Are your staff accountable? Best ways to have your staff step up to the plate

Are your staff accountable? Best ways to have your staff step up to the plate
Accountability. The dreaded A word. You want your staff to be accountable to the business, but where to start? As with everything in the building, it starts with you.
Of course you have to role model accountability and show the behaviors that you want. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. In order for your staff to be accountable, you have to hold them accountable. This means that you start by setting standards and expectations. But you can’t stop there. Then, you have to get out there and see what’s going on. Make observations of your team – are they describing dishes to your customers in the way you would expect? Are the kitchen staff following recipes (during shift and during prep)? Is everyone meeting the basics – showing up on time, in a clean and correct uniform?

Then, after making these observations, you need to talk to them about it. Right away. Don’t wait until the end of the week or a review. When someone hits the floor and they are not suitably attired, pull them up. Make sure they understand that by being accountable for how they appear is a reflection on your business and that you expect higher!! And be consistent (there it is again. It is key!!)

In Think Tank: Fix the workplace, not the workers, Daniel Pink, expert on the workplace, change and millennials, points out something quite important about the youngest generations in the workforce (aka likely 95% of your staff) – having grown up with technology and social media, they are accustomed to constant, instant feedback and we have a nasty habit of forgetting that once they’re in the workplace and wait to give them feedback in an annual review, when it’s possibly the least effective.

When holding your team accountable, remember that it’s not just about correcting poor behavior, but reinforcing good behavior. Catch them doing it right. Coach in private and praise in public. Without exception. Praising in front of the other staff gives the employee the props they deserve, while coaching in private allows you to give feedback without embarrassing your team. Don’t have a favorite either, love everyone equally. Be sure to share the praise around so the team are felt to be part of a bigger picture.

Read more strategies in the Team Management and Staff chapters in my book How to Run a Successful Restaurant.

A Story from the Floor

The first waiting role I had when I moved to Melbourne was for a prominent wine merchant who owned a high-end restaurant in arguably the best casino complex in Australia. Lots of glam and glitz and a steady stream of high rollers.

It was in this restaurant I learnt about accountability

After “proving” myself I made sure that my intentions were clear as far as my development was concerned to the manager. In our 1 to 1 I expressed an interest in learning so he gave me the task of counting the beverage stock.
Note: The beverage stock consisted of a bar that stocked 17 bourbons, 16 single malt scotches; 4 blended scotches, tequilas, liqueurs and aperitifs. 14 white and red wines by glass, 2 speed bars, and coffee. There were 3 humidified cellars that stocked a total of 1200 odd wines, mixers and beers.

The first count took me 16 hours.

As my manager had been heavily involved in the count till this point he knew it very well so my mistakes were relatively obvious. The count was done on the quietest day of the week a Sunday and he reviewed it Monday.

He had me check almost the entire count twice due to mis-counts on the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This is where I learnt that by being accountable for my role was paramount and that by doing things twice was a waste of time, money and man power.

Sometimes having the simplest of tasks like counting bottles can be the catalyst to having a staff member see the bigger picture.

Food runners/ assistant waiters – the secret to a smoother service

Think of a memorable service experience.

What stands out to you? Usually the answer here is the waiter. They were engaged. Prompt. Intuitive. Friendly. Fun. Non-intrusive. Whichever adjectives you are conjuring to mind, “food-deliverer” is probably not among them.

What’s the easiest way to let your staff focus solely on delivering a great, personable experience to guests? Increase the amount of time that they have to spend in their sections and at their tables. How do you do that? Identify tasks that you can take off of their, (pun intended), plates. Connections don’t happen between customer and server when the server is running around dropping off dishes. Food runners and assistant waiters keep your section waiters in their sections, where they can concentrate on giving the customer the best experience and surreptitiously selling more items, increasing the bill and spend per head.

Adding extra staff seems like a splurge? Think about the value versus the cost of one incremental hourly wage. Even just adding one food runner (the size of your restaurant matters here), at, let’s say $12 U.S/ $18 AUS/ £6 UKP an hour – is it worth it? It pays for itself immediately – you only have to sell two extra desserts per hour, or a few extra drinks, to offset that wage. And who’s best equipped to do that? The waiter, who’s now happily spending more time in their section, taking care of guests, resetting tables faster and better equipped to help manage the customer expectation and experience.

For a more in-depth look at this check out the Sales chapter in How to Run a Successful Restaurant for more ideas on how to use sales to offset the cost of (and profit from) adding a food runner.

Story

When I started working at a new fine dining restaurant in the area, I was so excited at the idea of how much more money I could make than my previous restaurant. I was going from serving at a restaurant with average check of  $50 to a  $100+ per head, so I thought that naturally my tips would double. Score! Then, as we wrapped up training, I found out that we would have only 4 tables per section (at my other restaurant, I was used to 8). My excitement deflated.

But then, after a few nights on the floor, I saw I was making so much more in tips, despite the fact that my section was half the size. Why? I got great feedback from my tables – they loved how I took care of them and connected with them. I had the same personality and engagement level at both restaurants, so what was the difference? At my other restaurant, I was constantly running around delivering food, getting drink refills, etc. At my new restaurant, I had a section assistant who took care of all of that. With fewer tables, and someone whose job was to keep me at them, I connected with my guests better than ever before. That meant that I had one of the highest check averages of the staff because I could make great suggestions (menu knowledge), and because of that, I made considerably more tips because of it and I genuinely had more fun at work every day.

As a restaurant owner or manager it is essential that you are able to make a conscious decision relating to the perception of your restaurant. By employing a trainee waiter or food runner for a restaurant that turns tables twice at lunch and dinner this is a must. If you are not at this level yet trial it on a Friday or Saturday night and see how it travels over a 3 month period. Either way it is the customer who must always come first.