One of the main problems facing the hospitality sector right now is high staff turnover. The National Restaurant Association’s most recent State of the Restaurant Industry Report found that 78% of restaurant owners claimed they didn’t have enough workers to meet customer demand and 75% indicated they were more than 10% understaffed. In addition to lowering the restaurant’s average level of service, a high staff turnover rate increases the costs associated with finding, hiring, and training new workers. Although there are many other factors contributing to this issue, including a high proportion of students employed in the sector and high levels of seasonality, it is also true that many business owners in the sector might be doing more to retain talent. There are many ways to retain your staff. The most basic thing you can do is employ an agile Restaurant Application.
Hospitality Management Software like LS Retail Restaurant Management System provides a unified platform consisting of robust tools and centralized data. It impacts the productivity of your staff and adds to the smoothness of your operations.
Here are five suggestions to assist you in keeping your restaurant’s personnel motivated to work there.
5 Ways to Keep Your Staff Happy
Teamwork Plays an important role in maintaining a healthy flow of operations in a business environment. Given below are some tips to keep your staff happy and motivated.
Built Team Spirit from Top to Bottom
Having a team spirit is very important to avoid unnecessary mistakes, bottlenecks, and disputes. If your staff doesn’t feel happy with where they are right now, they will probably switch to a better environment. There are a lot of steps you can take to improve the situation like organizing a team spirit day where your staff plays fun games, enhancing team spirit, and most importantly, getting to know each other better.
Or you can organize a trip for everyone to do some activities together. Or celebrate a milestone achieved by the employees. You can either throw a party or at least cut a cake to cherish their success.
Before adding a new dish to the menu, you can ask them to taste it first and ask for their opinion about the same. There are many ways you can boost their team spirit.
Reinforce Employees with Modern Restaurant Application
If you believe that not upgrading the outdated Restaurant Application will save you money, you are gravely mistaken. Nothing is more annoying than trying to do a task quickly and to a high standard while using broken instruments. An antiquated point-of-sale system that gets stuck or creates tickets slowly may reduce table turns while also irritating guests who are in a rush. An ancient fryer that the kitchen crew can’t rely on may wreck the lunch rush. Invest money in the newest Point of Sale System and constantly check with your employees to see if any of the tools they are using, both in the front and in the back of the house, are insufficient or outdated. Just keep in mind that any money you spend on a Restaurant Application to assist your staff—such as a Restaurant POS System that can swiftly take orders at the table—should be considered an investment in enhancing the quality of your customer service.
Appreciate them for a good job
Studies have shown that people are more driven at work when they feel valued and appreciated. Teams with the highest levels of engagement experienced 59% less turnover, according to a recent survey from an organization that has earned the Great Place to Work certification. Constructive feedback makes employees happier, more motivated, and more willing to put in the extra effort. Many workers genuinely believe that having a sense of value at work is more effective than getting money! You can also save their progress in your Restaurant Application where you can even manage their talent and assign them jobs as per their interests. Furthermore, there are numerous ways to express your appreciation to your staff:
Consistently express your appreciation to your team for a job well done, such as when a hectic shift has gone very well, when sales targets have been met, or when a worker has handled a challenging issue with professionalism.
Thanks are important. Has a waiter agreed to a last-minute shift change to meet the demands of your company? Did anyone forgo a break to assist in the rush? Be sure to recognize their effort and express your gratitude for going above and above.
Give them room and time to unwind. Establish a break room with a coffee maker, complimentary light snacks, and a water dispenser so that your team can recharge and rest before heading back to work. This will make them more motivated and at ease.
Provide Ongoing Training
Make sure to instruct new employees on your company’s values, rules, and policies. There should be no end to the training. Even though the onboarding process is crucial, you shouldn’t let your employees’ education end there. Give your employees access to professional development opportunities; they’ll feel appreciated as part of the team, understand that you care about their development, and, as a bonus, they’ll bring new skills to your company. Nine out of ten restaurant managers, according to NRA data, began their careers as entry-level employees; therefore, investing in the professional development of your staff is an investment in the long-term success of your company.
Furthermore, training is even more important for existing employees if there is a new update in your Restaurant Application. Thus, keep them updated with the latest technology.
Allow Your Staff to Officially Communicate Via a Common Channel
Professional boundaries and morale can be easily destroyed by unclear communication and misconceptions. Why does he constantly get overtime assignments? I requested a vacation two weeks in advance, so why did she get time off when she only requested it yesterday? By putting in place systems that allow for direct, open communication between staff and management, you can reduce the likelihood of complaints and claims of preferential treatment.
Our unified Restaurant Application, LS Central, has a staff management feature that can help you simplify staff scheduling and give you an Employee Portal for direct contact. Your employees can sign into the Portal to examine their upcoming shifts, remark on their hours, ask to work certain days, request shift adjustments or time off, receive messages, accept or reject work requests, and view their manager’s responses. By instantly notifying managers of any requests that need to be addressed, they can accept or reject them, ensuring speedy communication. Your employees will be more at ease, content, and motivated at work if they can view their schedules in advance, have a clear understanding of their working hours, and receive unambiguous responses to their inquiries.
When your staff members are content, they put in more effort, stay on the job longer, and take fewer sick days. Additionally, if your team enjoys coming to work for you, you’ll spend less on recruiting and training new hires and be able to provide consistently excellent service across all of your locations.
If you need assistance with implementing this Restaurant Application, you can contact Trident Information Systems. We are a Gold D365 Implementation Partner and LS Retail Diamond Partner. To raise the standard of work in your restaurant business, get in touch with us.
