How To Make Your Menu More Healthful

How To Make Your Menu More Healthful

by | Mar 22, 2017 | Management

People want to eat healthfully. That’s not a ‘craze’ or a fad; it’s a part of the human condition. We may change what we call healthful, and we may stop focusing on our health sometimes, but we want to eat healthfully. Any restaurant that accommodates that wish will reap the rewards. The question is how do you make a menu that caters to that desire without putting undue stress on your chef. New menu items can mean extra work for everyone and still not make anything more likely to promote health. There are a couple easy ways to revamp your menu so that it provides consumers with what they want.

1. Identify The Healthful Choices That You Are Already Serving

Ordering healthful meals can sometimes come down to information. If you are already serving some dishes that are pretty good for people’s health, identify them on the menu. You can give them their own section, or you can make a symbol to identify them, and add a key at the bottom of the menu explaining what you mean. This has the benefit of not adding anything to your workload or requiring you to buy anything new. You are only out the expense of reprinting your menu, and you will recoup that easily from all the people who will buy meals they previously wouldn’t have considered.

2. Offer Smaller Servings As An Option

“Everything in moderation” is a great motto when it comes to people’s health, and most folks know it. Again, you don’t have to radically alter anything. Merely state somewhere that if customers would like a smaller portion of something -say, ice cream- you could accommodate that. Think how many more people on a diet would order dessert if they could be certain that the item in question would be reasonably sized. This also stretches the food dollar a little bit further.

3. Offer A More Healthful Version Of A Traditional Dish

Say you have a traditional dish involving fried chicken. Offering a version of this dish with grilled chicken instead lets customers that are watching what they eat enjoy something they know they like without guilt. Most dishes need only a little tweak to make them a better option, and it will help people make that choice if they recognize the dish.

4. Add One Or Two Simple And Explicitly Healthful Options

Having a dish of fresh fruit and a little side salad as options costs you little, and they will meet just about everyone’s dietary needs. They quickly pay for themselves as replacements for less healthful options as you can add a surcharge for making the switch. Using them as side dishes is a good way to get diet-conscious diners to order something extra.

5. Get Creative With Your Ingredients

Sooner or later you have to fiddle with your menu, and you can take that opportunity to make some good-for-you dishes. If you already have some food items on hand that you could make into something healthful, why add to the food inventory? You have fruit and a grill already? Why not make a fruit kabob for dessert? You have tomatoes and cheese already? Why not make some stuffed tomatoes? Your customers will appreciate the variety and the health benefits.

6. Allow At Least One Mix-and-Match Type Item

Meeting everyone’s dietary needs is hard. Everyone has different requirements. Allowing at least one dish to be customized lets people meet those needs without putting a strain on your back-of-house people. Soups, sandwiches and wraps are pretty easy to make custom ordered: have all the pieces pre-made and customers can pick the pieces they want from a list. This way, you have something for customers no matter what diet they follow.

7. Offer At Least One Vegetarian Option

People can decide to try a vegetarian dish for many reasons, but one of these is that they feel it is better for their health. Giving them at least one option that is meat-less lets them at least try it for one meal.

These small changes can make your menu very appealing to anyone who cares about healthful food choices. So go ahead and review your menu: you may find it doesn’t need much work at all.

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How To Make Your Business Profile More Attractive To Candidates

How To Make Your Business Profile More Attractive To Candidates

by | Mar 13, 2017 | Sirvo Stories

Making your business profile attractive involves a bit of strategic thinking and includes standing out in print, online, and through good old word-of-mouth. There are a number of ways to do this and, depending on your business strategy, it can get very in-depth. For now, we’re just going to touch on the three major components to drawing attention to your business while making sure talent flows your way. These are your website, your social media profiles, and a well done Sirvo profile.

Without further ado, let’s dive right in!

1. Make sure your website is on point.

These days, your website should be displaying more than just your hours and menu.

You want it to show exactly what your establishment is all about. People want to see appealing high-resolution shots of your food, cocktails, and the atmosphere. The foodie culture wants to engage in it all. Customers and employees have a lot of choices these days, so all of these things can help influence their decision.

People want to see appealing high-resolution shots of your food, cocktails, and the atmosphere. The foodie culture wants to engage in it all.

For more help on what you should include on your website, check out our blog post: Five Tips for Taking Your Restaurant Website From Good to Great.

2. Be present on social media.

Remember, social media is a way to interact with and engage with your community. Build your following on all relevant social sites and stay active. Keeping your social profiles updated daily is a great way to make your business stand out.

Most businesses understand the need for a social profile, but very few actually use it correctly. Whether we admit it or not, social media is a powerful marketing tool that you can use to take the temperature of your community, stay on top of trends, network with other business owners…the list goes on and on.

The trick is managing your social media well. If you’re not clear on how to do this or need some extra help, contact us. Sirvo offers a marketing package specifically for restaurants to help manage their social media – just shoot us an email at [email protected] for pricing.

3. Set up the perfect Sirvo recruiting page.

With the first two requirements complete, your Sirvo profile becomes an easy task. Let’s be clear, the first two take the most work, but they’ll allow us here at Sirvo to focus on placing the right talent into your business so you can worry about running your business. Filling out your business profile on Sirvo is a very easy process.

From the Home Page, log in or register for a business account.  To create your business page, select “Pages” from the left side menu and then select “New Page”.

You’ll be taken to a screen that looks similar to your personal profile dashboard. From here you can customize everything. We’d advise you to put a high-resolution image in your background header that highlights an aspect of your business you’d want others to know you for or be impressed with. Add your business logo for the main profile picture to complete the header.

Add a high-resolution image in your background header that highlights an aspect of your business you’d want others to know you for or be impressed with.

Make sure to give a short but interesting synopsis of the establishment. Describe the atmosphere, vibe, food, etc. Use this space to really attract the type of person you want. A good rule of thumb is to use the same branding on your Sirvo profile as your website and social media.

 

NEXT, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Head over to the Settings Page to add your business address.

If you plan to post jobs on Sirvo (which you should be!), then making sure you have the proper city or address is vital! Since we push out your jobs to other affiliated job sites and social media feeds, whatever city and state you have listed in the settings is attached to your job listing across the web. Jobs that do not have address information receive far fewer applicants than ones that do (by a lot!!!).

Jobs that do not have address information receive far fewer applicants than ones that do (by a lot!!!).

If you’re business or concept with multiple locations, simply create another Page for free and specify the location in the Page Setting and by using an identifier in the Page Name (ex: Bobs Bakery – Boulder). This will allow you to specify jobs with different addresses and allows for better organization between hiring managers.

The last piece of the puzzle it to make your job listing stand out. Luckily, we know how to do that, too!

These days, it’s all about your online appearance. That can be as important as your business’s actual appearance. Looking good in the right places feeds into bringing the right kind of people into your building and to making you’re the place everyone wants to be.

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How To Get Your Team To Show Up On Time

How To Get Your Team To Show Up On Time

by | Mar 8, 2017 | Business Toolkit, Management

Everyone has those days when they’re running a few minutes late, but tardiness becomes a serious hazard to your business when your staff starts coming in habitually late. Late employees equal decreased profits and revenue for your restaurant, not to mention unhappy customers who might be left waiting for service during a shift change.

Here are some ways to motivate your team to show up on time:

1. Tell them the why.

Employees (and people in general) are more likely to respond to requests when they understand the purpose behind the request. When you’re talking to your team about being on time, give them a better reason than “because it’s your job.”

The real reasons you need your team to show up on time have to do with how you run your business. Team members who show up late can cost an individual restaurant thousands of dollars annually in lost business and overtime for those employees who wind up staying late to cover part of their co-worker’s shift.

In addition to lost revenue, habitually late team members lower the overall morale of the team. Tardiness disrupts the usual flow of each shift and breeds mistrust and hard feelings among the team. These bad feelings can get in the way of the service you’re providing, which can reduce the overall experience for your diners.

2. Set the standard.

Now that team members know the why behind your tardiness policy, it’s time to set the standard. If your policy isn’t already clearly stated in your employee handbook, add a section that details it. Make it clear when you will take action, whether that’s after the first tardy, after 3 tardies in 3 month period, or whatever makes the most sense to you. Have new employees sign an agreement that they will follow the policy and they understand there will be disciplinary action if they don’t.

Have current employees sign the same agreement, even if you discussed tardiness during their training. Talk to each employee individually about the policy, have them sign the agreement, and notify them when you will take disciplinary action.

3. Follow through.

This is the part that can be the most difficult for managers: following through with the policy. The key to enforcing a tardiness policy is making sure you follow through on your end, even if it means terminating an otherwise good employee when they fail to adhere to their end of the tardiness agreement.

4. Come up with intermediate steps.

Termination doesn’t need to be the first, or even second, recourse. You can have intermediate disciplinary actions that give employees a wake-up call, but also give them a chance to figure out what they need to do on their end to show up on time. Here are some ideas of how to take disciplinary action:

  • The late employee needs to buy the team coffee (or donuts, bagels, etc.) the next day
  • The late employee is responsible for taking out the trash (or some other task nobody wants to do) for a week

5. Reward promptness.

Take the time to reward employees. You can do this individually, but to get the whole team to show up on time, put them to work on a goal. Make a team-wide goal for the month or quarter, and add an incentive. For example, if the entire team can go a whole month without being late, you’ll take them out to the movies or for ice cream. Talk to your employees during your next team meeting to come up with an incentive together that will encourage them without breaking the bank.

Late employees can hinder restaurant operations and cause friction among your staff. Use these ideas to get employees to show up on time and build some trust among your team.

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5 Ways Restaurants Can Show Appreciation for Employees

5 Ways Restaurants Can Show Appreciation for Employees

by | Mar 1, 2017 | Business Toolkit, Management

It’s very easy to place little value on employee recognition and consider it as a time waster or unnecessary additional expense.  But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Businesses, especially restaurants, that frequently show that they appreciate their employees benefit tremendously through higher productivity, improved morale, loyalty, and better customer service.

According to a Bersin and Associates research study “companies with recognition programs highly effective at improving employee engagement have 31 percent lower voluntary turnover than their peers with ineffective recognition programs.” This statistic speaks volumes. Appreciating your employees builds a positive company culture that translates to longevity and profits. Here are five ways you can make sure your restaurant employees feel appreciated.

Peer-to-Peer Recognition

Why not involve all employees in the employee recognition process? Manager recognition is important, but businesses have found even more success with peer-to-peer recognition. Giving employees a voice and creating a weekly forum where they can speak freely about each other’s strengths and talents creates cohesiveness within the restaurant. If some employees may not enjoy being publicly praised, consider using a system that allows them to share their positive feedback with each other anonymously.

Manager recognition is important, but businesses have found even more success with peer-to-peer recognition.

Plan a Holiday Party

In office environments, holiday parties are almost a given. But how many restaurants take the time to throw a holiday party for a job well done? This can be a whole new experience for your employees and gives them a chance to connect and relax in a fun setting that shows your restaurant is willing to do something different and special.

Get Creative With Your Rewards

Try not to get stuck in the rut of doling out pens, gift cards, or coffee mugs. Make the reward more personal or more unique. Giving something someone doesn’t care about is not a motivator. If possible, try to learn more about that individual’s likes and dislikes and reward accordingly. And rewards don’t have to cost a lot of money. In the restaurant business, managers can recognize an employee’s hard work by allowing him or her to choose a preferred shift time for a week or allowing for extra breaks.

Make the reward more personal or more unique. Giving something someone doesn’t care about is not a motivator.

Take Advantage of Social Media and Websites

Most businesses these days have a website or Facebook page. Use them as tools for showing just how much you appreciate your employees.  Perhaps devote a page on your website to showcasing dedicated and hard-working employees. Or use Facebook to post the outstanding employee of the month. Not only does this send the message to customers that you care about your employees, but public recognition also makes employees feel that much more special.

Get Customers Involved

Implement a customer feedback card program where happy customers can praise a particular employee for a job well done. They can be put at the front of the restaurant or on individual tables. Customers can then drop them off in a box when leaving and the manager can collect them at the end of the day. Managers can then discuss the compliments and praise publicly at the next shift meeting. Take it a step further and collect the cards over a time period such as a month and then pass out gift cards or cash bonuses to those employees with the highest number of cards. They are also handy for including in an employee’s personnel file or using towards performance evaluations.

Retaining top talent in a fast-paced, high turnover environment like the restaurant industry gives your business a competitive advantage. Appreciating and recognizing your employees can help your business both financially and culturally. With a little investment and strategizing on your part, you can reap the benefits of happy and content employees.

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Restaurants Should Always Be Looking For Fresh Faces. Here’s Why:

Restaurants Should Always Be Looking For Fresh Faces. Here’s Why:

by | Feb 27, 2017 | Business Toolkit, Management

Restaurants invest a lot in labor when they hire people. They train, sign employees up for food-safety certifications, and put money towards their health insurance. All this is a lot of work, but it is worth it to keep hiring throughout the year. In fact, you want to always be hiring. Why? Well, consider the following:

1. Fast Turnover

The hospitality industries have a high turn-over rate. Over half of all the people you hire will be gone before the end of their first year. In fact, according to the National Restaurant Association, the turnover rate for restaurant staff tends to be higher than other private-sector industries. This will leave you short-staffed often if you have only just enough to cover all the shifts. This is especially true at the start of the busy season, when you will likely have to scramble to replace people.

2. Capture New Talent

Restaurants are people-oriented. They rely on stellar personalities that can work tables. You want to always be on the look-out for such a person because you never know when that star will be asking you for an interview. That person’s energy and loyalty will brighten everyone’s attitude, bring in more customers, and bring new ideas to your business.

3. Being Prepared For A Change In Business

Your restaurant can be dead one month and super busy the next. It is tempting to let hiring slide in those slow months, but then you find yourself playing catch-up in the busy months. The smart move is to keep hiring throughout the year so that you always are well-staffed. You can always decrease the hours of several staff members during the off-season, and you can start new employees out with only a few hours. You just need backup for when you get an influx of customers.

It is tempting to let hiring slide in those slow months, but then you find yourself playing catch-up in the busy months.

4. Gives You Chance To Drop Sub-par Employees

Some folks just aren’t going to cut it in the fast-paced food business. They have a bad attitude, they are clumsy, or they are slow. They are students who are only doing this job until they finish school or get what they consider their ‘real’ job. Your restaurant deserves to have staff that shines. Having competent and energetic new recruits allows you to lay off under-performing employees, even during the busy season.

5. Lets You Promote Internally Whenever You Need To

Restaurant owners should be able to promote employees that show real promise to management positions. You know that one server that shows real leadership potential? Or the chef who is just itching to take the next step in his or her career? You can garner their loyalty and all the perks of having someone you personally know is qualified by promoting them, but then you wind up short-staffed where it counts. You have to scramble to find the chef or server to take the promotee’s place.

That is, you do unless you have backup servers and sous-chefs already lined up and ready to start work. Then you can promote whenever you feel like it and never miss a beat.

6. Lets You Be Flexible In Your Scheduling

One of the big draws for a restaurant employee is flexible scheduling. It means the world to many servers and chefs to be able to ask for time off or particular hours. Many employees will stay with you for just that reason. If you are always hiring, you can meet your employees scheduling needs without worrying about staffing shortages. You will have a pool of employees to ask to step in whenever someone needs some time off.

If you are always hiring, you can meet your employees scheduling needs without worrying about staffing shortages.

While it is tempting to stop hiring whenever you have enough employees for your current needs, your restaurant really benefits from a continual influx of new faces. From the chance to get a star worker on board, to the flexibility that extra staff provides, always hiring is the very best thing you can do for your restaurant.

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