To have a successful restaurant business you need to have excellent food and an excellent team. Customers will become regulars if they know you will serve high quality dishes every time and your staff are kind and welcoming. Having an excellent team is only half the battle to creating a successful restaurant but it's achievable if you can find the right qualities in your team members and train them properly. Learn how to create a great restaurant team with our guide.
How to create a superhero (restaurant) team in 6 steps
As the leader of your team, it's your responsibility to get them trained and ready for work. If your team members aren't willing to work together or have been badly trained, you won't have a great team to rely on. Remember your aim is to create a team that is reliable and hard working. If your customers don't like your team, they won't have a positive view of your restaurant.
Here is how to create a great restaurant team:
1) Training
Just like the start of every superhero movie, before a superhero can save the world, they need to be trained. Your employees need to be trained properly. Create a training schedule to cover all the skills your employees need to master before they start. There are some skills, your team will learn with experience but before their first shift you need to give them all the information they need so they don't have a bad start to their new role.
All employees should have training when they start but every quarter you can teach your employees new skills or refresh current ones so they don't fall into any bad habits.
2) Correct Uniform
One of the most immediate signs of a professional restaurant is a professional looking team. Create a uniform guide for your waiters and your chefs. Make sure your bar staff have the right uniform too
All your employees should be wearing the correct uniform and look smart. Clothes should be clean and ironed, and shoes should be polished. The effort your staff put into their appearance reflects directly on how people perceive your restaurant; this is why it's so important to look professional. If you create a uniform list for your staff t.hey can make sure they follow the specifications and avoid wearing the wrong styles or colours. Your team needs to look like a team by wearing the same clothes.
3) Turn your employees into safety gurus
Along with an excellent service, your employees need to understand the importance of keeping safe at work. Restaurants are busy areas with waiters walking to and from the kitchen and customers walking around the dining area. Walkways need to be kept clear and keep slip-resistant mats on areas that are prone to getting slippy. Tell your employees to be careful whilst they work and if they see anything that could cause an accident or injury, to inform you or a manager so you can make the area safe.
Encourage your employees to wear the correct footwear for work. High heels or shoes with no grip aren't appropriate for busy and active environments. Buy slip-resistant shoes for work to avoid slips and trips in the workplace (these types of accidents are the most common work injuries - check out the facts).
4) Encourage communication
To be a successful team in any job, employees have to communicate. In a restaurant, waiters need to communicate with the host and the chefs. Communication helps employees be aware of what is happening in the restaurant. Of course, make sure your employees don't sacrifice work quality because they are having a chinwag at the bar - keep communication about work.
5) Demonstrate good listening
Customers want to be heard and can easily get irritated if they feel like they are being ignored. Avoid having angry customers by encouraging employees to listen to their customers and fulfill requests.
Just like listening to customers, team members need to listen to their team mates and their managers. If customers see your staff aren't respectful to each other or are ignorant, they will likely feel uncomfortable in your restaurant. Show the importance of listening and working together as a team.
Okay, you've learned how to create a great restaurant team but how do you make sure your team members continue working to an excellent standard?
6) Acknowledge good work
When you see your team members doing a good job, tell them. The secret to creating a great restaurant team is to acknowledge good work so your staff will feel appreciated and want to continue working to a high standard.
As well as acknowledging hard working employees, you can introduce 'employee of the month' prizes and monthly bonuses. Rewards like these can inspire team members to go the extra mile on every shift.
Learning how to create a great restaurant team is easy, making it happen is harder. Encourage your team members to give excellent service and don't fall into bad habits. If you train your team well and become a respectful leader, you can lead your team to success.
Has your team got the correct footwear for work? Keep your employees looking smart and keep them safe during their shift with slip-resistant footwear. Use our decision tree - it only takes 30 seconds to find out which shoes your team should be wearing.