Crafting a Vision and Mission for Your Railway Catering Kitchen Team: Any Ideas?

I am working with a Railway Catering Company in India, under IRCTC. Please help me with content—what should be the vision and mission of the kitchen team?

Dear Krishnendu Kar, I request that you relearn the concepts of vision and mission. Developing a vision and mission statement is a part of the business strategy. These statements are developed for the organization as a whole, and there cannot be compartmentalization further. At best, you can develop the objectives for your department.

ISO 22000 Certification
Since you are from IRCTC, let me ask you whether or not you are ISO 22000 certified. If you implement the provisions of this ISO standard, it will be more than sufficient.

Thanks,

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

Yes, our company is ISO 22000 certified. I am asking for help to create a Vision and Mission for my kitchen aspect. Please help me with some content so I can create that.

Dear Krishnendu Kar, As mentioned in my previous post, vision and mission statements are developed for the organization and not for individual departments. Therefore, it is not appropriate to have a separate vision and mission statement exclusively for the kitchen.

Thanks,

Regards, Dinesh Divekar

The Importance of IRCTC for Travelers

IRCTC is a valuable service for travelers. It is not only for our local community but also for foreign visitors. It is important to appreciate this service, especially when foreign travelers use it and surely appreciate it. As hosts, every Indian should learn to conduct themselves appropriately.

The Role of the Kitchen Team

Regarding the kitchen team, it is not just about cooking. For instance, in a hotel, while the chef may be the one cooking, the responsibility of serving customers in the restaurant falls on the staff. It is crucial that these staff members can handle situations well to ensure a positive dining experience.

Strategies for Effective Railway Catering

1. The first strategy is to select good staff in every area of Railway Catering.
2. Never keep them hungry. Allow them to eat before they start serving customers with drinks or food.
3. Personal hygiene is vital.
4. They should be honest and not influenced by others to cheat, whether in food quality or pricing.
5. The same principles apply to the kitchen.
6. Maintaining cleanliness in the pantry coach on trains, especially in idle times when pests may be present, is crucial.
7. The kitchen operations should be similar to a flight kitchen where food is prepared off-site and loaded onto the train.
8. The success of IRCTC's kitchen requires contributions from all team members, from managers to cleaning staff.
9. Focus on food and menu offerings.
10. Consider pricing strategies.
11. Ensure smooth billing and collection processes.

Prioritizing Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction should be the priority, rather than quick profits, for long-term success. Analyze feedback and complaints to identify areas for improvement, whether related to human error, food quality, or other issues. Detailed planning and training are essential. Staff should refrain from using mobile phones for social media during duty hours.

Success is achievable with thorough planning. Good luck.

Dear Krishnendu Kar,

Your query is about designing a vision and mission statement for your department, i.e., the kitchen. It has been clarified already that these statements are for the organization and not for any department. If every department were to have independent vision and mission statements, there is a chance of a clash of the statements and, consequently, conflict among departments.

Total Quality Management (TQM) as an Alternative

However, instead of designing vision or mission statements for the kitchen, you may start practicing Total Quality Management (TQM).

Many companies, after acquiring ISO certification, just stop at that. However, the quality journey should continue, and the next stop should be TQM. The destination is the creation of an organization-wide quality culture.

Steps to Attain TQM

a) Inspection for error detection and rectification
b) Quality control through (i) statistics, (ii) process analysis, and (iii) quality standards
c) Quality assurance through (i) quality systems, (ii) quality costing, (iii) problem-solving, and (iv) quality planning
d) Total Quality Management (TQM): TQM takes the concept of quality to the level of philosophy. The philosophy is fostered by (i) considering quality as strategic, (ii) teamwork, (iii) staff empowerment, and (iv) involvement of customers and suppliers.

Developing a culture of quality is no easy task, and it could take years. To attain a culture of quality, the concepts of quality cannot be restricted to just functional activities but making "quality" a bylaw or a way of life.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar