Starting a restaurant can be a daunting task, especially finding the right staff. Read on to know what steps you can follow when it comes to hiring staff.
You have completed almost all preparations to open your restaurant, fixed the menu, stocked the bar, decorated the entire restaurant. But what counts most is having the right staff to serve the food and show off your restaurant. Otherwise, having great food, perfect decor, and expensive liquor is just not going to cut it. Getting the right staff for the restaurant is often an overlooked matter. If you have the right staff, your restaurant will stand out among the others because of the quality of the service it provides.
The service quality needs to be ensured and maintained by all staff, starting from the chef to the servers and dishwashers. You need to ensure that each and every member of the staff member is performing their responsibilities with proper precision. Go through our list to find out how you can build the best team to maximize your restaurant's profit.
Look To Hiring Employees From Other Cities
There are many culinary agents and job posting boards that can make your search easier by allowing you to post jobs and look for talent across multiple cities. You might think that many people won't be interested in changing the city they are living in just for a job, but there are plenty of people out there who will welcome a change in scenery. All you need to do is post a compelling job opening by presenting your restaurant as a fun and exciting place to work and be sure to offer them the opportunity to grow.
Check Out The Culinary Schools
Hiring staff from people who attended reputed culinary schools is always a popular choice. But you need to be careful to not just go for the names of the institutes and the programs they offer when you hire. You can even find some great staff members who attended lesser-known programs at not so reputed schools as well. So instead of sticking to the well-known, keep an open mind and explore different schools when hiring staff for your restaurant.
Seek Out Passionate People
In the restaurant business, having an experienced staff definitely is advantageous. If you find someone who does not have much experience but is passionate to learn and grow, that person might actually be a better hire. The attitude of a staff member cannot be measured by the experience one has. The perfect employee will have a mix of the right attitude and the appropriate experience, but you should not discard a candidate just because they don't have a certain length of experience. Be equipped with a good set of restaurant interview questions to judge which employee is more suited for the job.
Promote Your Restaurant Positively
If you want your new staff to give their hundred percent, you need to present your restaurant as a great workplace. The best way to do this is to show your employees that they are working for an excellent brand and they can further grow their skills by working at your restaurant. You need to keep your employees motivated by offering them on-the-job training, a chance to continue their education, and more opportunities to keep learning new things.
Lead Your Staff By Example
You should model your behavior to how you want everyone else to behave. If you treat your staff with respect, they will mirror that respect to your customers. This does not just stop with the customer/server relationship. Your staff will also treat each other in the same manner you treat them. This is why you need to lead by example, treat your employees, and behave with them in the manner you want them to behave with each other and your customers.
Reward The Staff
Good behavior or a positive achievement should always be acknowledged and rewarded. Your employees might get lazy by only just getting the things done. Rewarding their efforts will encourage them to go above and beyond what is expected of them. You don't necessarily give them expensive rewards; handing out a gift card or movie tickets will do the trick. Singling them out in staff meetings to hand out the reward in front of their peers will go a long way to make your employees feel appreciated and motivated.
Allow Your Staff To Be Free
There is no restaurant that doesn't have to deal with complaints from disgruntled customers. You need to give your staff the freedom to solve these problems on their own. This way both your customers and employees will be happy. It doesn't really take a lot of effort to solve some of the customer's complaints. Many of them can be resolved by offering a free drink or dessert. You need to allow your employees and give them the freedom to make these decisions so that they can improve the experience for the dining customers. This way they can solve most of the problems before they get out of hand.
Listen To Your Employees' Opinions
It's your employees who interact the most with the customers of your restaurant. So you need to see your staff as the voice of your customers. They can best assess any situation and work out better ways of getting things done. They can offer you valuable insight into simple things like the layout of the tables in your restaurant to more complex things such as what color of paint should the ceilings have. You need to encourage your staff to voice their opinions freely.
Parting Thoughts
At the end of the day, your staff should feel that they are a part of your family. So make an effort to know them personally and find out what is going on in their lives. Find out what their interests and hobbies are. This way they will feel more connected to the workplace and will try to exceed your expectations. It will strengthen the bond between them and your restaurant, making it a healthy, happy, and prosperous place to work in.
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