Almost every restaurant invests great resources in keeping their guests happy and satisfied. But many restaurant owners sometimes forget to focus on their staff. To make your staff feel satisfied and seen is a prerequisite for the staff to be able to take care of your guests in the best way. Here are five concrete tips on how you as a manager can take care of your restaurant staff in the best way.
Creating a good team spirit and getting your staff to work together as a team is crucial to build a successful restaurant. It will most likely lead to more satisfied employees, more satisfied customers and an increased revenue. A win-win solution, basically.
But how do you create a good team spirit? First off, it’s about getting to know your staff. What motivastes them? What is important to them? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Once you have a clearer picture of your employees, it will be easier to know how to handle conflicts and problems and how to motivate everyone to always do their best.
Try to carry out team building activities; both at work and outside of work. The more fun your staff has together and get to know each other, the greater the chances of a better collaboration.
Offering development opportunities to your staff is often an important requirement. Be responsive and listen to the goals and ambitions of your staff. Is there any special area someone wants to develop in? Maybe you have a chef who does an amazing job at finding new and exciting flavor combinations, or a waitress who is interested in wines and the combination of wine and food. Try to take advantage of these qualities and dare to think in new ways. In this fashion, the staff feel appreciated and seen at the same time as your restaurant can benefit from the development.
Our society is becoming more digital every day, so why shouldn't the restaurant industry and your restaurant become the same? Make sure that your staff members have the best possible conditions for their work to flow as smoothly as possible. Make it easier for your chefs by, for example, using digital kitchen screens that, among other things, support them in the stressful environment and reduce the risk of mistakes. You improve the quality of food and service and help the kitchen staff keep track of all orders.
You can also make it easier for the serving staff by using a digital handheld to take orders. With a digital tableside ordering device the restaurant staff get a good overview of all tables and orders and doesn't need to keep track manually. And they don’t have to run back and forth to the POS-system to punch in orders, the order goes directly to the kitchen and bar.
Minimize your own administration by setting up automated sales reports, so you keep track of your sales. There are also many smart integrations to your POS-system for personnel management and finances, which also reduces the time you need to spend on administration. Time that you can instead spend on developing your staff.
The current pandemic has forced many restaurants to digitize in order to survive. It has opened the eyes of many restaurant owners and contributed to the fact that many processes are more digital than before. Dare to think new and be open to new solutions.
In some cases, it’s difficult to be flexible when it comes to schedules and staff, especially in the restaurant industry. If the restaurant is fully booked and there is a shortage of staff, you can’t change a schedule at the last second. You can't always take into account everyone's wishes and plans. However, it is important to always try to solve the problems and show that you do your best to make everyone satisfied. Make sure to have good foresight when it comes to schedules, be fair and make sure that everyone gets the same conditions. Many restaurant employees think this is important!
Communication is one of the most important things for a good and pleasant work environment. Be responsive, let everyone express themselves and vent their feelings and do not forget to show appreciation and praise! It is also important to be clear about what your expectations and requirements are for your staff, as well as the restaurant's values and policies. The more explicit you are, less the risk of misunderstandings, conflicts and dissatisfied employees.
If you don’t have individual employee meetings, it may be a good idea to introduce this. In some industries, weekly one-to-one meetings between manager and employee are mandatory. It’s probably too much in the restaurant industry. But to regularly sit down and discuss goals, how the employee thrives, your perception and feedback, is an important tool for you as a manager. You have the possibility to discover if there are problems among the staff and be able to find solutions before people quit thei job.
Download our white paper Checklist for opening a restaurant!