?? Vol 4 : How to build great restaurant culture, according to industry leaders

In this edition of Food Runner, we're talking culture. Because when employees are happy and healthy at work, they’re more productive and stay around longer. That means a more successful business for you.

ON THE MENU

?? Building great culture 101

?? What would Danny Meyer do

?? Culture of care, explained

STORIES FROM THE FLOOR

Your restaurant has a culture, whether it’s intentional or not.?

It's in your systems and in the behaviors you encourage. It's who you hire—who you fire. It's how you talk to guests and how you talk to each other. Simply put, it's how you do the things in your restaurant, and why you do them that way.?

At &pizza , culture looks like a Lyft credit for those working late nights so they can get home safe. Former President, Andy Hooper said:

“Every employee in the company has access to my cell phone, so they know how to get in touch directly. And so we get a lot of direct ideas.”

At Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe , they offer real-time pay for the younger, part-time workers. For working parents, flexible schedules for childcare and retirement benefits. For First-Generation Americans, English language lessons. CEO Dan Simpson added:

“...Good leaders don't need to guess from an ivory tower. It's just [about] talking to our staff. Surveys are a way to do that. In the last several months, we've asked them about why they stay or why they might be tempted to leave.”

Read?The Ultimate Guide to Building Great Restaurant Culture?to learn more about the ways industry leaders are putting culture at the forefront.

REALLY BIG INSIGHT

What do the world's best operators look for when hiring?

We asked prolific restaurateur Danny Meyer , the founder of Union Square Hospitality Group and Shake Shack , for his secret.

“At USHG we are looking for talent whose skills are divided 51-49 between emotional hospitality and technical excellence. We refer to these employees as '51 percenters'. I'll take Shake Shack as an example, because nobody in the history of Shake Shack has ever been asked to show on their resume how many times they've made a hotdog. Rather, the majority of what we're hiring for at a restaurant like Shake Shack—and I would say that this also applies to our full-service fine dining restaurants, are six key emotional skills that when possessed at a very high level, means someone has a high hospitality quotient, or high HQ. Measuring HQ is a way to ask, 'What's your propensity to care about making other people feel better when you do the thing you do?'"

Danny goes on to define the six emotional qualities of a great team member, which you can read about here (or listen to the recorded conversation).

BECAUSE YOU COULD USE A LAUGH

How would your team take on the worst day in sauce history?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

What do you get when one customer disputes his agreed upon $250 cancellation fee due to hospitalization, and one restaurateur is forced to eat the cost because of the credit card's travel insurance policy?

A heated exchange gone viral (you can see it here).

It was policy vs policy... with customer (and big bank) winning against a local restaurant. If your business was in this position, how would you react?

Understanding your restaurant's core values and culture may shape your actions. Are you team customer is always right? Team protect my team's time? Or somewhere in the middle?

HEARD!

7 Leaves Cafe is a brand on the rise. And they've built a strong foundation with their "culture of care" that extends to all aspects of their business.

Newton Hoang , their Director of Marketing and IT, shared countless insights with us about how and why they’ve done it (hint: it's an every day, evolving process).

The key? Listening to their employees needs. And their team wants to feel like they’re connected to something bigger, so 7 Leaves puts an onus on giving back. Across their 42 locations, managers and staff work with customers to give back to organizations like Toys for Tots, Humane Societies, food drives, and more.

"It definitely has been a retention strategy for us... but it's also an acquisition strategy for us. One of the things that we recognized through our own Happiness Index, which is what we call it, is that if you don't keep your team members engaged, they will go elsewhere."

Read our full conversation with him here (which also includes a link to listen along instead).

à LA CARTE

You don't have time for pointless articles. These aren't those.

?? Read: How to Put Employees First (according to 4 operators)

?? Read: How Your Restaurant Team Can Step Up for Women

?? Read: How to Improve Team Communication

?? Watch: How to Gather Honest Staff Feedback

TOGETHER WITH

Inflation's been brutal on restaurants and employees. With such slim margins, the industry's turning to customers to burden the cost with increased menu prices. But is that actually the only option?

A panel of experts from ChowNow , US Foods , and 7shifts think there's workarounds. Register to join this webinar where you'll learn industry tips and tricks to combat rising costs—without affecting your customers.

Attending is totally free! Register here

Want even more data (not the boring kind), resources, practical tips, and industry leader insights? Subscribe here to get the full version of Food Runner in your inbox.