How To Get Stability In Your Restaurant Kitchen

Australians are continuing to eat out more and more. New eateries, hotels, and restaurants are popping up on every available street front. But it seems that many close as quickly as they have appeared.

Why is this?

While a combination of factors influence the success of your business, one of the most important elements is having a talented and stable staff. Employees are the cornerstone of most industries, but probably in none more so than hospitality. Your business relies on them!

But it’s not just all about having smiling faces at your front of house. To keep things running smoothly at the front, you need your kitchen and back of house to work like a well-oiled machine behind the scenes. There needs to be motivation, consistency and stability in the kitchen. This will get you where you need to be.

Unfortunately though, high staff turnover is an all too familiar situation in many restaurant kitchens. Time spent on rehiring and training is money down the drain and can be damaging to kitchen morale. With labour likely to be the biggest cost to your business, it is essential to get it right in the first place.

But how do you find proven experienced key staff and how do you keep them in order to get stability in your restaurant kitchen?

SKILLED AND EXPERIENCED KEY STAFF

If your food isn’t good it doesn’t matter how lovely the atmosphere is or how nice the server was; customers just won’t come back. On the other hand, a restaurant with a reputation for great food has a head start on stability, and will be a beacon for other great staff.

Your chefs are at the centre of the operation; your business relies on the quality and consistency of their talent. Securing and then keeping an experienced and talented chef is paramount to the ongoing success of your business.

When you’re looking for a chef, it’s essential they can prove their skill in the kitchen and produce consistent meals time after time. They also need to have the experience to back up their talent. They need to know the ropes in a kitchen and understand how to work in a team. But, unless you have a rigorous screening process there is no guarantee you’ll get this when you hire someone.

If you’re looking for stability and you don’t have time to be as meticulous as you’d like, think about getting some help with hiring staff. If you do consider this, be sure to ask about the screening process to make sure it is rigorous, there is an independent skills assessment, and it guarantees you the outcome you’re looking for - a permanent chef.

Also, don’t just restrict yourself to local talent. Think about widening the net. There is a great pool of talent via 457 visas that comes highly skilled, tested and guaranteed to stay with you.

PASSION, MOTIVATION AND DEDICATION

Chef work is stressful, there are high expectations, and they work long hours on their feet. Passion, motivation and dedication are essential for a chef to thrive in this unique and fast paced environment.

These qualities also translate to a chef with great work ethic, that will turn up to work - day in, day out. A roster you can rely on will certainly help you create stability in your kitchen.

But how can you judge someone’s dedication and work ethic? When you hire, ask what their motivations are. What keeps them going, what are they working towards, what makes them committed to the job and keeps them focused and turning up to work.

Consider the efforts they’ve made to apply for the position. Are they well turned out, have they travelled far, are they motivated to stay with you long term? Do they see your job as a great opportunity for them?

Don’t forget to consider the value for money when you hire - a talented chef that stays with you will not only create income for you, they’ll save you money in staff turnover.

MANNERS!

The old adage is true - hire for attitude.

The ability for a staff member to create a good rapport with their coworkers can make or break a team. Don’t hire a great chef with a bad attitude. They will upset the stability of the kitchen and contribute to staff turnover. Get a great chef with a great attitude!

Foster a culture of respect and teamwork in your kitchen. Your staff should know how to treat you and each other. It’s amazing how far good manners and respect will take you.

BE A GOOD MANAGER

You can only get stability in your restaurant kitchen when it is managed well.

Plan and be organised. This will make sure things run smoothly during service, and when things run smoothly, it is a less stressful working environment, and people are more likely to want to stay with you.

Be a respectful leader. Make sure you help and encourage the staff and make sure everyone knows what they should be doing and when.

Good communication is vital. Everyone needs to be on the same page. Make sure your team knows their roles and their boundaries and understands the chain of command. It’s a matter of productivity. Each link in the chain is valuable.

FINAL THOUGHT

To run a successful restaurant business, your kitchen needs to be a well-oiled machine. At the centre of this, making sure your chefs are skilled, dedicated and reliable will keep the focus on producing great food and bringing the customers through your doors. This can only happen if you have the right staff to work with in the first place.

I’d be really interested to know your opinion and I’d be happy to discuss with you by phone  (0407) 743-276 or email [email protected].

Thanks,

Greg