Don’t underestimate the power of communication. It’s one of the things you can never have enough of, especially in the fast-paced restaurant industry.
Increasing the communication between your restaurant managers and your employees is one of these issues you probably consider here and there but rarely pay enough attention too. Yet creating good and open communication between your staff can lead to a more focused and positive workplace. Let’s cover some tips on how to increase communication.
1. The Open Door Policy
Utilize it, use it, and abuse it. Sure it can make it a little tougher for higher management to get things done due to interruptions but you have so much to gain in the long run. Essentially it means that your manager’s door is always open for communication. It makes employees more comfortable approaching and speaking to managers and to bring up issues and problems should they arise. Don’t underestimate the value of an open door policy
2. Feedback
Provide your employees with ample feedback. Let them know how they are doing and that you take an actual interest in their individual performance. Putting effort and time into coaching them transpires that you care. You care about your employees and your business. But remember, when coaching it is important to document as well as share with your fellow managers. For this case, utilize logbooks or a management software to help your managers keep track of what’s going on with the staff.
3. Staff Meetings
Hold regular staff meetings. The best way to avoid miscommunication and to make sure that everyone is on the same page is to hold regular meetings. The goal, stick to schedule, even when it gets busy. Implement regular scheduled meetings, check-ins when an employee starts their shifts, messages when they clock in, and find a regular place for updates so you can be assured everyone is informed and up to date. If your restaurant is going through a rough patch of bad reviews online, look into hiring online reputation management services it will help you regain customers and being more in contact with your employees will help you locate the issues and eventually will increase customer satisfaction. And satisfied customers are returning customers. Remember, a majority of your business relies on repeat customers.
4. Recognize Staff
And what’s more imperative – publicly recognize them. The majority of employees want to know how they are doing at work, particularly if they are doing well. And who doesn’t like compliments and acknowledgement? By openly recognizing employees, managers improve team morale and give individual employees a boost. If you make an employee feel good about their performance, they will give you 110% and continue the positive behavior to go above and beyond. On the flipside, don’t criticize and humiliate a staff member in front of other staff. That’s a conversation for closed doors.
5. Communication Tools
There are so many different ways to communicate and stay in touch these days. Implement and use them. I guarantee you there is an app for that since there is an app for just about everything out there. Communicating with employees via apps is gaining popularity within the restaurant industry. There is a number of communication tools that can assist in keeping everyone on the same page regarding shift times, shift trades, or any important changes you employees should be informed about.
Updated communication tools such as apps can have a major impact on the success of your business especially with a big part of your employees being millennials.
Ultimately, improving communication between managers and employees will build morale and create a more positive work environment. This positive environment and your staff being engaged and happy will be noticeable and in turn make for a better customer experience – because nowadays it’s not just about customer service anymore, it’s about the whole “customer experience”.