Supervise off-site food delivery services

This standard is about the planning, preparation and co-ordination required to provide an efficient off-site food delivery service.
Preparing and serving food on-site in itself can be a complex challenge at times. Delivering off-site throws yet another variable into the mix.
Identifying potential challenges and putting measures in place to resolve and minimise risk is an exciting and skilful part of delivering an efficient off-site food delivery service. Team members must be well briefed and able to follow all appropriate procedures, including any legal requirements or industry guidelines, to deliver to your organisation's standards. Activities must be expertly co-ordinated and contingency plans at the ready just in case something doesn't quite work out as it should.

Importantly, any problems should be dealt with and resolved quickly, communicating with customers where appropriate to investigate any problems that occur.

Off-site delivery is without doubt an important part of the hospitality industry, whether you are delivering to a handful of customers, several hundred or even more!

When you have completed this standard you will be able to demonstrate your understanding of and ability to:

• Supervise off-site food delivery services

1. Ensure staff follow agreed procedures, including food safety, for the processing and delivery of food orders
2. Ensure staff have the skills, resources and information required to deliver food in line with the required standard and encourage staff to ask questions if there is information they don't understand
3. Ensure off-site food delivery services comply with relevant legal requirements,    industry regulations, professional codes and organisational policies
4. Identify potential risks to the off-site food delivery service and implement contingency plans to minimise problems which may occur as a result
5. Lead by example when briefing staff to look for and report problems when they occur and respond constructively
6. Monitor the quality of work and progress against plans and take effective action to manage problems that may disrupt off-site food service deliveries when they occur, finding practical ways to overcome barriers
7. Control costs by planning, prioritising and coordinating activities to ensure an efficient delivery service which meets customer needs
8. Monitor delivery times and control packaging and containers to ensure food is maintained in line with relevant legislation and quality control procedures
9. Give feedback to staff to help them improve their performance where appropriate, confront any performance issues and resolve them directly with the people involved
10. Use effective methods to gather, store and retrieve information, accurately complete the required records and report on performance to support the service according to your organisational procedures

1. Your organisation's procedures that are relevant to the delivery of food to the customer and industry specific regulations and codes of practices relevant to your area of responsibility and how to keep up-to-date with and implement them
2. The roles and responsibilities of yourself and your colleagues in delivering food to the customer and how you should work together
3. Your specific responsibilities in relation to food safety within your organisation
4. How to plan, prioritise and co-ordinate activities to ensure an efficient delivery service which meets customer expectations
5. What stock is available within the department and how this compares to what is required
6. What packaging and containers are available, how they maintain the quality of the food items you are responsible for and the extent to which they minimise the negative and maximise the positive impact on the environment
7. The knowledge, information and skills that staff require to deliver food to meet industry codes of practice, organisational requirements and customer service standards
8. The methods that can be used to supervise activities and performance in relation to organisational procedures
9. Procedures for communicating with customers to investigate or update on problems that occur with food orders, when to implement contingency plans and who to notify
10. How to communicate with members of your team and other colleagues  in  the organisation
11. Organisational procedures for registering information relevant to off-site delivery, the type and format of information that should be registered and the possible consequences of failing to do so
12. How to monitor delivery times and why this is important to food safety, the quality of the product and customer service expectations
13. How to monitor and ensure that the quality of food is maintained before and during delivery
14. How to review and evaluate your operations and make recommendations to management
15. How to lead your team by example

The following behaviours are provided as guidance to underpin effective performance of a hospitality supervisor

1. You identify people's information needs
2. You are vigilant for possible risks and hazards
3. You clearly agree what is expected of others and hold them to account
4. You have the confidence to take appropriate corrective action where necessary
5. You confront performance issues and resolve them directly with the people involved
6. You take pride in delivering a high quality service
7. You work to develop an atmosphere of professionalism and mutual support

This standard is a sector specific standard and has particular links with the following standards in the Hospitality Supervision & Leadership suite of standards: HSL1-7, HSL11. HSL19, HSL23, HSL24, HSL30