How to revamp your employee strategy guide, Restaurant good service advice, Staff management tips

How to Revamp Your Employee Strategy: A Guide for Restaurants

31 May 2023

Your staff will make or break a restaurant. How many times have you seen ratings plummet because of one waiter’s bad attitude? People take offense when the service is poor more than the food. Food, after all, is subjective. Bad service is not. That’s why you need to rethink your employee management strategy if you’ve noticed bad reviews and just a general lack of repeat business.

When multiple staff members aren’t on their game, the issue is management, so use this guide to revamp your employee strategy to make your restaurant a great place to be for your staff and patrons.

Offer Comprehensive Training

Training is the foundation of any successful employee strategy. It is crucial to provide your staff with comprehensive training that covers every aspect of your restaurant’s operations. This includes training on your menu, policies and procedures, customer service, and communication skills. Your training should also cover the proper handling of food, kitchen safety, and sanitation. By offering thorough training, you’ll ensure that your staff is well-equipped to handle any situation that arises in your restaurant.

Create a Hierarchy

Create a hierarchy within your restaurant, which will help employees pass on upset or aggressive customers to a higher authority. This ensures that customers receive the necessary assistance while employees are not burdened with resolving complicated issues. For instance, you can designate specific team members as problem solvers, supervisors, or managers so employees know whom to turn to when issues arise. This can help improve the overall morale of your team while giving customers over to someone they feel can fix their problem.

Dress Up Your Employees

You need your employees to look great and look alike. Having a uniform, even if that uniform is just an https://www.aprons.com bib with your business’ logo embroidered on, can go a long way. Your employees will be easy to spot, everyone will look more professional, and you can use that uniform to bring employees together to boost teamwork.

If you operate a formal, high-end restaurant, then you’ll want to provide the full uniform. If it’s more of a casual affair, use a unifying item like an apron so customers can identify who works there versus who doesn’t. While an apron is a good uniform, you’ll also want to set a few dress code rules, like employees need to wear jeans and a plain t-shirt to work so that their clothes aren’t catching on things.

Host Team Bonding and Skill Training Exercises

To create a more cohesive team, consider hosting regular team bonding and skill training exercises. This can help build stronger relationships among employees and improve their communication and problem-solving skills. For instance, you can organize cooking classes, mixology courses, or customer service workshops. These events can also help employees learn new skills that they can apply to their job, making them more valuable to your restaurant.

The goal of these training exercises is to help your staff work like a well-oiled machine. You want to cultivate a working environment where everyone helps each other to make everyone’s job easier. Not only can this make your business a far nicer one to work in, but it’s also how you can improve the customer experience tenfold.

Offer Career Development or Training Options

Offering career development or training options can help motivate employees and give them a sense of purpose. Consider offering a career path within your restaurant, where employees can progress from entry-level positions to management roles, train to become chefs, or even go into the sourcing area of your business. You can also offer specialized training programs, like sommelier or pastry chef training. If you can’t train in-house, sponsor their training elsewhere.

Offering such progression means you won’t just get employees there for a paycheck but those that see working for you as an integral part of their career. Be open to suggestions as well. Perhaps one of your waiting staff is studying marketing at university. If they want to take on your marketing strategy, organize an internship. This way, they can help you while also getting essential work experience while they go. Add that internship to their work hours, and you can even pay them for their trouble.

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