Staff Retention: Keeping your Employees Motivated

Staff Retention: Keeping your Employees Motivated

Over one-quarter of the year is over. The thrill of a New Year has begun to fade and employees that once appeared motivated and engaged are now looking at the clock with regular frequency.

Keeping employees motivated is a year-round endeavor, and coming into the second quarter is a good time to take stock of the year ahead and what you can do to ensure success. After all, your employees are your greatest asset.

Ownership

Employees need to feel that they are a part of the business—that they have some skin in the game. To this end, sharing the numbers and providing incentives based on performance each quarter contributes to a sense of ownership. Your servers need to see themselves as your sales team. To this end, consider a quarterly reward to the one that has the highest ticket sales.

Engaged

With the advent of social media, keeping your customers engaged has become a part and parcel of your marketing strategy. If not, it should be. Keeping your employees engaged is just as important. Gallup recently released the latest State of the American Workplace report. According to this survey, 70 percent of U.S, workers do not feel engaged at work. That’s a large portion of your workforce that may be slipping away.

Engage employees by openly communicating and encouraging communication between the BOH and FOH. Ask their opinion. Encourage them to make suggestions. Millennials are looking for a company culture that promotes health and happiness and understands that leading a balanced life between work and personal life sustains long-term commitment.

Develop a Team Spirit

While promoting interaction among your employees can improve camaraderie, offering team challenging activities outside of the company has shown to improve overall attitude—inspiring employees on the field and in the restaurant. Consider contacting surrounding businesses and setting up a baseball or Frisbee golf league. You’ll be surprised at the motivation this one small thing promotes.

Personal Achievement

Today’s employees want to feel as though they are contributing at a deep level and making the world a slightly better place while they’re at it. They want to feel that they are using their talents to the best of their abilities. Train them to be the best cooks, the best bartenders, the best wait staff and they will reward you by exceeding your guest’s expectations.

Continually Learning

This is one of the great motivational recipes. Help your employees to continually better themselves, extend themselves, and reach beyond what they thought possible. Without this upward climb, they will slink down in their chairs and pretend they are looking up a potential customer’s data when they are really checking out Craigslist job ads.

Company Culture

We may have already addressed this, but it’s so important to the age of Millennials, that we thought it bears repeating.  Company culture is a topic almost every job seeker addresses in this age of the desire to lead a well-balanced life. To this end, consider a gathering place that promotes interaction. This could mean a ping-pong or pool table or gaming center.

Job Security

No one feels very motivated in a job they feel may be pulled out from under them in the coming months. To instill job security, share your history and what inspires you as you look to the future. Let them know that this is not a fly-by-night operation. You’re here for the long haul and appreciate those employees that are willing and able to take the voyage with you.

A Great Leader

“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” –Warren Bennis.  A good leader can make up for almost all other motivational techniques that may be missing. A good leader inspires by their actions and leads by example. Your employees want to do their best by you because you do your best by them.

The Ultimate Goal

“There are only three measurements that tell you nearly everything you need to know about your organization’s overall performance: employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and cash flow. It goes without saying that no company, small or large, can win over the long run without energized employees who believe in the mission and understand how to achieve it.” – Jack Welch, former CEO of GE.

Creating a work environment that promotes excellence as well as joy will ensure a long-term commitment from employees that see the bigger picture, understand your vision, and want to contribute to both the company and each other. It may take some ingenuity, but it is well worth the effort. Taking care of your employees ensures that they will take care of your customers.

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Making Work Meaningful: 15 Actionable Employee Retention Strategies You Can Use Today

Making Work Meaningful: 15 Actionable Employee Retention Strategies You Can Use Today

A series of Gallup Polls finds that only about 30% of American workers are engaged at work. That, of course, means that 70% are disengaged. Think about that for a minute…70% of people who go to work every morning aren’t really there. They spend the majority of their waking hours doing something that isn’t meaningful to them, that doesn’t stir their passion or interest.

In a 2010 review, Brent D. Rosso, PhD, and colleagues noted that finding meaning in one’s work has been shown to increase motivation, engagement, empowerment, career development, job satisfaction, individual performance and personal fulfillment, and to decrease absenteeism and stress.” (Research in Organizational Behavior, 2010)

With benefits to an employer like these, it’s clear that when employees experience work as meaningful, they perform much better — yet 70% of American employees aren’t engaged at work, which means they don’t find their situation meaningful. This, then, is your guiding principle to keep your employees: create an environment that gives them an opportunity to find meaning.

Using that as our guiding principle, here are 15 Actionable Employee Retention Strategies:

  1. Set clear goals. Set up goals by the day, by the week, by the month and year to year. Communicate these goals regularly. Make slogans out of them. Post them as friendly reminders. Don’t drop these goals on employees from above, rather find ways to engage your employees with them, even helping create them.
  2. Allow autonomy. Your employees are adults. Adults like to exercise their brains. They like to be trusted. If they know what their job is, what their goals are, they want to do their jobs and accomplish those goals. Let them. Don’t micromanage.
  3. Provide sufficient resources and time. Make certain that the resources and time are sufficient for an employee to do their jobs and accomplish goals. Let them feel the sense of achievement and satisfaction that comes from doing a job well. Yes, commercial kitchens are high-pressure environments, and in a busy restaurant, things can really move fast. Some may not be suited to that environment no matter how many resources you provide, but they will quickly weed themselves out. For those who want to be in this business, in any aspect of it, whether making a gourmet meal, serving tables or busing, be sure they have what they need to do their job and do it well.
  4. Help with the work. That’s right. Jump right in. Not all the time — but every once in a while during those busy moments when you can see your people need an extra pair of hands, roll up your sleeves. Sometimes helping with the work is about showing an employee how they can work more effectively. You can mentor them.
  5. Learn openly from problems and successes. Sometimes the things you do as an owner work, and sometimes they don’t. Acknowledge it when things don’t work as well as you hoped, and learn from both problems and successes. Approach your work like a scientist, observing and making fact-based, result-based decisions. As you model rational, thoughtful behavior, your employees learn to do the same.
  6. Allow a free exchange of ideas. Free exchange is critical, especially in the restaurant business. While your customers enjoy familiarity, they also like new things, surprising things — and there’s always room for better ways of doing things. Provide times and opportunities when employees can brainstorm about particular work-related issues.
  7. Respect your employees. Require that they respect each other. It’s hard to encourage an exchange of ideas unless everyone feels comfortable to share those ideas. Respect is the oil that keeps that creativity machine running smoothly.
  8. Recognize their achievements. When employees meet important goals, recognize them. When employees go above and beyond, recognize them. When employees reach milestones in their personal lives or milestones in their professional development, recognize them. If an employee has some special talent or skill, find a way for them to put it to work for you.
  9. Offer encouragement. Be aware of what’s going on with your employees. If one seems hesitant or uncertain, don’t just ignore that or dismiss it. Offer a word or two of encouragement. It could be just the thing that’s needed to let them take next steps toward growth and satisfaction.
  10. Offer emotional comfort. We all have a bad day or a bad moment now and then. Of course, you’re not there to be a therapist or a mommy, but a hug or a smile at just the right moment means a lot. It will let employees know they are more than an anonymous functionary.
  11. Provide opportunities for affiliation. Find ways to cement valued employees’ relationship to your restaurant and to the industry in general.
  12. Provide opportunities for growth. Do you have a waitress who would like to learn some knife skills? Maybe you’ll be really glad you provided the opportunity one of these days when you’re short-handed. Is there a class that speaks to a employees’ interests that will make them more valuable to the business? Send them.
  13. Provide challenges. We all resist leaving our comfort zone — but when we can rise to a challenge, it feels great! Accomplishing something new, stretching a little and finding success, maybe even finding something we’re really good at or really enjoy that we didn’t know about before? It’s great! Keep your eyes open for ways you can challenge your employees, pushing them to take steps forward, try new things, develop new skills.
  14. Encourage creativity. That means you welcome a free flow of ideas, respect your employees and require them to respect each other, offer autonomy and encouragement.
  15. Plan regular performance reviews. The best way to be sure you and your employees are on the same page is to plan regular, friendly performance reviews. Take in a template for the meeting, and fill it in as you visit together. Be sure you both sign off on the notes. Keep these notes on file, and bring them to the next meeting. Include a conversation about your employee’s goals in each meeting so you can review progress toward them. Make it clear these meetings are a time for employees to share any concerns they have in a non-punitive environment. It’s a time for you to share your concerns about job performance with an employee and set out some measurable objectives to review at your next meeting.

In a restaurant, you’re in an industry where people value good food. Be open to ways your employees can join that special society even if they’re not chefs. Yes, everyone has their own area of responsibility, but it’s good for everyone to have the big picture, to know how to handle more than their own area occasionally — because one of the best ways for employees to feel engaged at work is knowing they are part of a team that values who they are and what they do.

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Sirvo Stories: Sirvo Spends Some Time with Chris Kobayashi of Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen and Bar

Sirvo Stories: Sirvo Spends Some Time with Chris Kobayashi of Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen and Bar

The highly anticipated arrival of Tupelo Honey Cafe in Spring of 2017 brings the talents of Chef Chris Kobayashi to Denver. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a two-time semifinalist for the James Beard “Best Chef Pacific” award, Chef Kobayashi fits well with Tupelo Honey’s belief in using local and sustainable food products on their menu.

Chef Kobayashi has been the Chef/Owner of Kitchenette and Artisan in California since 2006. Before that, he worked as Executive Chef and Executive Pastry Chef for Robin’s and Brix, also in California.

We were lucky enough to squeeze in a moment or two with the talented Chef to ask him a few questions as we prepare for the Tupelo Honey Cafe arrival in Denver in 2017.

So Chris, where are you from?

CK: Bishop, CA

What’s your favorite dish on the menu at Tupelo Honey and why?

CK: The fried chicken! Who doesn’t like crispy breading and skin?

What do you look for in a Sous Chef or teammate?

CK: Organization. Being organized is the key to any successful service. Front or back of house.

What’s your favorite ingredient to work with?

CK: Although there are many… my go to ingredients usually contain something cured or fermented. Something like miso or fermented chilies are readily accessible and add complexity and depth without [needing] a lot of ingredients.

Name the person you would most like to cook for and why?

CK: The person who I like cooking for the most is my 10-year-old son. Being in the industry it’s tough to get in some quality time. He’s at the age where he wants to participate in cooking and really gets into helping out. What’s really funny is when he goes to a sleepover and is trying to give his friend’s mom cooking tips on how to execute a better breakfast.

Do you have any kitchen/ restaurant pet peeves?

CK: When part of your team doesn’t work to the best of their ability. Everyone makes mistakes, but when someone doesn’t try, that’s just lazy.

What was your nickname at the restaurant (and how did you get it)?

CK: Koby. Short for Kobayashi. This name has followed me around from kitchen to kitchen. Since there are so many people with the name Chris, it’s always been a good shoe in. As a matter of fact, the Sous Chef’s name is Chris and the Executive Sous name is Crystal.

What’s the best and worst thing that Food Network has done for the industry?  

CK: There is no doubt that the Food Network has put the cooking industry in the spotlight. We were all just a bunch of misfits and a dysfunctional group of people. It was considered a second rate job that was for the lower socio-economic class. The Network broke the stigma and made chefs rock stars. Which was also the worst thing. Kitchens are a tough working environment and that is not what is portrayed on TV. However, the Network has elevated the craft and has made food a priority in many households. This country is based on so many cultures and the best way to portray our ethnicities is through food. Food Network has made this accessible and possible for chefs to make a living.

What did you have for dinner last night?

CK: Pork collar dumplings with first of the season sugar snap peas!!! And rice grits.

Last weekend on earth – what city are you eating in?

CK: On my last weekend? I would finish out in Hong Kong. Noodles, dumplings, chilies, fermented vegetables and did I mention dumplings? #dimsum #forever

If you got $5,000 how would you spend it?

CK: Let’s pretend I didn’t have a mountain of culinary school loans to pay off! I would definitely go on a trip to Asia and eat my way through. There definitely is a lot to be learned about food through experiencing different cultures. I feel that there is a lot that I could learn from the Asian cultures to incorporate techniques used in my own cooking style.

What are you reading now?

CK: Mostly trade publications in the form of magazines and net. *Lucky Peach! Food smut.

You can catch up with Chris and find out what he’s up to on Tupelo Honey’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Tupelo Honey will be bringing its long-awaited Southern Revival scratch-made menu to the Platform near Denver Union Station in May 2017. Stay tuned to Sirvo for hiring announcements and more on Tupelo’s locally sourced, seasonal menu and cocktails.

Interested in working for Tupelo Honey? Check out their open interviews!

When:     Daily 4/11/17 thru 4/21/17 @ 10:00am – 5:30pm
Where:    Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar (1650 Wewatta St. Denver, CO 80202)

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Do These 4 Things to Ensure Your Employees Won’t Be Worried About Health Care

Do These 4 Things to Ensure Your Employees Won’t Be Worried About Health Care

With the increase of the service industry becoming a destination career, employees are going to be increasingly concerned with providing healthcare for their family, so they’ll be paying close attention to events in our nation’s capitol.

Business owners, especially in the service industry, tend to develop close relationships with their employees. For this reason, it’s hard to watch them struggle or worry about their home life. And as we all know, if an employee is having problems outside of work, chances are their problems come to work with them.

Here are 4 major ways you can help keep your employee’s minds on service and worry free.

1. Be the shoulder they can lean on. Be their rock.

You’re now the big brother, big sister, mom, and dad. Take the time to reassure your staff that, despite what’s going on, you still feel providing health care is important and you’ll be there to take care of them.

Without diving into the politics, let your employees know you’ll be following the situation as closely as possible and will provide them with as much information as you can as things progress. Remember, things are very up in the air right now. Let them know the lines of communication are, and always will be, open on this subject.

Let them know the lines of communication are, and always will be, open on this subject.

2. Don’t bullsh** with them.

Don’t make things sound better than they may be. Healthcare is a scary, confusing, adult thing most people simply have no desire to think about unless they have to. Working for an employer who provides that sense of security is a big deal. Losing that sense of security can be a major cause for concern.

Take the time to answer any questions truthfully and to the best of your knowledge. Remind them of the fact that no matter what, things are going to change but you’ll be constantly monitoring the situation and working with your insurance providers to provide the best coverage you can.

Working for an employer who provides that sense of security is a big deal.

3. Be a mentor and educator.

As we touched on earlier, healthcare is confusing and intimidating. The worst part is, the media exacerbates the situation, causing hysteria and Washington seems to be at an impasse which does nothing to relieve the tension.

One of the best things you can do is help to educate your employees on their health benefits, how to enact them, how to use them, what they can and can’t do, where their benefits can be used, and any other details you feel necessary. Knowing exactly how their coverage works will go a long way towards alleviating the fear of not knowing.

One of the best things you can do is help to educate your employees on their health benefits.

4. Use this as an opportunity.

Obviously, this is important to everyone. Take this time to make sure you’re communicating closely with your plan provider, your HR team, and your company leaders. This is the perfect reason to reassess your benefits package and to make sure you have a solid strategy in place for any situation.

The last thing you want is to lose employees to another business with a better plan.

Remember, it’s inevitable that healthcare is going to change. The best operators understand this and are ready to adapt. Make sure you’re one of those able to keep your business running smoothly no matter what Washington decides to do.

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What Is TIPS Training, And Should You Get It?

What Is TIPS Training, And Should You Get It?

Restaurants often make the most profit from serving alcohol, but it’s a high risk/ high reward sort of situation. You don’t want your establishment to get into trouble for serving alcohol to minors or causing car accidents. You also don’t want to deal with the downside of intoxicated guests. Knowing this, a company called Training for Intervention Procedures, or TIPS, set up a certification program to teach employees of most liquor license holders to deal with those risks.

The 35-year old program covers the legal responsibilities of establishments, the effects of alcohol on people, and various customer-friendly ways to provide alcohol service in a responsible manner. It covers identifying IDs and intoxication. It also gives you a chance to practice some ways of dealing with real-life scenarios.

There are quite a few states, such as Maryland and New Mexico, that require liquor licensees have someone associated with that license trained in responsible alcohol serving and have a certificate from that training. That said, not all municipalities have this requirement, and some places, such as Texas and Maine, have voluntary programs. It can come down to the personal preference of an owner in other municipalities, such as much of California.

Keeping customers from getting intoxicated keeps your place of business comfortable for all your guests and shows that you care about their safety.

There are a couple of benefits of taking the TIPS or similar training programs. Your employees will gain confidence in dealing with intoxicated guests. They will have some ideas about how to control the environment so that the drinking doesn’t get out of hand. Keeping customers from getting intoxicated keeps your place of business comfortable for all your guests and shows that you care about their safety.

It is always good to have refreshers about the rules involved in serving alcohol. There are a few kinds of liabilities that could apply to your establishment, and they vary from location to location. Does your city have social host laws, where you can be held liable for injury to an intoxicated guest if the alcohol is served improperly? Is there criminal charges you could be liable to? You want to keep track of these types of rules. They change sometimes, and the people evading the rules evolve their techniques. Having employees at least occasionally take courses in responsible alcohol service can keep you on the safe side of the law. Should something untoward happen to an intoxicated customer or a minor trying to get drinks, you can point to the program as a sign that you had done your due diligence, as well.

Having employees at least occasionally take courses in responsible alcohol service can keep you on the safe side of the law.

There are also insurance companies that give you discounts for having such a training program in place, and having a nationally-recognized certificate is an easy way to prove that your restaurant has an acceptably trained staff. Insurance companies like to know that at least one threat to the property is being controlled for.

All that said, TIPS charges $40 a person for online training, and they charge varying amounts for on site and off site classes, depending on location and trainer. Other programs will also charge you. You don’t want to be accused of cutting corners here, but at the same time, it’s a cost you have to weigh up.

Additionally, some places, such as Washington, have requirements for trainers and for responsible alcohol service training. Always check ahead of time to see if your municipality requires training and what type of certification they will accept. Many places let cities or counties decide on what they want, and they can be pretty restrictive. You don’t want to download the eTIPS program and later discover that your state doesn’t accept online certifications.

As you can see, whether you need to get someone TIPS certified will depend on your jurisdiction and your establishment’s needs. Keep the foregoing in mind, and you will be able to make an informed decision.

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