Career profile for Food Service Manager

What does a Food Service Manager do?

Food Service Managers plan, direct, or coordinate activities of an organization or department that serves food and beverages.

What kind of tasks does a Food Service Manager perform regularly?

Food Service Managers are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

Keep records required by government agencies regarding sanitation or food subsidies.
Maintain food and equipment inventories, and keep inventory records.
Investigate and resolve complaints regarding food quality, service, or accommodations.
Monitor food preparation methods, portion sizes, and garnishing and presentation of food to ensure that food is prepared and presented in an acceptable manner.
Schedule and receive food and beverage deliveries, checking delivery contents to verify product quality and quantity.
Coordinate assignments of cooking personnel to ensure economical use of food and timely preparation.
Count money and make bank deposits.
Monitor compliance with health and fire regulations regarding food preparation and serving, and building maintenance in lodging and dining facilities.
Perform some food preparation or service tasks, such as cooking, clearing tables, and serving food and drinks when necessary.
Greet guests, escort them to their seats, and present them with menus and wine lists.
Establish standards for personnel performance and customer service.
Test cooked food by tasting and smelling it to ensure palatability and flavor conformity.
Schedule staff hours and assign duties.
Arrange for equipment maintenance and repairs, and coordinate a variety of services, such as waste removal and pest control.
Review menus and analyze recipes to determine labor and overhead costs, and assign prices to menu items.
Organize and direct worker training programs, resolve personnel problems, hire new staff, and evaluate employee performance in dining and lodging facilities.
Review work procedures and operational problems to determine ways to improve service, performance, or safety.
Order and purchase equipment and supplies.
Assess staffing needs and recruit staff, using methods such as newspaper advertisements or attendance at job fairs.
Record the number, type, and cost of items sold to determine which items may be unpopular or less profitable.

The above responsibilities are specific to Food Service Managers. More generally, Food Service Managers are involved in several broader types of activities:

Activities	Importance	Details
Performing for or Working Directly with the Public		Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Getting Information		Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Working with Computers		Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates		Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Training and Teaching Others		Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public

Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Getting Information

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Working with Computers

Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.

Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates

Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.

Training and Teaching Others

Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.

What is a Food Service Manager salary?

The median salary for a Food Service Manager is $56,590, and the average salary is $61,000. Both the median and average roughly describe the middle of the Food Service Manager salary range, but the average is more easily affected by extremely high or low salaries.

Many Food Service Managers earn significantly more or less than the average, due to several factors. About 10% of Food Service Managers earn less than $33,880 per year, 25% earn less than $43,580, 75% earn less than $73,330, and 90% earn less than $94,770.

Between the years of 2020 and 2030, the number of Food Service Managers is expected to change by 14.9%, and there should be roughly 41,400 open positions for Food Service Managers every year.

Median annual salary: $56,590
Typical salary range: $33,880 - $94,770
Projected growth (2020 - 2030): 14.9%

What personality traits are common among Food Service Managers?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Food Service Manager are usually higher in their Enterprising, Conventional, and Realistic interests.

Food Service Managers typically have very strong Enterprising interests. Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Also, Food Service Managers typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Lastly, Food Service Managers typically have moderate Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Food Service Managers typically have moderate Social interests. Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Food Service Manager tend to value Independence, Relationships, and Support.

Most importantly, Food Service Managers strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Second, Food Service Managers moderately value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Lastly, Food Service Managers moderately value Support. Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Food Service Managers must consistently demonstrate qualities such as dependability, leadership, and self-control.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Food Service Managers, ranked by importance:

Demands	Importance	Details
Dependability		Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Leadership		Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
Self-Control		Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Cooperation		Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Stress Tolerance		Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

Dependability

Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.

Leadership

Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.

Self-Control

Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.

Cooperation

Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.

Stress Tolerance

Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high-stress situations.

What education and training do Food Service Managers need?

Working as a Food Service Manager usually requires a high school diploma.

Food Service Managers need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with this occupation.

Educational degrees among Food Service Managers

9.2% did not complete high school or secondary school
28.5% completed high school or secondary school
26.2% completed some college coursework
9.9% earned a Associate's degree
21.9% earned a Bachelor's degree
3.5% earned a Master's degree
0.7% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Food Service Managers

Food Service Managers may benefit from understanding of specialized subject areas, such as customer and personal service, administration and management, or personnel and human resources knowledge.

The list below shows several areas in which most Food Service Managers might want to build proficiency, ranked by importance.

Knowledge areas	Importance	Details
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.
Administration and Management		Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Personnel and Human Resources		Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing		Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Food Production		Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

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.

Administration and Management

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Personnel and Human Resources

Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Production and Processing

Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Food Production

Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

Important Abilities needed by Food Service Managers

Food Service Managers must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Food Service Managers need abilities such as oral comprehension, oral expression, and problem sensitivity in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Food Service Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Abilities	Importance	Details
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 that there is a problem.
Written Comprehension		The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Deductive Reasoning		The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

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 that there is a problem.

Written Comprehension

The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Deductive Reasoning

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Critical Skills needed by Food Service Managers

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Food Service Managers frequently use skills like service orientation, active listening, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Food Service Managers, ranked by their relative importance.

Skills	Importance	Details
Service Orientation		Actively looking for ways to help people.
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.
Speaking		Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Monitoring		Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Management of Personnel Resources		Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

Service Orientation

Actively looking for ways to help people.

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.

Speaking

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Monitoring

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Management of Personnel Resources

Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

If you have any questions or suggestions about this information, please send a message.

Career profile Food Service Manager

Food Service Manager

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