Managing staff is always an issue for restaurant owners. It’s not only difficult to recruit the right staff but it’s just as hard to keep them.
Retaining hospitality staff is essential to creating a successful restaurant. When you have a high staff turnover, you are regularly spending money to hire new staff and train them.
Then when they leave, you have to do it all again.
When you keep the staff you have, you benefit by their knowledge of their business.
Customers also like to build a relationship with staff, and it makes their experience more homely and personalised because staff will remember your regulars orders, names, and lots of other details that are invaluable in creating a great customer service.
Here are 5 ways you can retain your staff to help your restaurant run smoothly and keep costs down.
1. Continual Recruitment Campaigns
You should always be showing the best of your business, not just for your customers, but to attract the best staff.
By showing that your staff are an essential part of your business, it not only attracts candidates but it impresses customers too. They would much rather support a business that treat their staff well than one that doesn’t.
You can attract the best staff by creating a good careers page that lists all the benefits they get plus insights from employees.
On your social media you can highlight members of your staff or create short videos to show what goes on behind the scenes.
2. Better Onboarding
Just as you try to create a seamless customer experience, you need to create a seamless staff experience too.
When employees have a positive onboarding experience, you can retain 50% more new employees.
You can create a better experience by personalising the process, making it digital, and provide interactive training.
3. Benefits
Restaurants, hotels, and other hospitality establishments are known for long and unsociable hours and poor wage.
What can you provide that competitors don’t? Could you offer flexible shift patterns, free meals, or personal development?
4. Get Feedback
If you don’t know how to make working for you better, ask your staff.
Let them provide anonymous feedback, so you can improve.
When your staff feel listened to, they will be happier and more productive. They will take pride in their job and it will show in their work.
5. Create a clean and safe workplace
A dirty workplace can spread infections causing high sickness rates, and cost you more money.
Not only that but 49% of people said an untidy workspace affects how they feel about going to work.
Encourage a clean culture by using hand washing signs and providing cleaning products supplies for staff to take care of their work environment.
You could also hire a cleaning service to take the burden off your employees which will help reduce costs in the long-run with lower sickness rates and happier staff.
Keeping Hospitality Staff
Keeping hospitality staff doesn’t have to be difficult.
First audit what you’re doing and then implement the appropriate changes.
Ask yourself, how would you like to be treated by your employer, and put yourself in their shoes.
Retaining hospitality staff will save you a lot more money than having to hire and train new staff regularly.
Your staff know your customers better than anyone and provide valuable insights that can help your business grow.
Your employees are vital in creating a successful business, so make sure they know how they directly impact profit and how much they are valued.
