By Morgan Elliot, Contributor
Did you know that employee turnover is significantly higher in restaurants than in any other industry?
As a restaurant manager, you probably knew this fact already. But, did you know that all you have to do to lower turnover rates is to improve communication among staff? When shifts get hectic, effective communication keeps the staff working like a well-oiled machine.
By communicating with your employees, you understand how your restaurant functions better. This knowledge gives you the power to introduce necessary changes, satisfy your employees’ needs, and keep them around. For these reasons, you have to enhance employee communication. Here are some guidelines to help you get started.
Select the Right Communication Channel
As a restaurant manager, one of your main responsibilities is managing employees. From dishwashers, hosts, and bartenders all the way to cooks and chefs. They are all under your close supervision. You and your assistant(s) have to create schedules, shifts, and working hours for every position in the restaurant. Moreover, you have to make sure everything runs smoothly.
For this reason, communication with employees is crucial. Employees should receive timely updates regarding their shifts, workload, assignments, rotating menu changes, specials, etc. These pieces of information help them do their jobs well and be more efficient.
Communication is even more important if you have a whole restaurant chain to run. As the number of restaurants you manage increase, so does the number of employees. Therefore, you need to find a global and practical communication channel to keep every employee on the same page.
Owing to its simplicity and user-friendliness, intranet solutions are the right communicative tools for most restaurants. They have proven to be highly beneficial during the COVID-19 pandemic. Managers can easily send messages to employees and keep them posted at all times, regardless of where the employee is.
Schedule Regular Check-ins with Employees
Here is a question: When was the last time you had a proper chat with your employees? The answer is probably — way back when you first hired them, right? This means that other than what was listed on their resume and the impression you formed during the hiring process, you may know little to nothing about them. If you want to make communication between your staff more efficient, you have to communicate not only more but also regularly.
The easiest way to do so is if you schedule regular check-ins with employees. They can take place once a week or even a month. Twenty or thirty minutes of your time will be enough. Make sure you sync your employees’ calendars. This way they will receive reminders and not miss their scheduled check-in. You can take the employee to a nearby coffee shop because neutral territory will make them feel free to openly voice their concerns.
Gather Your Staff for Meals
There is no better way to bring your staff closer than to gather them for meals. Staff meals should be informal and stress-free. Employees can joke, laugh, share, chat while enjoying a tasty meal. Of course, you can’t really gather all of them every day because of their conflicting shifts. Still, don’t let it stop you. You can arrange a staff meal once a week and make it mandatory. It can be an early lunch so everyone can attend.
While such informal get-togethers are ideal for discussions, you should also bring on the fun. For instance, you can make a team-building activity out of the meal, or just let them unwind and casually chat among themselves. Staff meal can also be a tasting menu where the chef tries on new recipes before they decide to include them in the menu.
If you run a franchise, then you should organize staff meals for employees of a specific restaurant. This way, you will achieve the primary purpose — improving communication among the staff.
Have a Suggestion Box
Employees don’t always feel confident enough to come up to you, their manager, and give feedback or suggestions. As their superior, they often can be afraid of your reaction or some kind of a backlash. That is why, in most cases, they keep their ideas to themselves. Even if you have a friendly relationship, they would send you an email rather than talk to you in person. However, if something needs to be improved around the restaurant, you have to be aware of that. Otherwise, nothing will ever change.
Because of your role, you should give more opportunities for your employees to openly communicate with you. You have to encourage them to give and receive feedback and suggestions. Then, you can provide them with the means to do so.
For example, you can put a box in one corner of the restaurant. The suggestion box will work out only if you take their opinions seriously and take action. When your employees see how committed you are to changing things for the better, they will become more engaged and efficient.
Keep All Practices & Guidelines in Digital Format
Even when all of your employees are good communicators, breakdowns and misunderstandings happen. Most of your staff feel uncertain when it comes to particular tasks, no-shows, canceled reservations, etc. While they learn how to resolve these problems during training, they aren’t really prepared for every scenario that could happen.
As a manager, you can overcome this challenge and fully prepare your employees for every type of situation. You can create guidelines and best practices for everything in the restaurant, from sitting arrangements to side work. When you have all the instructions prepared, keep them in digital format along with other relevant documents such as handbooks, manuals, etc. Don’t forget to inform your employees where they can find all the data and give them access.
There you have it. Once you improve communication between your staff, you will see how happy your employees are and how smoothly your restaurant operates.
About the Author
Morgan Rose Elliott graduated marketing from The University of Sydney. Hobbies include yoga, reading, home renovation. Rookie blogger who loves writing about business and lifestyle equally. She is happily married, stay at home mother of three. Follow her on Twitter.
