Make The Most Of Your Employees
In running any business or organization, the employees represent the values and drams of the company. If employees succeed within the company, that will relate to the success of the company as a whole.
When talking about the recipe for a successful restaurant business, delicious food and an excellent location are usually the first two success factors that come to mind. However, regardless of how enticing your menu appears or how perfect your location is, one can never excel in the competitive landscape of the food industry if the staff is not competent, friendly, and motivated on the job.
To get the best out of your restaurant staff, here are a few tips for food managers looking to build an exceptional team that grows and excels.
Be an Example
The management’s and business owners’ responsibility is to jumpstart the workplace culture that they envision. Owners and managers must set the tone with their words and actions.
If leaders show up to work and contribute to the best possible workplace culture, employees will follow their lead. Bring positivity, fairness, and a great attitude to work every day to show your employees how to best conduct themselves.
Invest In Management
Hiring a fantastic food service manager who oversees the entire restaurant is an essential move to creating a great staff.
Food service managers handle the day-to-day operations of a food service facility. In smaller businesses, they are down in the trenches, directly supervising entry-level positions. In other cases, they oversee more than one location with the help of on-site assistant managers or supervisors.
Responsibilities of foodservice managers often include:
- Employee Management: scheduling, training, hiring, firing, evaluation, and discipline
- Customer Satisfaction: setting customer service standards, addressing complaints, ensuring seamless service
- Food Preparation: overseeing orders and presentation, managing delays, coordinating front and back of house staff
- Administration: ordering food and supplies, managing inventory, budgets and payroll, sanitation services, creating schedules
- Compliance: ensuring food safety and hygiene, complying with labor laws, complying with alcohol service laws (where alcohol is served)
Essentially, Food Service Managers are responsible for keeping the gears turning. Sometimes they are responsible for managing forward-looking tasks like changes to the menu and marketing efforts.
Observe Compliance
Maintaining brand standards and regulatory compliance are among the top priorities of any food industry business. Many companies need to hire employees who already have a food protection manager certification or other qualifying food and alcohol handler certifications.
Having compliant employees helps in several ways. Certified employees protect the business from violations and contribute to the overall efficiency and productivity of the business.
Make sure you are up-to-date on your state’s compliance rules.
Address Problems Quickly
Conflicts between employees are inevitable. Knowing that conflict will happen helps you be a step ahead. It is your job to develop an action plan that will most efficiently and effectively allow you to address internal issues. It is your job to resolve conflict before it affects the operation of the restaurant.
Continuing Education
One of the best ways to keep your employees informed and prepared for any possible situation is by making sure they take continuing education courses.
These Food and Beverage CE courses help your employees work at their highest potential. The workers who stay ahead of the pack and get their CE shows their eagerness and value as an employee.
You can offer a raise incentive to get your employees excited to take their CE. Some local government and local agencies are acknowledging restaurant employee CE by incorporating CE training as part of the requirements for renewing licenses and certifications.
