keeping the cups in the back room requires the cashier to leave the register, make way through the usually crowded working area, and find a cup in the back. The hassle is more than we time for when we are busy and four people are making drinks behind the cashier, which is why Amy told us the next day to put the cups back by the machine. Since not all employees were working at the time, some were not informed, and some are still confused and put the cups in the wrong spot.

All these different commands has made organization a constant struggle this semester. As we are a lot busier lately, we have extended our inventory and our menu. One week we were suddenly making several new drinks that we had never seen before. The recipes were written down on little loose notes and of course they were lost within a few days. With so many changes, all the written information such as machine manuals, drink recipes, and general instructions for procedures, are all scattered, changed and/or non-existent. Not all problems arising from this can be handled without customers noticing, which hurts our business more than anything. A frequent problem we are unable to hide from customers is when the espresso machine breaks down. Due to insufficient maintenance, it has become a very unreliable machine. It breaks down most days, usually because someone did not clean it properly or because it was incorrectly put back together after cleaning. Our menu shrinks to fractions of what it is supposed to be when are unable to make espresso. Sometimes we can fix it within a reasonable time span, but since we do not have a manual for it anymore it is always a gamble, and other times we are not that lucky. We lose a lot of customers because of this. I know there is a backup manual at the office in the Food Pavilion, but it needs to be copied and brought over to the coffee shop. If we had a proper manual with all instructions for everything, including the manual for the espresso machine, all of these problems could be avoided. The espresso machine would get properly handled, all employees would know exactly where everything goes, and the managers could together decide on persistent solutions for anything that needs to be discussed, as I would consult all of them.

Problem solution
I realize that communication will always be tricky, especially when part of the business is located so far away from the main office. My proposition for solving this problem is that I will write you this complete employee manual to be kept at the coffee shop. I will sit all the managers down and talk to all of them about how they would like to run things. Any compromises reached and decisions made will be printed into the manual and will be considered final. I have already talked to the three of the five managers that are most involved with the Biz Caf, and they are willing to meet with me and discuss. I will include all the instructions to all the machines in the manual, copying the ones I know we have at the main office. I will also write instructions for all procedures, such as how to make whipped cream and frappuccino mix, how to check the pH-value of the sanitizer water, and how to fill up ice and drain the ice box, etc. I will include all policies for cashiers, stating for example that we are not allowed to accept any bills worth above fifty dollars, and explaining how the coupon system works. All recipes for all drinks will be given their own section, as well as nutrition information for all products. What I will write will be completely comprehensive, and I will use pictures to further explain anything that needs it. The manual will work as a perfect point of reference whenever any employee is unsure of anything. The fact that I will discuss with the managers things that still require decision-making will eliminate the issue of vague and varying instructions from different sources. The manual will serve as the only source needed and it will make it easier for you to run the business, as the managers below you will stop bothering you for consultation about little things such as where the cups should go in the caf. Things will run more smoothly on their own, and a lot less time will be wasted trying to maintain an everyday standard.

Proposed solution
I will have the finished complete employee manual ready on your desk on April 24. The chart below shows the schedule I will follow to succeed with finishing the manual by the deadline.

17-Mar Obtain instructions & manuals Review data and develop outline Collect drink recipes Write recipe section Write instructions & manuals sections Take all pictures necessary Edit and insert all pictures Write procedures section Finish up all other sections Meet with managers and discuss Edit, review & polish

27-Mar

6-Apr

16-Apr

26-Apr

Qualifications
I will write the employee manual, as I have actually written something similar once before, although not quite as systematic and expansive. When I worked as an instructor at a sailing summer camp in Sweden, I volunteered to reorganize the little kitchen on the ship. I wrote several pages of instructions to leave in the kitchen to maintain the order and functioning condition of all equipment. I then created a work schedule for the thirty-five people who would be engaging in kitchen activities, giving them specific times and positions. It was a very successful project, and the captain of the ship decided to keep the whole concept for future camp sessions. When I first brought up the idea of the Biz Caf manual to Amy, she immediately engaged in the project. As I have been the employee closing the coffee shop most regularly this year, I hold more knowledge about the maintenance procedures than any other cashier. Since some of the cashiers were transferred to other entities and a lot of new people were hired this semester, I am now considered one of the older and more reliable workers, which is why Amy has trained me to know all the machines inside and out. She believes this manual is a good idea because she knows I will be able to make it just as thorough and extensive as the situation calls for. Having already persuaded the managers Amy Rose, Peter Pajak, and Corlis Johnson to meet with me, I have created an opportunity for them to make and record a lot of executive decisions, which will make the creation of a manual a lot easier.

Budget
I have contacted CopyPro Copy Center, located on 1300 W Hickory Street in Denton, and received a cost estimate for the creation of the manual. I estimated the manual to 50 pages. Printing and binding 50 pages of text and pictures (in color): $29.50. Lamination of 50 pages: $49.25. Total cost: $78.75.

Considering that the manual will be kept in a coffee shop area, which is a restaurant environment, lamination of the pages is essential. The manual without lamination would not last more than a week around all the syrups, coffee, sanitizer water, bleach, etc. The total cost of the manual will be $78.75.

Conclusion
The employee I am proposing to write for you will eliminate a lot of your daily problems. You will not have to be involved in issues your subordinates should be able to handle themselves, as these things will have already been resolved and set in ink within the manual. Your time spent on the Biz Caf can instead be spent on the bigger entities that are in greater need of it. As the caf business will run efficiently on its own the main office will not have to put in so much effort into it. This proposal offers a second source of information, and the stress relief that comes with it. I would be honored to create this manual, as I can accomplish creating a better employee environment, and improve the business. I want to be able to work with the main office effortlessly, and this manual will be a huge step in that direction. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me and I will gladly listen to any input. My contact information is:

Hanna Gustrin HannaGustrin@my.unt.edu (214) 300-9382 1221 West Oak Street Denton, TX 76201