Restaurant Staff Management Tips

Good staff management is essential to running a restaurant. It doesn’t matter how great your food is or how centrally located your business is, if your restaurant’s staff are not friendly and competent, customers are not likely to come back. Inspiring the best from your staff is as critical to a restaurant’s success as great food and atmosphere.

We’ve compiled a list of tips for effective staff management:

Be consistent

Every day in a restaurant is different and unique problems emerge. Things move fast, and the worst thing you can do in a stressful situation is be inconsistent when responding to and resolving issues.

 What should you be consistent with?

• How you communicate.
• How you maintain rules.
• What your expectations are.

 When it’s rush hour, the floor staff are spinning and there’s a crisis in the kitchen, employees need to know that you are going to be consistent. Consistency makes it possible for staff to handle the high-stress loads without cracking.

Communicate better with checklists

In busy restaurants, staff are often left to their own devices. Even the best-trained staff can make bad calls when under pressure. Without a reliable line of communication and no clear list of expected tasks, mistakes can happen. Implement clear and concise checklists for your staff.

Remember that the customer is not always right

Sometimes your staff will have to handle unpleasant, controlling and rude customers. If the customer’s dissatisfaction isn’t due to bad customer service, it shouldn’t be blamed on your staff. Step in and show whose side you’re on. If you’re loyal to your staff, they will be loyal to you.

Provide staff incentives

Set staff goals that are measurable. For instance, encourage kitchen staff to reduce food waste or water usage. If milestones are met, reward the team. It doesn’t have to be monetary, perhaps an improvement to their working space or organising a morale-boosting get-together.

Keep track of employees that are late for shifts or have a low attendance rate. You could reward reliable employees with coveted seating sections and better tables.

Show appreciation to staff who have been there from the beginning and through the difficult times. Consider longevity bonuses for staff who’ve completed a particular duration at your restaurant. These can be awarded annually.

It is human nature that one feels more committed to the work they are doing if they have a sense of belonging, as well as ownership of that job. Offering an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) is a staff incentive method of rewarding employees as well making them more committed to the organisation. Find out more about ESOPs.

Say thank you

It’s probably the easiest thing you can do. Be liberal with your thank yous to show staff that you appreciate the work they do.