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Workplace Culture
The value of valuing all employees
 It is often the case in the hospitality industry, that managers tend to treat employees as expendable and jobs perceived as menial are grossly undervalued.
Restaurants often create their own caste system with those earning the least, receiving the least amount of respect. This can cause a ripple effect throughout – ultimately hurting your business.
When any staff member’s role is not valued, then they may lose motivation, slacken off and become irritable or unhappy. For example if a dishie is treated as unimportant, it can affect their attitude to work and the whole kitchen environment can become tense. If the kitchen is in turmoil it makes it very difficult for the front of house staff to deliver great service.
The result? Standards slip, staff don’t co-operate and customers sense an unhappy team, staff turnover increases and these result in time and expense to recruit, train and settle new employees and this impacts on the consistency of service.
It makes good business sense to value every employee. This is one of your highest priorities, and it will give you a better chance of building a stable and motivated team.
Make every effort to turnaround archaic viewpoints of ‘menial’ jobs; to educate staff that every employee, no matter how small the job, is crucial to the success of the business. Many employees, who have no direct contact with customers, think they have no effect on their overall experience. But they’re wrong! All staff need to understand how their role impacts on the customers experience, that they are all a link in the service chain
Treat all of your staff as you would have your customers treated. Unify your group by leaving no one out of the loop. It makes staff feel appreciated when they are informed and generates a feeling of ownership. Demonstrate an interest in what they do and have pride in the place yourself creates pride in their work.
Developing a system of incentives is also a great way to encourage staff to stay and grow with the business. A high employee turnover is a nightmare. It’s expensive, time consuming and disruptive on all levels. Encourage internal promotions to build employee loyalty and in the end you will receive employee longevity.
Develop and train staff to become a shift leader or manage and support their own career development
Encouraging involvement and the contributing of ideas from employees also helps to build morale and as an added bonus you collect important information and insight. Offer different tasks to staff members with monotonous jobs to break up the boredom – keep staff interested.
Communication is vital to the business running smoothly and keeping all staff in the loop. Bad communication is the biggest morale killer in any business. Regular staff meetings and memos to all sectors are an easy way to fix this. Praising your employees as a manager or especially as the owner does wonders for staff morale. Hard work needs to be recognised and criticism should always be constructive. Find ways to praise staff at every level. In short – look after your staff, and they’ll look after you! |
