How can you ensure that your team meets service standards during busy periods?

1 Prepare your team

Before the rush starts, make sure that your team is well-trained, well-equipped, and well-informed. Provide them with clear and realistic service standards, such as time frames, quality expectations, and guest feedback methods. Provide them with the necessary tools and resources, such as checklists, menus, inventory, and uniforms. And inform them of the expected volume, special requests, and potential issues that may arise during the busy period. By preparing your team in advance, you can reduce stress, confusion, and errors.

3 Prioritize tasks

When the demand is high and the time is limited, your team needs to prioritize the most important and urgent tasks. To help your team prioritize, you can use a simple matrix that categorizes tasks into four quadrants: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither urgent nor important. You can then assign tasks to your team members based on their skills, availability, and preferences. You can also delegate tasks to other departments or external partners if necessary. By prioritizing tasks, you can ensure that your team delivers the best service to the most guests.

4 Monitor performance

To ensure that your team meets service standards during busy periods, you need to monitor their performance and provide feedback. You can use various methods to monitor performance, such as observation, reports, surveys, or mystery shoppers. You can then use the data to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can also provide feedback to your team members, both individually and collectively, to recognize their efforts, correct their mistakes, and suggest improvements. By monitoring performance, you can ensure that your team maintains quality and consistency.

5 Reward excellence

Finally, to ensure that your team meets service standards during busy periods, you need to reward their excellence and celebrate their success. You can use different types of rewards, such as monetary, non-monetary, intrinsic, or extrinsic, to motivate your team and show your appreciation. You can also use different ways to celebrate, such as parties, outings, certificates, or testimonials, to boost your team's morale and loyalty. By rewarding excellence, you can ensure that your team feels valued and respected.