First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in preparing and serving food.

  • Perform various financial activities, such as cash handling, deposit preparation, and payroll.
  • Resolve customer complaints regarding food service.
  • Compile and balance cash receipts at the end of the day or shift.
  • Present bills and accept payments.
  • Inspect supplies, equipment, and work areas to ensure efficient service and conformance to standards.
  • Perform food preparation and serving duties, such as carving meat, preparing flambe dishes, or serving wine and liquor.
  • Train workers in food preparation, and in service, sanitation, and safety procedures.
  • Supervise and participate in kitchen and dining area cleaning activities.
  • Perform personnel actions, such as hiring and firing staff, providing employee orientation and training, and conducting supervisory activities, such as creating work schedules or organizing employee time sheets.
  • Control inventories of food, equipment, smallware, and liquor, and report shortages to designated personnel.
  • Assign duties, responsibilities, and work stations to employees in accordance with work requirements.
  • Specify food portions and courses, production and time sequences, and workstation and equipment arrangements.
  • Record production, operational, and personnel data on specified forms.
  • Observe and evaluate workers and work procedures to ensure quality standards and service, and complete disciplinary write-ups.
  • Estimate ingredients and supplies required to prepare a recipe.
  • Analyze operational problems, such as theft and wastage, and establish procedures to alleviate these problems.
  • Forecast staff, equipment, and supply requirements, based on a master menu.
  • Recommend measures for improving work procedures and worker performance to increase service quality and enhance job safety.
  • Develop equipment maintenance schedules and arrange for repairs.
  • Greet and seat guests, and present menus and wine lists.
  • Purchase or requisition supplies and equipment needed to ensure quality and timely delivery of services.
  • Develop departmental objectives, budgets, policies, procedures, and strategies.
  • Conduct meetings and collaborate with other personnel for menu planning, serving arrangements, and related details.
  • Evaluate new products for usefulness and suitability.
  • Schedule parties and take reservations.
  • Assess nutritional needs of patients, plan special menus, supervise the assembly of regular and special diet trays, and oversee the delivery of food trolleys to hospital patients.
Work Context
  • Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — 100% responded "Every day".
  • Contact With Others — 86% responded "Constant contact with others".
  • Physical Proximity — 82% responded "Very close (near touching)".
  • Deal With External Customers — 80% responded "Extremely important".
  • Work With Work Group or Team — 72% responded "Extremely important".
  • Frequency of Decision Making — 75% responded "Every day".
  • Responsibility for Outcomes and Results — 60% responded "Very high responsibility".
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Work Activities
  • Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Guiding, Directing, and Motivating Subordinates — Providing guidance and direction to subordinates, including setting performance standards and monitoring performance.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Coordinating the Work and Activities of Others — Getting members of a group to work together to accomplish tasks.
  • Monitor Processes, Materials, or Surroundings — Monitoring and reviewing information from materials, events, or the environment, to detect or assess problems.
  • Coaching and Developing Others — Identifying the developmental needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or otherwise helping others to improve their knowledge or skills.
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Detailed Work Activities
  • Manage food service operations or parts of operations.
  • Clean food preparation areas, facilities, or equipment.
  • Monitor food services operations to ensure procedures are followed.
  • Perform human resources activities.
  • Train food preparation or food service personnel.
  • Perform human resources activities.
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Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
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Skills

Speaking
  • Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Coordination
  • Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Monitoring
  • Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Active Listening
  • Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
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Abilities

Oral Comprehension
  • The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression
  • The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Problem Sensitivity
  • The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning
  • The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
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Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include ideas, thinking, and figuring things out.
They do well at jobs that need:
  • Achievement/Effort
  • Persistence
  • Initiative
  • Leadership
  • Cooperation
  • Concern for Others
  • Social Orientation
  • Self Control
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Technology

You might use software like this on the job:

Human resources software
  • ADP Workforce Now Hot Technology
  • SoftCafe ScheduleWriter
Word processing software
  • Microsoft Word Hot Technology
  • Evernote
Project management software
  • Microsoft Project Hot Technology
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Education

Get started on your career:

Job Outlook

New job opportunities are very likely in the future.
Salary
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