Earning Respect from Your Restaurant Staff

Restaurant industry employees are an interesting group. You have the youngsters who join the crew for a quick buck before moving on to a more corporate job, and veterans who enjoy writing their own tickets and choosing their shifts.? Then there are those who just love everything about the industry; the challenge of creating new dishes or a wonderful dining experience, the satisfaction of physical work that doesn’t come home with you.

The tricky part is managing these diverse personalities.

What are the keys to earning respect?

Experience.

If you have worked your way up through the ranks, it’s more likely that your employees believe that you “get it.” You understand the challenges and the ups and downs of the restaurant business. You’ll relate to them better and they will respect you more.

Back them up.

If there is a customer complaint, hear the staff member out, too. (not within customer earshot of course) Make it right with the diner, but let the employee know that you understand and don’t blame them if it’s not their fault.

Don’t be a pushover.

While it’s important to support your staff, some of them will test their limits and try to get away with whatever they can. Don’t get a reputation for falling for excuses or shoddy work or you will lose the respect of the whole team.

Don’t avoid confrontation.

The restaurant industry often attracts strong personalities. If members of your restaurant staff don’t get along, first give them the opportunity to work it out on their own. But keep your eyes and ears open. If someone is dragging the rest of the organization down, get rid of them.

Keep them informed.

Let the staff know about plans for the restaurant or anything important going on to keep them in the loop. Tell them the good and the bad– expansion plans, volume slowdowns. Filling them in on the big picture can help them to make better decisions throughout the workday and makes them feel like part of the team.

Train continuously.

Keep them up with developments, more efficient work techniques, ?menu changes –anything that keeps them fresh and up-to-date. And, of course, have each staff member try the food so they can speak about it intelligently.

Bottom Line

Earning respect from your staff may be the most challenging part of all. but it’s worth the effort. Getting “buy-in” from the whole team will soon have your establishment operating like a well-oiled machine.