How to Use the Restaurant Assistant Manager Onboarding Template

Why structured restaurant assistant manager onboarding matters

An assistant manager who isn't properly onboarded becomes a passenger. They hover at the edges of service, unsure when to step in and when to step back. They make decisions based on their last job's policies instead of yours. And the team — who need clear, confident leadership — quickly learns to work around them rather than with them.

The assistant manager role is uniquely demanding because it touches everything. They need to understand service standards, financial reporting, staff management, inventory control, and crisis response. They need to build authority with the team while respecting the existing hierarchy. They need to be hands-on enough to jump in during a rush but strategic enough to see the bigger picture. That's a lot to absorb without a structured programme.

This template breaks the first week into five focused days, each building on the last. Day 1 covers the building and the team. Day 2 is about service. Day 3 introduces the numbers. Day 4 develops people management skills. And Day 5 prepares them for the unexpected while setting the direction for their first three months. The assessment questions and success indicators at the end of each day give you a clear picture of progress and flag any gaps early.

Day 1: Operational Overview and Team Integration

The first day establishes the foundation for everything that follows. Your new assistant manager needs to understand the physical operation, meet the people they'll be leading, and grasp the management principles that guide your restaurant before they can contribute meaningfully.

Restaurant Systems and Layout Orientation

Why this matters: An assistant manager who knows the building inside out moves with purpose and confidence. They know which section is most efficient for a server working alone, where the stock room bottlenecks during a delivery, and how the kitchen communicates with the pass. This spatial awareness is the foundation for every operational decision they'll make.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk every area of the restaurant together during a quiet period: dining room, bar, kitchen, storage, offices, and staff areas — explain how each space functions during different service periods
• Demonstrate the systems they'll use daily: POS (at manager level), reservation platform, internal communication tools, and any scheduling software
• Walk through the full service cycle from opening prep through closing procedures, explaining management touchpoints at each stage
• Introduce the organisational chart and explain reporting lines — who they manage directly, who they report to, and where the boundaries of authority lie

Customisation tips:

• A multi-outlet operation needs the assistant manager to understand the specific outlet they're managing, with an overview of how the others operate
• If your restaurant has recently undergone refurbishment or layout changes, explain what changed and why

Team Integration and Role Clarification

Why this matters: The assistant manager's relationship with the team determines how effective they'll be. Come in too strong and the team resists. Come in too tentatively and they don't respect the authority. Getting the balance right from day one sets the tone for months to come.

How to deliver this training:

• Arrange proper introductions with the head chef, bar manager, host team lead, and senior servers — not quick handshakes, but working conversations about how each department operates and where management support is needed
• Have them shadow the current manager (or GM) through a pre-service briefing and the first hour of service, observing communication patterns, decision-making, and team dynamics
• Walk through restaurant policies together: health and safety, customer service standards, staff conduct, and dress code requirements
• Clarify the communication hierarchy — when to handle something independently, when to consult the GM, and what always needs to be escalated

Customisation tips:

• If the assistant manager is replacing someone, address this directly — the team will have opinions and the new hire needs to understand the context
• In a restaurant where the GM is frequently absent, the assistant manager's independence needs to be established more quickly

Basic Management Principles

Why this matters: Every restaurant has its own rhythm, and a good assistant manager learns to read it. Understanding the balance between guest satisfaction and operational efficiency, and recognising the early signs of a service breakdown, are the fundamentals that underpin effective management.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss the tension between guest experience and operational efficiency using real examples from your restaurant — times when one was sacrificed for the other, and what happened as a result
• Walk through common service breakdown scenarios and the early warning signs: a server falling behind, the kitchen backing up, the host stand getting overwhelmed
• Introduce your priority management approach — when three things need attention at once, how do you decide which one comes first?
• Explain the restaurant's rhythm throughout the day and week: when it's quiet, when it builds, when it peaks, and how management priorities shift at each stage

Customisation tips:

• A high-volume casual restaurant has different management priorities than a fine dining operation — calibrate the principles discussion to match your actual trading patterns
• If your restaurant has distinct day and evening service characters, explain how the management approach changes between them

Assessment Questions

Use these questions to check understanding at the end of Day 1. Have an informal conversation — the goal is to identify any gaps in operational knowledge or team integration before Day 2 introduces service management.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Ask them to walk you through the restaurant layout and explain how different areas function during service
• Check whether they can describe the communication systems and when to use each one
• Look for evidence that they understand the reporting structure and where their authority begins and ends

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 1, your new assistant manager should be showing comfort in the environment and appropriate confidence in their interactions with the team. If they're holding back from engaging with staff or seem unclear on the operational flow, address this before moving to Day 2.

Day 1 Notes

Record observations about how Day 1 went — how the new starter interacted with the team, their confidence level with systems, and any areas where additional support is needed.

Day 2: Service Standards and Floor Management

Day 2 is about the guest-facing operation. Your assistant manager needs to embody your service standards, manage the floor effectively during service, and coordinate the front-of-house team to deliver a consistent experience.

Service Standards and Guest Experience

Why this matters: The assistant manager is the standard-bearer for guest experience. If they don't know your service standards in detail — from greeting protocol to bill presentation — they can't hold the team accountable. And if they can't hold the team accountable, standards drift quickly.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your service philosophy first: what kind of experience are you trying to create, and how does every touchpoint contribute to that?
• Review your SOPs step by step, from the moment a guest walks through the door to the moment they leave, including the nuances that separate good service from great service at your restaurant
• Demonstrate your table presentation standards hands-on — settings, spacing, cleanliness checks, and the timing of service touches
• Explain your guest feedback systems: how you collect feedback, who responds, what triggers management action, and how the assistant manager fits into the response chain

Customisation tips:

• A casual dining restaurant with high turnover will focus service training on speed and consistency, while a fine dining operation emphasises attention and personalisation
• If your restaurant has recently received feedback that highlights specific service gaps, share these and discuss how the assistant manager can help address them

Reservation and Floor Management

Why this matters: Managing the floor during service is one of the most visible parts of the assistant manager's role. Getting reservations, seating, and table timing right means smooth service and happy guests. Getting it wrong creates a cascade of problems that affect the entire team.

How to deliver this training:

• Sit them down with the reservation system and walk through every function they'll use: booking management, table assignment, special requests, waitlist handling, and reporting
• Practise table management strategy together — how to balance sections, when to hold tables, how to manage walk-ins alongside reservations, and when to turn away guests
• Demonstrate wait list management: how to quote accurate wait times, how to keep guests happy while they wait, and when to offer alternatives
• Discuss service pacing: the art of managing table timing so courses flow at the right pace without rushing guests or leaving the kitchen idle

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant that relies heavily on walk-in trade needs stronger waitlist management training than one that fills through reservations
• If your restaurant uses different floor configurations for lunch versus dinner, train on both setups

Front-of-House Coordination

Why this matters: The assistant manager is the conductor of the front-of-house orchestra. They need to coordinate between the host stand, bar, dining room, and kitchen to create a seamless experience that no single team member could deliver alone.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through how to structure and deliver a pre-shift briefing: what information to cover, what tone to set, and how to keep it focused and energising
• Explain the coordination between different front-of-house areas: how the host communicates with servers about seating, how the bar coordinates with the dining room on drinks, and how the manager monitors it all
• Discuss section management: how to assign server sections fairly, how to adjust when someone is struggling, and how to deploy support staff (runners, bussers) effectively
• Practise reading the floor during a busy service: what to look for, when to intervene, and when to let the team handle things themselves

Customisation tips:

• A small restaurant where the assistant manager also serves will need different coordination skills than a large operation where they can focus purely on management
• If your restaurant has a strong bar programme that generates significant revenue, include bar coordination as a specific training point

Assessment Questions

Check these at the end of Day 2. By now your assistant manager should be able to articulate your service standards and demonstrate basic floor management capability.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Have them conduct a mock pre-shift briefing and observe their communication style, preparation, and confidence
• Watch them perform a service quality walkthrough and ask what they noticed
• Give them a hypothetical fully booked floor plan and ask them to create a seating strategy
• Role-play a guest complaint and assess their response

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 2, your assistant manager should be demonstrating a thorough understanding of your service approach and growing confidence in floor management. If they're still uncertain about the reservation system or hesitant to direct staff, schedule extra practice before moving to Day 3.

Day 2 Notes

Record how your assistant manager handled the service and floor management training — their understanding of standards, their natural leadership style, and their comfort coordinating the front-of-house team.

Day 3: Financial Management and Inventory Control

Day 3 introduces the business side of management. Your assistant manager needs to understand the numbers that drive profitability, master the POS at management level, and develop the cost-control thinking that protects your margins.

POS System and Financial Reporting

Why this matters: The POS system is the financial nerve centre of the restaurant. An assistant manager who can run end-of-day reports, process voids and comps correctly, and interpret sales data makes better decisions and catches problems faster than one who treats the POS as a glorified till.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through all management-level POS functions: voids, comps, discounts, report generation, and system configuration — explain when each is appropriate and what authorisation is needed
• Demonstrate end-of-day procedures step by step: closing out servers, reconciling payments, running daily sales reports, and banking cash
• Explain payment processing: credit card procedures, cash handling protocols, and the security measures that protect both the business and the team
• Pull up a recent P&L and walk through it line by line, explaining what each figure means and how daily management decisions affect the numbers

Customisation tips:

• Different POS systems have different management interfaces — train on your actual system, not generic concepts
• If your restaurant uses separate systems for bar and kitchen (or has a separate events POS), cover all of them

Inventory Management and Cost Control

Why this matters: Inventory and cost control are where the assistant manager directly affects profitability. A 2% improvement in food cost across a year translates to significant money, and porters who know how to count stock accurately, order efficiently, and spot waste are worth their weight in gold.

How to deliver this training:

• Demonstrate your inventory tracking system: how to count stock, record it, and reconcile against usage
• Walk through your ordering process: par levels, preferred suppliers, order schedules, approval procedures, and what to do when a supplier can't deliver
• Explain your waste tracking system and discuss reduction strategies — what constitutes acceptable waste versus a problem that needs investigation
• Cover the cost control measures that matter most at your restaurant: portion control, yield management, and the prevention of theft and giveaway

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant with a large wine programme may need separate inventory training for the beverage side
• If your restaurant uses a specific inventory management platform, train on that system directly

Operational Efficiency and Compliance

Why this matters: The assistant manager needs to understand how operational decisions connect to financial outcomes. Food cost, labour cost, and compliance with health regulations all fall within their remit, and each requires systematic management rather than occasional attention.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through food cost calculation using your actual menu: how to cost a dish, what your target food cost percentage is, and how menu engineering decisions affect profitability
• Explain labour cost management: how scheduling affects your labour percentage, what tools you use to forecast labour needs, and how to balance service quality with staffing efficiency
• Cover health department compliance: what inspectors look for, how your restaurant maintains inspection readiness, and the assistant manager's specific responsibilities
• Discuss utility costs and any sustainability initiatives your restaurant runs

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant with a fluctuating menu (seasonal changes, daily specials) needs more dynamic food cost management than one with a fixed menu
• If your restaurant is part of a group with central purchasing, explain how the ordering process works differently from an independent operation

Assessment Questions

Day 3 covers the financial literacy that separates a competent assistant manager from one who just manages service. Use these questions to check whether the numbers are landing.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Have them complete an actual inventory count and reconciliation — accuracy matters more than speed at this stage
• Ask them to analyse yesterday's sales report and tell you what they notice
• Watch them process an end-of-day reconciliation and check their work
• Present a cost control scenario and assess their problem-solving approach

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 3, your assistant manager should be showing confidence with the POS management functions and a growing understanding of financial reporting. If they're struggling with the numbers, schedule additional practice — this is too important to rush.

Day 3 Notes

Record how your assistant manager handled the financial training — their comfort with the POS, their accuracy with inventory, and their ability to connect daily operations to financial outcomes.

Day 4: Staff Management and Development

Day 4 is about people. Your assistant manager needs to build a team, manage performance, resolve conflicts, and create an environment where good people want to stay. These skills take years to master, but the foundations need to be in place from the first week.

Staff Scheduling and Labour Management

Why this matters: Scheduling is one of the assistant manager's most impactful responsibilities. Get it right and you have happy staff, well-covered services, and controlled labour costs. Get it wrong and you either bleed money on overstaffing or lose guests to understaffed, slow service.

How to deliver this training:

• Demonstrate your scheduling software and walk through the process of building a weekly schedule from scratch: forecasting demand, assigning shifts, managing requests, and publishing the schedule
• Explain how to calculate and monitor labour cost as a percentage of revenue, and what your targets are for different service periods
• Walk through employment law basics relevant to scheduling: maximum working hours, break requirements, overtime rules, and notice periods for schedule changes
• Discuss the real-world scenarios that disrupt schedules: call-outs, no-shows, shift swap requests, and last-minute events — and how to handle each one

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant with a mix of full-time and part-time staff needs different scheduling approaches than one with an entirely salaried team
• If your restaurant uses agency staff for busy periods, explain the booking process, cost implications, and quality control measures

Performance Management and Team Development

Why this matters: The assistant manager's ability to give feedback, develop talent, and address underperformance directly determines the quality of the team. Great teams don't happen by accident — they're built through consistent, fair management that holds people to high standards while investing in their growth.

How to deliver this training:

• Review the job descriptions and performance standards for each role the assistant manager oversees, so they know exactly what "good" looks like for every position
• Practise the art of feedback: how to observe performance, structure a feedback conversation, and follow up — role-play both positive recognition and constructive criticism
• Walk through your disciplinary procedures step by step: verbal warnings, written warnings, and the documentation requirements at each stage
• Discuss talent development: how to spot potential in team members, how to create development opportunities, and how to have career progression conversations

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant with a young team may need more mentoring and coaching support than one with experienced staff
• If your organisation has a formal appraisal process, walk the assistant manager through the forms and timelines

Conflict Resolution and Team Dynamics

Why this matters: Restaurants are high-pressure environments where conflicts arise regularly — between servers, between front and back of house, between staff and guests. An assistant manager who can resolve these quickly and fairly prevents small issues from becoming big problems that affect morale and service.

How to deliver this training:

• Discuss the most common sources of conflict in your restaurant and how they've been handled in the past
• Teach a simple mediation framework: hear both sides, identify the core issue, propose a fair resolution, and follow up
• Role-play managing difficult personality dynamics: the server who argues with the kitchen, the senior team member who undermines new starters, or the team members who form cliques
• Talk about building positive team culture: what the assistant manager can do daily to create an environment where people communicate openly and support each other

Customisation tips:

• A diverse team may experience cultural misunderstandings that require sensitivity and awareness — discuss how to navigate these respectfully
• If your restaurant has a history of specific team dynamics issues, address them directly so the new assistant manager isn't caught off guard

Assessment Questions

Day 4 covers the people management skills that are hardest to teach and most important to get right. Use these assessments to check whether your assistant manager is developing the leadership capabilities the role demands.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Have them build a realistic two-week schedule and explain their reasoning for staffing levels, section assignments, and time-off approvals
• Role-play a feedback conversation and assess their tone, specificity, and follow-up approach
• Ask them to develop a performance improvement plan for a hypothetical underperforming team member
• Present a team conflict scenario and observe their mediation approach

Success Indicators

By the end of Day 4, your assistant manager should be demonstrating confident people management skills. If they're uncomfortable giving feedback or uncertain about disciplinary procedures, provide additional coaching before Day 5.

Day 4 Notes

Record how your assistant manager handled the people management training — their natural leadership style, their comfort with difficult conversations, and their ability to balance empathy with accountability.

Day 5: Crisis Management and Business Development

The final day prepares your assistant manager for the unexpected while looking ahead to their contribution to the business beyond day-to-day operations. Crisis handling, marketing awareness, and professional goal setting all sit here — bringing together everything they've learned across the week.

Crisis Management and Problem Solving

Why this matters: Things go wrong in restaurants. The power goes out mid-service. A guest has an allergic reaction. Three servers call in sick on a Saturday night. An assistant manager who has thought through these scenarios in advance responds calmly and decisively instead of freezing or panicking.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your emergency procedures: medical emergencies, fire evacuation, security threats, and any location-specific risks
• Practise service recovery techniques for escalated complaints: when a standard apology isn't enough, what tools and authority does the assistant manager have?
• Discuss equipment failure contingencies: what happens when the POS goes down, when the dishwasher breaks mid-service, or when a walk-in fridge fails?
• Work through staffing emergency scenarios: how to run a service with fewer people than planned, which roles can double up, and when to reduce covers

Customisation tips:

• A city-centre restaurant may face different crisis scenarios (protests, transport disruptions) than a suburban or rural one
• If your restaurant has experienced specific crises in the past, use these as case studies — they'll be the most relevant training material

Marketing and Business Development

Why this matters: An assistant manager who understands the commercial side of the restaurant thinks differently about their daily decisions. They see upselling as revenue generation, not pestering. They see social media as a marketing channel, not a distraction. And they see private events as business opportunities, not inconveniences.

How to deliver this training:

• Walk through your marketing calendar: upcoming promotions, seasonal menus, events, and any planned marketing campaigns
• Discuss social media policy: what staff can and can't post, what kind of content the restaurant encourages, and how online reviews are managed
• Teach upselling as a team skill: how to train servers to recommend confidently, how to set upselling targets that motivate without pressuring, and how to track results
• Review your private events process: how enquiries are handled, how events are planned and staffed, and the assistant manager's role in execution

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant with a strong private dining or events programme should spend more time on this section
• If your restaurant has a marketing manager or agency, clarify how the assistant manager interacts with them

Professional Development and Goal Setting

Why this matters: An assistant manager with clear goals and a development plan stays engaged and improves faster. Setting this up in the first week sends the message that you're investing in their career, not just filling a shift rota gap.

How to deliver this training:

• Have a structured conversation about their career ambitions and how this role fits into their broader plan
• Set specific, measurable goals together — both operational KPIs (labour cost percentage, guest satisfaction scores) and development goals (completing food safety certification, leading a successful private event)
• Discuss the leadership skills they want to develop and identify practical opportunities to build them
• Share relevant industry networking, training, and professional development opportunities

Customisation tips:

• A restaurant group can offer a clearer career pathway than an independent — present whatever progression opportunities are genuinely available
• If the assistant manager has specific skill gaps (financial literacy, wine knowledge, food safety), build these into the development plan with timelines

Assessment Questions

These final assessments check whether your assistant manager is ready to operate with growing independence. Focus on their ability to handle complexity, think commercially, and maintain composure under pressure.

How to use these questions effectively:

• Have them develop a crisis response plan for a specific scenario relevant to your restaurant
• Ask them to design a short upselling training session they could deliver to the team
• Observe them handling a simulated emergency and assess their decision-making, communication, and composure
• Conduct a comprehensive review of learning from all five days, identifying strengths and areas for continued development

Success Indicators

These are the markers of an assistant manager who's ready to start contributing with growing independence. If all four are present, your onboarding has given them a strong foundation. If any are missing, extend the supported period and focus on the specific gaps.

Final Onboarding Assessment

This is the capstone of the five-day programme. Use it to bring together everything your assistant manager has learned and set the direction for their first three months.

How to deliver this assessment:

• Review the key learning points from each day together, asking the assistant manager to self-assess their confidence in each area
• Identify their strongest areas and the areas where they need the most continued support
• Build a 30-60-90 day plan together with specific, measurable goals for each milestone
• Schedule regular check-ins — weekly for the first month, fortnightly after that — to provide ongoing support and track progress

Day 5 Notes

Record your final assessment of the onboarding period. Note strengths, development areas, the agreed 30-60-90 day plan, and any immediate actions needed to support the assistant manager's transition into the role.

Making the most of this template

Five days is a concentrated programme for a role that takes months to master fully. The goal isn't to create a finished assistant manager by Friday — it's to give them a structured foundation in every area they'll be responsible for, so they know where to focus and where to ask for help.

Use the notes sections at the end of each day to build a record of your assistant manager's development. These notes become invaluable during their first formal review, and they help you identify patterns in your onboarding that work well or need adjusting across multiple hires.

The assessment questions and success indicators create accountability on both sides. If your assistant manager isn't meeting the success indicators, that's information you both need — it might mean adjusting the pace, providing additional resources, or addressing a specific skill gap that wasn't apparent at interview.

Consider having your GM or a senior manager spend time on the floor with the assistant manager during their first few solo management shifts. The transition from "being trained" to "managing independently" is where confidence either builds or wobbles, and having experienced support nearby makes a significant difference.