How to Reduce Turnover at Your Restaurant

January 21, 2019

Having the right employees can make or break your restaurant. You can have the best food and kitchen supplies, but tension in the back of the house can cause delays, poor morale, and even the loss of key staff.

You can have a beautiful dining room, but surly wait staff can drive customers away, demoralize the good wait staff you have, and cause the failure of your restaurant.

In other words, it’s all about your people. Hiring the right people is a great first step, but keeping them is even more important. Here’s what you need to know about reducing turnover at your restaurant.

 

Select Great Management

Whether you’re the day to day manager or you’ve hired someone to take care of that responsibility, a good manager is vital to retaining the best staff. As they say, people don’t quit jobs, they quit their bosses.

A manager who is hard-nosed may simply be hard to work for. This isn’t to say that leaders have to be the employees’ best friends, but it’s important to be fair. Excellent communication and listening skills are key as well.

Finally, managers should help your employees understand the value of the jobs and encourage them to continue working toward their professional goals. This can help you develop your talent and keep your restaurant successful for years to come!

 

Invest in the Kitchen Supplies You Need

Sometimes a restaurant manager or owner thinks that running a profitable restaurant means cutting back on kitchen supplies. Forcing employees to make due with less doesn’t make them resourceful, though – it just makes them frustrated.

Kitchen supplies – from smallwares to cleaning supplies to functioning cooking equipment – are vital if you want to run a successful business. Employees can make do for a short time, but ultimately if you show you aren’t invested in the business, they won’t be either.

 

Handle Toxic Employees

As they saying goes, one bad apple spoils the bunch. This is definitely true when it comes to retaining your key employees. Someone who is difficult to work with, sabotages others, is unfair, or otherwise makes work unpleasant can definitely increase turnover.

Someone who slacks off and doesn’t do their work can back everyone up. Gossip, slander, and arguments can demoralize everyone and drive off customers.

Fortunately, you can manage a difficult employee. From providing awareness of the impact they have on others to demanding accountability, there are ways to either improve behavior or document unwillingness so that you can terminate.

 

Encourage Career Development

Unfortunately, too many restaurant owners and managers see their employees as lower-class workers who don’t need professional development. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Someone who is working for you has dreams of their own. What are those dreams? How can you encourage and develop them? What experience can you provide?

Treating employees well – whether they’re a long-timer or working through college – has tons of benefits. Not only will you get to keep your top employees, you’ll get great referrals from existing staff to bring in new folks.

Someone working through college still adds value to your establishment while they’re with you. Why not invest in them and keep them, rather than acting like you don’t care if they work for you or a competitor?

 

Lower Turnover Leads to Higher Success

When you really show that you appreciate your employees, you’ll do better as a restaurant overall. Even if fights don’t happen in front of customers, diners can always tell when there is uncomfortable tension in the air.

When you take steps to be an awesome place to work, from getting the right kitchen supplies to providing great development, folks want to be in your restaurant – from staff to customers!

If you need help upgrading your equipment or getting new kitchen supplies, we’d love to help. Contact us for a quote today!

Cooking Equipment Spotlight: Choosing the Right Fryer

Cooking Equipment Spotlight: Choosing the Right Fryer

Choosing the right fryer may seem straightforward. After all, you just need something to hold oil and keep it hot so you can cook some things, right?   Not quite. You have a lot of choices, which helps you choose the cooking equipment that’s perfect for your...

read more
Is Your Kitchen Equipment Ready for National Hamburger Month?

Is Your Kitchen Equipment Ready for National Hamburger Month?

Restaurants can always use a fun and playful way to bring in new customers. Did you know that May is National Hamburger Month? Why not use that fact as an entertaining way to bring in new customers? You can offer a special promotion on a hamburger, or feature other...

read more
How to Increase Sales From Your Cold Case

How to Increase Sales From Your Cold Case

As we move into May, it’s time to start thinking about ramping up your summer sales. One of the key focuses can be the cold case in your store. This piece of foodservice equipment can really boost your bottom line. A cold case gives you an opportunity to display...

read more
Keep Your Foodservice Equipment Coolers Clean & Functional

Keep Your Foodservice Equipment Coolers Clean & Functional

Whether you run a convenience store or a restaurant, you need safe storage for food that must be refrigerated. Commercial coolers are the foodservice equipment you need – but it’s important to keep them in good shape. Otherwise, your investment won’t give you the...

read more
The Best Kitchen Equipment for a New Graduate

The Best Kitchen Equipment for a New Graduate

If you’re like many people, you know a young adult who will be setting up their own place for the first time this summer. It’s an exciting time, but very nerve-wracking. It’s amazing how quickly the costs add up as you outfit an apartment – especially in the kitchen!...

read more
3 Times Used Kitchen Equipment is As Good As New

3 Times Used Kitchen Equipment is As Good As New

Are you nervous about buying used kitchen equipment? It’s understandable. After all, restaurants are subject to a lot of regulations, and if something goes wrong you could lose your business. However, there are many times that used kitchen equipment makes perfect...

read more
Understanding Restaurant Equipment: A Variety of Fryers

Understanding Restaurant Equipment: A Variety of Fryers

You may think of a fryer as a simple machine with a basket and hot oil. If you do, you don’t quite understand this restaurant equipment. You’re missing out on the enormous range of different fryers available! The truth is there are four very different types of...

read more
Keep Pests Out of Your Commercial Kitchen

Keep Pests Out of Your Commercial Kitchen

Having pests in your kitchen is already a nightmare, but if health inspectors find them it gets even worse. Keep your guests safe and your restaurant operating safely. Your commercial kitchen is automatically a target of a variety of bugs and other pests. It has...

read more
Outside the Commercial Kitchen: Food Safety While Catering

Outside the Commercial Kitchen: Food Safety While Catering

Many restaurants and other eating establishments like to provide catering for special events. Catering a huge business, worth over $53 billion per year. Catering allows your restaurant to reach customers who might never set foot in your establishment otherwise. It’s...

read more
Kitchen Equipment You Need: Wellness Mats

Kitchen Equipment You Need: Wellness Mats

When it comes to serving customers, you leave no stone unturned. You choose the best kitchen equipment, test your recipes, buy the best ingredients, and hire excellent staff. Unfortunately, there’s something that even the savviest restaurant owner often forgets –...

read more
5 Keys to Creating the Perfect Restaurant Seating Areas

5 Keys to Creating the Perfect Restaurant Seating Areas

Restaurants are about so much more than just food. From the setting and layout of your restaurant to your choice of colors, it takes a lot more than an appealing menu to keep diners coming back for more. When setting up your restaurant, booths and chairs are important...

read more