Employees are the backbone of every restaurant. They interact daily with guests and serve as ambassadors for the brand. Having a hardworking team on your side is crucial for running a profitable restaurant that’s a favorite spot among diners.
Restaurants rely heavily on high-quality service that results in customer satisfaction that it’s worth investing in a solid team of employees. But the hospitality industry suffers from high turnover, with a rate averaging 70 percent due to a variety of factors, including 27 percent of employees are still in school.
A fun restaurant concept, such as Angry Crab Shack, can help attract enthusiastic employees. Its lively atmosphere attracts the right people, and the way you manage your employees can keep them around for years to come. Here’s how:
Develop Consistency
Keeping policies, practices and scheduling consistent helps your staff create a routine and get comfortable at work. Proper expectations will help staff know what to expect in the long-term for their job. So be consistent on policies about uniform and tardiness, for example, so they can show up for work on time and ready to work.
Creating a consistent schedule allows employees to plan a routine around their shifts. Consider using scheduling software that allows employees to check schedules on their smartphones. Consistency allows the employer to set expectations and employees to make a plan.
Provide Top-Notch Training
A comprehensive training program mitigates unpreparedness and misunderstandings among employees. Putting an under-trained employee in front of guests is stressful and can lead to low job satisfaction and turnover. A well-informed employee is better equipped to answer questions and solve problems with guests.
Angry Crab Shack trains new franchise owners for more than 90 hours at their corporate office and through online programming. During this time, you will be trained on a variety of franchise owner essentials, such as operations, site selection, hiring and employee training. Franchise concepts use a proven training program for every location, which provides consistently qualified employees across the system.
The employee training portion will teach you how to help your employees become acclimated to your restaurant culture and perform at their best ability. Besides the buttery crab, top-notch service provided by your employees will keep your guests coming back for more. And, when that happens, employees take pride in a job done well.
Nurture Long-Term Growth and Goals
In order to promote long-term growth of employees, you must create a goal-driven work environment. Communicate regularly with employees to create objectives and longstanding plans for their career with your restaurant. Benchmarks and a clear career path can help staff imagine permanent employment. Offering these options to staff early on shows them you care, they have potential and helps them work toward fulfilling it.
Franchises offer a variety of career paths for in-store employees, whether that’s moving on to a management or corporate position, or even owning their own franchise location one day. Instilling these goals early on can provide incentives for employees to stay at your restaurant and build a career rather than just a job.
Incentives
Job incentives get employees excited to come into work every day and create a social community among them. Staff parties, themed dress-up days, birthday celebrations and contests with prizes make the work experience more enjoyable. Outings to local sports games or dinner gives staff a chance to socialize outside of work.
Having fun and showing appreciation for the staff’s hard work is crucial in helping a restaurant like Angry Crab Shack retain employees, grow the brand and be a fun place to work. It’s more than just a paycheck for our franchise owners, and we want our in-store staff to feel the same.