The best restaurants in the industry are those that consistently provide 5-star customer service. What do all of these restaurants have in common? The best restaurants have these traits:
All of these traits make for a stronger culture within a restaurant. If restaurant owners want to be considered the best of the best, they have to work from the inside out. They can only be considered great if they have a strong culture where their employees actually like going to work.
Open communication is crucial between management and employees. Open communication is the gateway for honesty between both parties and it cultivates a sense of trust as well. It is important that regular feedback is given to employees based on their performance.
How are employees supposed to get any better if they don’t have any idea of how they’re currently doing?
Bosses need to provide their employees with clear expectations so that employees know what is expected of them in their roles. When employees perform well, praise needs to happen in a timely manner. A simple “good job” goes a long way with employees, it makes them feel appreciated.
It’s important that employees’ value buckets are filled up, otherwise they’re going to quit and go work for a competitor where they feel valued. Recognizing employees’ efforts leads to higher engagement at work, and employees feel like their worth doesn’t go unnoticed. When employees feel appreciated by management, they’re likely to stay at their position longer resulting in less turnover.
Employees that are engaged are much happier at work, they are invested into their tasks. According to a Dale Carnegie study, companies that have highly engaged employees outperform those with low employee engagement by 202%. Engaged employees are more focused on their jobs and put forth higher levels of effort as well.
Highly engaged employees work harder, and this results in them generating more money for restaurants. Engaged employees work hard, provide 5-star customer service which makes customers happy, customers pay more for better service, and these customers turn into loyal customers who will return and spend more money.
Engaged employees are those who go above and beyond for customers, they put the customers first and make sure that their expectations are well met. Without engaged employees, customer service suffers tenfold.
Employees can’t get better at their jobs without any formal training. It’s not fair to expect them to progress and learn new skills if training isn’t provided for them to help them grow. The most impactful form of training uses video:
No professional athlete has ever gotten better without training, having a coach to guide them is essential for success. The same goes for employees.
It’s important that they know what their pitfalls are so that they can strengthen their skills in these areas. Increasing employee training helps employees stay on top of their game to ultimately strengthen their performance.
These three components are the missing ingredients that most restaurants don't have internally. If restaurants want to be considered a restaurant of choice, they first have to make sure that they are an employer of choice. In order to be an employer of choice, there must be transparency, engagement, and training for employees.
These three missing ingredients create a stronger environment internally and create a solid foundation on which a restaurant stands on, and incorporating them into a restaurant is the first step to becoming an employer of choice.
