Restaurant jobs are demanding. They test one’s physical and mental stamina to a degree greater than many other professions. I can speak with authority on the subject: I’ve been in the business nearly 18 years and have yet to work harder than during my years as an hourly employee and restaurant manager.
Without a structured guide that lays out each person’s position within your kitchen and restaurant, training a new employee could turn into a frustrating game of telephone, with essential information potentially becoming lost in translation, including:
Tip #1 - Guest Experience
Within the hospitality service sector, great guest experience is a well-known cause of happy reviews and repeat business.
The guest experience is the cumulative effect of every interaction your guests have with you. In the case of a hotel for example, guests are involved from the booking stage, right through to check out, before (hopefully) re-booking for next time.
Positive experiences are what make your guests trust you, return for more, and recommend you to their friends and family.
Businesses need to design the experiences guests want, and continuously improve them as attitudes and behaviours evolve if they are to remain competitive
Hopefully, your kitchen and wait staff are able to offer some degree of flexibility with your menu, too. This means they can allow guests to request a certain item without onions, or without tomatoes, or cheese, or x item, probably something they don’t like or are allergic to. This is one of the best ways to create a great guest experience.
While servers and hosts are typically the first restaurant staff to greet your guests, the kitchen staff should also go above and beyond. Nothing makes a better first impression than an aesthetically pleasing dish.
Tip #2 - Employees Dress Code
"I believe that there is always something new to learn, in fact, that is one of the three reasons that I chose to become a chef, that my education is never over."
- Anne Burrell–
An employee dress code policy for your restaurant is a set of guidelines that informs staff members on the appropriate attire to wear at work. While implementing an employee dress code policy gives your business a professional look, it also provides your staff and customers with a number of benefits.
FOOD SAFETY AND HYGIENE
Believe it or not, creating a dress code for your restaurant provides you with a simple way to reduce foodborne illnesses. Dress code standards ensure that employees are wearing the proper uniform to prepare or serve dishes. For example, requiring employees to wear face masks helps prevent respiratory droplets from contaminating countertops, plates, utensils, and other surfaces. Enforcing strict dress code guidelines helps prevent cross-contamination and customers from getting sick.
BRAND AWARENESS
Each staff member is a part of your brand and implementing an employee dress code allows them to represent your business the way you want it to be perceived. The first thing many guests notice when they walk into your establishment is what servers and hosts are wearing. Ensuring that employees are dressed nicely and similarly makes it easy for them to create a favorable first impression on customers.
CREATES A UNIFORM LOOK
Creating a detailed staff dress code policy eliminates the guesswork on what is and isn’t appropriate to wear at work. An employee dress code also helps create a sense of camaraderie and equality between each team member. Your staff will stand out from customers which makes it easy for them to quickly distinguish patrons from other team members.
Tip #3 - Educate Your Restaurant Kitchen Staff
In recent years the industry has seen a decline in skills and passion within chefs and service staff. The hospitality industry relies heavily on its people. A full restaurant is important but the right level of well trained staff will ensure the longevity of the business and consistency in service.
Restaurants often suffer from a high turnover rate. Reasons for this can be due to insufficient staff training and uncertainty about expectations.
You can’t overlook the importance of restaurant staff training as the restaurant staff is only as good as the training they receive.
We tailor our training sessions to the needs of the business and the background of your staff, appealing to their emotions and goals to effect change.
Tip #4 - . Communication
You know better than anyone: Staff turnover is a big problem in the restaurant industry. But what if you could reduce turnover (and improve productivity) just by investing more time and resources in workplace communication?
Great communication helps teams work together seamlessly during those chaotic shifts. It helps you understand what’s really going in your restaurants, whether it has to do with guests, employees, or anything else. And when you’re communicating well with your team, it’s easier to get them to stick around.
Many common problems in restaurants result from poor communication and could be avoided by implementing simple workplace procedures. Creating proper two-way contact policies can help you avoid staffing, scheduling, reservations, order and inventory problems. Hold regular staff meetings to keep everyone on the same page and review your operations to determine each area where at least two people must work together. Once you've identified areas where problems could arise, you can be proactive in finding solutions.
Tip #5 - Always Hold a Menu Tasting
Having a well-trained, professionally dressed staff that knows your menu inside and out is important as well. If you’ve ever been to a restaurant and asked your server what their favorite item on the menu is and gotten a blank stare in return, then you know how off putting it is. If someone that works there isn’t excited about the food, why should someone who’s paying to eat there be?
For this reason, and many more, it’s important to make sure that your staff knows your menu well enough to describe each dish, and make each guest want to try everything. It’s not as easy as it sounds, however, so not only will you find out why your staff needs to know your menu, you’ll also learn how to make sure they do to.
Menu tastings encourage your team to get to know each other, ask questions about the ingredients, and be better able to explain dishes to your guests. This ensures your kitchen and FOH staff understands your expectations for each dish.
Tip #5 - You Should Never Stop Learning
"Work Hard and Learn"
Restaurant jobs are demanding. They test one’s physical and mental stamina to a degree greater than many other professions. I can speak with authority on the subject: I’ve been in the business nearly 18 years and have yet to work harder than during my years as an hourly employee and restaurant manager.
My first job was at an resort. On day one, I was planted in front of a two-compartment sink scrubbing pots and pans. I got an immediate lesson in how hard the work is. But just because the work is hard doesn’t mean that an employee will work hard. To be certain, I was raised with the belief that working hard and giving 100 percent effort is a matter of character, and that was reason enough to give it your best effort. After all, you should put in an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay (no matter that it was 50 Rupees per hour under the table).
To advance learning to a higher degree, employees at all levels of an organization should be encouraged on three fronts.
1. Read.
2. Develop a network of peers that is not restricted to people from within the organization.
3. Allow and encourage your team members to be involved with your state restaurant association
Many studies suggest that proper onboarding can increase productivity, reduce restaurant staff turnover, and helps integrate new hires into your restaurant culture. Sixty-nine percent of employees noted that they are more likely to remain with an employer if they had a thorough training process.
Menu changes are inevitable, as well as new products and restaurant technology. As a result, even the longest-standing employees will require ongoing. Ongoing education and training can be the perfect opportunity to stay in touch with all your staff and to listen to their concerns and ideas.