Restaurant staffing is one of the keys to success in the F&B business. Hiring is one of the most important task for any business owner. Finding the best possible employees will help you boost productivity and improve service quality. Attracting top talent is even more crucial in the restaurant industry, as good employees will help your restaurant set itself apart and place it on the path towards success. However, knowing just what you need to do in order to attract top quality employees can be tricky.
There are around 35 thousand restaurants in Australia, which means you will have a lot of competition when it comes to finding good employees. So in order to help you out, today we are going to look at some tips and general rules you should follow when attracting top quality employees to work in your restaurant.
Good working conditions
One of the most effective ways to attract top quality employees is to offer good working conditions. Keeping employees happy will let their talent really shine. The Swedish Work Environment Authority even produced a brochure on great working conditions in restaurants as as a guide.
Almost no one will want to work in your restaurant if you have an old rundown kitchen with rusty tools. In fact, seeing this will make anyone with any talent instantly walk away. Because of this, you need to make sure your kitchen (and the whole restaurant, for that matter) is in the best shape possible. This will mean investing in new kitchen tools, tables, tableware or even renovating the whole kitchen if your funds allow it. You shouldn’t stress about the extra money you put in as it will definitely be worth the investment in the long run.
Potential for personal growth
Providing good working conditions is crucial when attracting talented employees. However, mere good looks won’t get you far unless you have something more meaningful to offer them. One of the most important things every talented person looks for when seeking a job is the potential to grow and expand their knowledge and skills while working for you. This potential for personal growth is one of the main driving factors behind every talented person, especially those working in restaurants. This is also the thing that makes them valuable and sets them apart from the rest, and is important to remember for the restaurant staffing question. Because of this, you should aim to create an environment where they can constantly keep improving by offering them extra things like extra training through different courses but also the potential to experiment and try something new every once in a while.
A positive business image
An often overlooked asset that can help you attract good employees is a positive business image. In short, maintaining a positive business image will improve the opinion the general public has of your business and as such will make your business more desirable in the eyes of talented people who are looking for a job, as they will be able to say that they work at a respected workplace.
The most effective way of maintaining a positive business image is through brand building. Australians put a lot of emphasis on business branding, which is evident by the fact that they spend almost 17 billion dollars on advertisement each year which is the primary way the message of a brand is delivered and established. This means that the Australian branding market is very competitive, which is why a lot of companies turn to professional branding agencies that can allow them to get an effective brand strategy in Australia without having to put too much effort into it themselves while at the same time guaranteeing their brand stays competitive.
Employee recognition
While finding ways to attract employees to work for you is important, it would be pointless unless you are able to keep them working with you for longer periods of time. Luckily, there is a way to work on both attracting top quality employees and making sure they are loyal to you at the same time and it’s called employee recognition. Being recognized for the hard work you put in is a fundamental human need and giving your employees recognition, whether it’s through positive feedback, different rewards or even something like flexible work schedules, it will ultimately show them that you really appreciate the effort they put in.
Restaurant Staffing is Complex, but doesn’t have to be Difficult
Your employees make up the main driving force behind your business so you should make sure you have the best possible ones working for you. The ideas listed here for restaurant staffing are only a few of many you can use to attract top quality employees to your restaurant, however, they will give you a strong foundation from which you will later be able to expand. You should remember that implementing these ideas will take time, so make sure you start working on them as soon as possible in order to start seeing results.
Victor T. Miller, a Sydney-based business and marketing specialist who has expanded businesses over 5 years. Regular contributor at Bizzmark blog. I am a person who loves to inform people about the latest news in the industry also as sharing tips and advice based on my professional experience and knowledge.
