10 Golden Tips to Keep Your Restaurant Staff Happy and Motivated

It is no secret that a happy staff is a productive staff. A well trained, efficient, and motivated staff can do wonders for the customer service. Contentment of the staff is not just reflected in the way they behave with their customers, but also in the speed and efficiency of their work. Here are some of the tips that you should follow to keep your staff happy and motivated.

1.Training

Before you send out your staff into the battle ground, it is important to train them properly first. Most of the restaurant mishaps happen because of lack of training. Even if you have hired an experienced staff member, you still need to train them according to the culture and policies of your restaurant. Have a proper Staff Orientation and Training Program for each of your employees. Learning signature recipes, handling particular equipment, and a certain way of doing things, all come under the training routine, and must not be ignored.

2. Good Working Conditions

Often restaurateurs focus so much on providing top-notch facilities to their customers, they forget to consider the comfort for their employees. The nature of the job of your restaurant’s employees requires to constantly keeping them on their toes. The rigorous hour and the tedious nature of their job are exhausting.

Therefore, provide properly designated space for your companies to relax between shifts. The kitchens must also be well-ventilated to avoid any health hazards.

3. Fixed Shifts and Overtime Policy

Create fixed shifts and ensure that there is rest between the shifts. Overworked and tired employees will not deal with your customers right.

In the restaurant business, each hour spent by your employees amounts to the direct business of the restaurant. It is important to compensate your employees for the extra hours they put in to avoid any feelings of dissatisfaction among them. Therefore, it is important to have a clear overtime policy for your staff.

4. Wholesome Meals

It is unfortunate that in most restaurants, the quality of the meals provided to the restaurant employees is abysmal. While it may not be possible to provide the same quality of food to the employees that are served to customers, you must ensure that the quality of the meals is good and wholesome. If the employees are well fed, then the chances of pilferage and thefts from the inventory are also greatly reduced.

5. Incentive Program

Incentives and recognition encourage employees to perform better at the workplace. Providing some sort of monetary reward increases the motivation among the staff. Programs like “Employee of the Month”, or “Star Server” etc not only boosts the performer’s morale, they also encourage staff members others to perform as well. Create incentive programs among teams.

6. Clear Hierarchy

A clear hierarchy helps your staff understand their future in the restaurant. Often, there is a lack of motivation as well as the passion at the low-level jobs of restaurants. It is important to let your staff know that with good performance, they can be promoted to senior positions in the restaurant.

7. Longevity Bonus

One of the biggest problems in the restaurant business is the high attrition rate of the staff. High turnover rate is extremely high, especially at the junior level. Therefore, it is a good idea to offer a longevity bonus to your staff. If your employees stay for more than a particular period of time, offer them a monetary reward.

8. Clear, Defined Goals

It would be unfair to expect a ton out of your employees without telling them exactly what you want out of them. Therefore, it is important to define goals for your staff. Clearly defined goals help your staff to stay focused, and work towards complete that goal.

All great leaders have always led by examples. A restaurant functions no differently. The owner’s presence is integral to the success of the restaurant, and also helps keep up morale and energy of the staff.

9. Communication

Restaurants are usually close-knit spaces, with most of the staff often coming from the same area or background. As hiring is mostly done through referrals and through word of mouth, it is very likely that the most or all of your restaurant staff are family, next of kins, or friends.

In such cases, effective communication with the staff is extremely important. Conduct regular meetings and take daily updates with the Team Leaders. Listen to the problems that your employees are facing and work to resolve them.

10. Compliments and Criticism

While it is important to give feedback and also criticism, you must take care to do it in the right way. You don’t need to sugarcoat your words, but also remember to keep your patience in check. Give your employees regular feedback on their work, so that any reproach from your side does not come as a surprise. If an employee of yours has made a mistake, point it out, but also tell them the way to rectify it. As much constructive criticism is needed, it is also important to acknowledge the good work done by your employees.

Ultimately, your staff is the one who has to deal with the customers. If your staff is dissatisfied, it will most certainly reflect in their service. Thus, a happy and motivated staff becomes integral to a restaurant’s success.

Originally published at blog.posist.com on May 31, 2016.