Setting targets for a brewpub team that they can hit

A target nobody can influence is just a wish

Many brewpubs set targets at the top: revenue up 15% this year. Then they share it with the team and wonder why nothing changes. A bartender cannot control footfall. A cook cannot control the menu price. A target only motivates when the person holding it can move it with their own work this week.

The fix is to break the business number into the pieces each role controls. Revenue is covers multiplied by average spend. Profit is revenue minus beer loss, food cost, staff cost and the rest. Every one of those pieces belongs to someone on the floor.

Give each role a number it controls

One or two numbers per role is enough. More than that and nobody remembers them.

• Bar team: pours per keg. A 50 litre keg holds about 151 pours of 330 ml in theory. Line cleaning, foam and over-pouring eat into that. Set a target such as 140 and count it.
• Kitchen: food cost as a share of food sales plus ticket times, for example mains out within 15 minutes of the order.
• Floor staff: food attached to drink orders, guest feedback scores and table turns on busy nights.
• Brewer: brewhouse yield against target, batches inside specification and beer loss from fermenter to tap.

Each of these is visible, countable and within that person's control.

Build targets from your own actuals

Targets that come from a consultant's spreadsheet feel unfair. Targets that come from last year's real numbers feel earned. Start with what each measure was over the last three to six months, then ask what would realistically improve it.

If pours per keg averaged 132, a target of 140 is a stretch that better pouring and line care can reach. A target of 150 asks for the impossible and teaches the team to ignore targets. Plan for seasons too. Food cost often rises in the monsoon when vegetable prices jump. A flat yearly target punishes the kitchen for the weather.

Weekly beats monthly

A monthly target reviewed on the 5th of the next month is too slow for a brewpub. By the time the team hears the number, the shift that caused it is a memory. Track the key figures weekly and post them where staff gather, a whiteboard by the kitchen pass or the staff WhatsApp group.

Keep the board simple: the target, last week's figure and a tick or a cross. Talk through it for five minutes at the start of the busiest shift of the week. Our guide to opening hours and staff shifts covers how to roster so the same people are there to hear it.

Reward the team and never reward overselling

Individual bonuses on drink sales push staff to oversell. That is bad hospitality and in a licensed venue it is a real risk. Never set targets on litres sold per server or bonuses that reward serving more to guests who have had enough.

Reward the team instead. A shared monthly pool, paid when the brewpub hits agreed targets on beer loss, food cost and guest feedback, gets the bar and kitchen helping each other. Average spend can rise the right way, through food, a second visit or a tasting flight in place of a large pour. Keep any incentive inside your payroll plan. Our guide to brewpub payroll covers the full cost.

When a target is missed

A missed target is information. Ask what changed before you ask who failed. Pours per keg falling from 140 to 125 might be a new bartender, a gas pressure problem, a warm cellar or a long line that needs balancing. Food cost jumping might be one supplier's price or one dish being over-portioned.

Fix the system first and coach the person second. If the same person misses the same target three weeks running after the system is fixed, that is a training conversation, held privately and with the numbers in hand.

Start small and prove it

Do not launch eight targets on Monday. Pick the two that matter most to your margins, usually beer loss and food cost. Run them for a month before adding more. Show the team the result in rupees: every pour lost from a keg is beer you brewed, paid duty on and could not sell.

Linking floor numbers to the monthly profit and loss statement is how a brewpub owner sees what each target is worth. Your first step: pick one number per role and track it by hand for four weeks before you attach any money to it.

Common questions

How many pours should a 50 litre keg give?

About 151 pours of 330 ml in theory. In practice line cleaning, foam and over-pouring reduce it, so set a target from your own measured figure.

Should brewpub staff get bonuses on drink sales?

We advise against individual drink sales bonuses. They encourage overselling. Reward the team on beer loss, food cost and guest feedback instead.

How often should brewpub targets be reviewed?

Weekly, on a simple board the team can see, with a fuller monthly review against the profit and loss statement.