Proactive Hiring: The New Age of Recruitment in Hospitality

Proactive Hiring: The New Age of Recruitment in Hospitality

by | Sep 16, 2016 | Business Toolkit, IndiTips

For hospitality employers, especially in restaurants and foodservice, the days of simply posting a job and receiving a large pool of talented applicants are over. In this competitive hiring market the need for another method of engaging job seekers is imminent. The time for active recruitment is here and this is how you can do it on Sirvo using the Search Candidates feature.

Why it’s Time to Recruit

So you’ve posted a job listing that has it all – it explains who you are and what your company represents and describes the available position and the qualifications necessary to fill the role, it’s basically the perfect job listing.

So now you should be able to just sit back and watch the candidates roll in right? Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

It can be confusing sometimes why some job listings receive several great candidates while similar posts by similar companies do not. Often times it is due to an over-saturated market.

So many businesses are hiring right now and looking for the same type of candidate to fill the same position that you are. Plus, with all of the new restaurants opening each week, job seekers have more than enough job opportunities from which to choose.

So what can you do to ensure that your positions are filled? Beyond marketing your company’s brand to job seekers, the answer is by actively recruiting industry professionals that you think would be successful in the role you’re looking to fill.

Utilizing Sirvo’s Search Candidates Feature

This tool not only allows you to engage with job seekers based on the qualifications you’re looking for but also, by doing so, you’re showing them that your company can give them exactly what they want in a job – feeling valuable.

Taking the time to identify a candidate’s talents and reach out to them directly is a sign that you care about the people that work for you and that’s a powerful incentive for job seekers.

Getting started is easy, just toggle the “Search Candidates” tab from the main search page and from there, you can scroll through our list of Sirvo users.

You can also search for those that match certain criteria by typing in a keyword such as job title or skill. For example, type “Line Cook” to find users who have that listed in their work experience.

To take a closer look at candidates, view their profiles by clicking on either the name or picture on the search page. User profiles include work experience, education, certifications and more so you can identify who you think may be a good fit for your company and available positions.

We suggest finding at least 5-10 users to reach out to. Remember that a lot of our users may not be currently seeking a position or may be content with their current employer. The good thing is that many are always looking for that next great opportunity or a second job to pay the ever-increasing rent.

Once you’ve selected some potential candidates, reach out by messaging them on Sirvo – simply click the send message link in the header section of the profile.

Don’t know what to say? Start by introducing yourself and your company and expressing your interest. From there, suggest a time to meet or ask them to apply for your job on Sirvo.

Start Your Search Today

Sure, this is a relatively new tactic when it comes to the hospitality industry, but it’s one that is widely used in almost every other industry out there and there’s a reason. Stop relying on job seekers to make the first move and go find who you are looking for!

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The ABC’s of Being a Restaurant Employee

The ABC’s of Being a Restaurant Employee

by | Sep 7, 2016 | Career

From job searching to getting along with new coworkers, being a restaurant employee demands dedication, creativity, and a hospitable attitude. The path from the first job application to an experienced employee is long and often rocky, but take heart! The following tips guide you through the whole process: the search, training and continued improvement, interaction with coworkers, and finally interaction with guests.

Job Search ABC’s

  • Assertive: Nothing gets you nothing, so go for what you want and keep after it. Apply for as many positions as possible – we have a ton of great job opportunities on Sirvo!
  • Believable: The best way to appear trustworthy when interviewing for a to be a restaurant employee is to be honest — if you lie, it will become apparent quickly. Need more interviewing tips? Check out how to answer the 5 most common interview questions.
  • Careful: If at all possible, talk to past or current employees before taking a job to see if it will be a good fit.

How To… Know Which Position to Accept: Look at factors such as location, hours, flexibility, salary, coworkers, and of course, if you like the food you would be preparing or serving. Pick the one that fits your schedule and personality the best.

Do… Apply at Different Locations: Different kinds of food, different atmospheres, different sizes — you never know where you will find your perfect fit.

Do Not… Make Assumptions: You know nothing about a place until you do your research, so never assume you know something based solely on what it serves, the tables it uses, or any other peripheral factor.

The best way to appear trustworthy when interviewing for a job is to be honest.

Job Performance ABC’s

  • Ambitious: Take your progress into your own hands, show interest, and look for ways to take steps forward.
  • Busy: No orders? Ask someone to teach you something — a new plate, an off-menu special, a new drink, etc.
  • Creative: Step out of your box and try something you know nothing about — what do you have to lose?

How To… Get Feedback: Correctly made orders are good feedback, but if you are looking for something a bit more in-depth, take some time to talk to a manager or trainer — most are happy to do either a formal or an informal evaluation and go over your strengths and weaknesses.

Do… Take Advantage of Opportunities: If someone offers to show you something, take them up on it.

Do Not… Act Like a Know-It-All: So maybe you have experience and nothing feels new, but that does not mean you know everything about being a restaurant employee — stay open to learning.

If someone offers to show you something, take them up on it.

Interacting With Coworkers ABC’s

  • Agreeable: You spend a lot of time at work, be nice.
  • Bold: Experienced coworkers may intimidate you initially, but they are one of your biggest assets in learning and improving, so go after them.
  • Considerate: Pick up a little slack and clean up after yourself before you leave — your coworkers will always be happy to see you.

How To… Work With Even the Most Difficult: There will always be people you cannot stand, so when it comes time for your shift with them, ignore their snide comments or complaints and just focus on your own work.

Do… Try to Fit In: This does not mean following along with a mob mentality, it means learning names, going along with inside jokes, and doing your part without complaining.

Do Not… Let People Walk Over You: Stand up for yourself, even if you think people may not like it.

You spend a lot of time at work, so be nice!

Customer Service ABC’s

  • Approachable: Guests who know where to find a listening ear become repeat visitors, so do your best to be personable and friendly.
  • Bulletproof: People get picky — and angry — about their food. Shake it off — at the end of the day, it is just food.
  • Circumspect: Stay aware, always.

How To… Calm an Angry Guest: The first step is listening and sympathizing, next offer a plan of action that goes above and beyond what they expect, and finally make sure the guest leaves happy. Here are even more tips on dealing with angry guests.

Do… Make Friends: They come for the food, and come back — or not — for the service.

Do Not… Share Work Drama: What happens at work should always stay amongst coworkers. People come to eat, not hear gossip about their second favorite server — their favorite is you, of course.

Throughout your journey in restaurant service, your work ethic, attitude, and people skills will determine what kind of experience you have. While this ultimately depends on you, following these ABC’s, How To’s, Do’s, and Do Not’s will set you on the fast track to a successful, fulfilling, and lucrative career. So go get started!

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How To Motivate Your Restaurant Employees

How To Motivate Your Restaurant Employees

by | Jul 29, 2016 | Business Toolkit, Management

A thriving restaurant is driven by happy, motivated employees. When your staff is motivated, it shows in their work and in your cash register. Keeping workers motivated may appear a daunting task at first, but it’s really quite simple. With a little creativity, there are countless ways to motivate your restaurant employees!

Hold Competitions

Humans are competitive creatures, no matter what job sector they’re in. Restaurant owners can tap into that drive as a way to improve sales and provide incentives for recommending specific menu items and offering top-notch customer service. It doesn’t require a lot of money, and yet it can be a very powerful tool.

Restaurant owners can tap into competition as a way to improve sales and provide incentives for recommending specific menu items.

It’s called gamification and it can help boost and even exceed goals. Try putting together menu bingo cards and hand them out to the servers. Encourage them to recommend the menu items listed on the cards. When they sell one of those items, they can mark off the spot on their card. The first one to get bingo wins a prize.

Managers should make it their duty to oversee these competitions and ensure the prizes are being fairly distributed. Also, make sure the staff isn’t being distracted from their jobs. Some games and drawings will work better for some employees than others, so feel free to experiment and figure out which ones motivate your team the best.

Ongoing Training

Some employers fail to see the value of continuing training beyond the onboarding stage. They think workers are either not interested or don’t need additional instruction.

Receiving ongoing training helps the staff to feel more valued as individuals and improves the overall morale.

On the contrary, receiving ongoing training helps the staff to feel more valued as individuals and improves the overall morale of the establishment. It also demonstrates an invested interest from management for employee success and advancement. If an ongoing training program is not in place, consider adding one.

Celebrate Your Staff

Employees like to feel like management cares about them as individuals rather than simply as workers. Anytime a staff member reaches a milestone, such as celebrating a birthday or completing a training course, make it a point to celebrate the occasion. It doesn’t have to be a big fancy party – providing drinks, a free meal, or a cake is sufficient.

It doesn’t have to be a big fancy party – providing drinks, a free meal, or a cake is sufficient.

Provide Bonuses

To encourage employees to stay with the restaurant, consider offering an annual bonus or a raise for every year a worker stays on. Regardless of hourly pay rates, employers can give regular bonuses based on how many years the employee has been working for the establishment. Even if there are few opportunities for growth, it can still serve as an incentive for your staff to stay on the team.

Close Early

Whenever holidays come around or a staff member celebrates a major life event, such as a wedding, it’s not a bad idea to close the restaurant early. This way the entire team can celebrate the occasion without some of them having to stay behind and work. Doing this will also allow for employees to better manage work with their personal lives without having to burn themselves out.

This way the entire team can celebrate the occasion.

Implementing even just one of these tactics will surely improve your team’s overall attitude towards their job. Your staff will not only become more motivated, but they will begin to enjoy their work and be much more pleasant to interact with.

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Creative Ways to Deliver the Restaurant Check

Creative Ways to Deliver the Restaurant Check

by | Jul 18, 2016 | IndiNews

Usually, one of the least enjoyable parts of going out to eat is paying the bill. With all of the creative ways you work to “wow” your customers, from signage to social media to redesigned spaces, what are you doing to impress guests at the close of their meal? The Restaurant Hospitality magazine talked to a few operators who are thinking outside of the traditional check presenter.

Geraldine’s, on the fourth floor of the Hotel Van Zandt, in Austin, TX, delivers its checks inside vintage books that highlight Texas history and Austin Music. Geraldine’s Director of Food & Beverage, Tobias Peach, says, “Guests love it and often comment on the books being a charming surprise at the end of their meal.”

The notebooks started as just a fun and easy presenter, but soon guests were writing mini reviews, notes to servers and chefs, and it just kind of took off.

At Honey Salt in Las Vegas, owner and founder Elizabeth Blau says that when Honey Salt first opened, they were looking for new ways to connect with friends and guests and chose notebooks as check presenters.

“The notebooks started as just a fun and easy presenter, but soon guests were writing mini reviews, notes to servers and chefs, and it just kind of took off,” says Blau. “We have a whole cabinet of them in the office, and sometimes it’s great to flip through and be able to relive the stories of the restaurant. I much prefer them to reading Yelp reviews.”

Digital bill folder made our table servers more efficient, and as a result, we’re able to turn tables more quickly.

Emory’s on Silver Lake in Everett, WA, uses a digital bill folder to cleverly disguise a high-tech RAIL payment terminal inside the otherwise normal looking check presenter. G.M. Robert Frost says the main reason they made the switch was for customer card security.

“We didn’t want to be the restaurant that had a customer’s card information breached,” he says. “The system has helped us from both a labor standpoint and from an efficiency standpoint. It’s made our table servers more efficient, and as a result, we’re able to turn tables more quickly.”

The ones who go on Yelp are either angry or love it; in Saylii we see many happy or neutral customers.

Several restaurants in San Francisco are testing a new app called Saylii, which asks customers to share their experience via writing, voice recording or video at the time of check payment, according to Saylii CEO Esther Kuperman.

“We’re seeing that the restaurants are getting reviews from people who generally never post reviews,” says Kuperman. “Usually, the ones who go on Yelp are either angry or love it; here we see many happy or neutral customers.”

More check delivery ideas

  • Utilize branded wooden clipboards and attach postcards showcasing local artists or upcoming events at the restaurant.
  • Use an item that represents your brand, such as a miniature pizza paddle, a mason jar, or a coffee cup to deliver the check.
  • Attach the check to a personalized photo album that highlights the buildout—or history—of your restaurant.

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What Makes A Great Line Cook

What Makes A Great Line Cook

by | Jul 6, 2016 | Career

Few line cooks want to be cooking on the line for the rest of their culinary careers. Most dream of becoming head chef or even opening their own restaurants somewhere down the road. That is why most line cooks do it, to learn the ropes of the restaurant industry, get valuable hands-on experience in a kitchen and rise up the ranks. So what can you do to make yourself a better line cook and stand out in a crowded field? Let’s find out!

Show up on time

The importance of punctuality in the restaurant industry cannot be understated. Why? Because the meal service will start on time regardless of whether or not you are ready.

If you show up late or miss a prep, then somebody else have to cover your work and their own, delaying the entire kitchen’s flow. This will also send a negative message to the higher-ups. All in all, no one will be happy with you.

The importance of punctuality in the restaurant industry cannot be understated.

This is not the kind of attention you want to draw. The very first step in being a great line cook is simply showing up on time for the shifts you are scheduled. Not too hard right?

Prep your mis en place

Preparation goes a long way in making your life easier when the restaurant gets busy and you have numerous tickets to fill. When the tickets start coming in, you want to be able to focus on the food without worrying about chopping up your mis en place or making stock.

When you’re not fully prepared with your mis en place, you’ll end up distracting yourself from the incoming orders to chop more vegetables or make more stock and usually the overall quality of the dish suffers when you can’t give it your complete focus.

If you want to prove to head chefs that you have what it takes to move up in the industry, prepare your mis en place and be on top of your tickets.

Ready your station before service begins

Sure, you might not be busy right at five o’clock when service starts, but that does not mean your station should not be ready for a full on dinner rush.

Once again preparation is key to being a great line cook.

Once again preparation is key to being a great line cook. Those who prepare stand out to head chefs and other industry professionals, so make sure that you have enough clean dishes at your station, all your pots, pans, tongs, and other utensils are clean and ready to go, and of course make sure your mis en place is already prepared.

The last thing you want to be doing is scrambling around to get clean dishes in the middle of a dinner rush because that is your time to shine and do your best cooking.

Give every dish your all

Some nights will be harder than others to find the motivation and inspiration to give your best performance, but that is no excuse not to give everything you have every night.

It’s key to remember that for the customers, this is their night out or their special dinner. They came out and are spending good money for the food you are making.

Don’t let them down because they may never come back to your restaurant if they had a bad time, and that is very bad for business.

Clean, clean, clean

When your shift is over, clean your station and the kitchen thoroughly. If you see other stations that haven’t been cleaned properly, take it upon yourself to make sure it’s done right. After all, there is nothing worse than working in a dirty kitchen.

After all, there is nothing worse than working in a dirty kitchen.

In addition to cleaning, be sure to organize your area. This will not only help you when starting your next shift, but show your superiors that you know what it takes to lead, and someday run, a restaurant kitchen.

Working hard and going above and beyond to make sure the job is done right is a great way to stick out to a head chef. If you want to be a great line cook and move up the ladder of the restaurant industry, you have to be willing to do more than is required and always have a positive attitude.

Find Cook jobs on Sirvo now →

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