Whether you are a quick-service restaurant, fast food, family or casual dining, or a fine dining restaurant, your employees make or break your business. New food businesses open shops every day. That means customers have a lot of options to choose from. While having mouth-watering delicacies and exotic menus is a must-have to stand out, the restaurant brand you portray to customers has a lot to do with your employees. Hiring the best restaurant employees is not even an option. So, what should you keep in mind when hiring restaurant staff?
Hiring Restaurant Staff: What To Know
What do you need?
Your food business is unique, and the staff requirements are pretty different from any other. So, take a pause and evaluate what this means to your restaurant. How many vacant positions do you have? And how many restaurant employees will you need regarding the capacity? Note these down.
Establish the job description
Before potential employees apply for a job, they will go through the job description to determine if they are a perfect fit. The job description is an important part of restaurant staff recruitment. The requirements of the job should be clear and precise. They should incorporate your expectations and what you wish for your staff, like their experience and qualifications. It sounds simple until you realize even the tiniest of details matter. Some waiters may not appreciate having to wipe the tables. Be sure to include such items in the description.
What approaches can you use for hiring restaurant employees?
Where do you intend to post ‘restaurants hiring?’ The good news is there is more than one approach.
- References
Although conventional, referrals remain unbeatable as the best way for hiring restaurant staff. These are usually references from our friends and family. Most times, the recruits have an idea about your restaurant’s values and practices.
- Agencies
Agencies are known for offering the best, highly trained employees, with a top-up of traits that any employer would go for. The downside is that you may have to spend more than doing it yourself. Still, what you get is worth it!
- Get the adverts on display
You can opt for newspaper advertisements or try the trending and effective online platform. From Facebook, Instagram, to LinkedIn, the mediums are endless.
- Choosing the best candidate during the interview
Your restaurant staff holds the key to an excellent reputation. You can’t afford to hire anyone other than the best. Look out for how they present themselves and how flexible they are. Can they handle peak hours and unreasonable and hostile customers? What happens if a customer shouts at them? Present various scenarios to determine how they would react in those settings. Similarly, personality is crucial. For instance, your chef doesn’t have to be outgoing, but your waiter does.
- Is the recruitment done? Not really!
Your recruitment process ends once you trust your recruits to do their job satisfactorily. This is through adequate training. You could opt for professional assistance to instill your restaurant principles, but that may be costly to some. Cheaper is creating a manual for the new employees. It helps if they can have somewhere to refer to.
Hiring restaurant staff is a painstaking process that needs to get done diligently to create and uphold an admirable brand by customers. Why? You don’t meet and speak to your customers often like your staff. You could seek assistance from restaurant recruitment agencies for the best results.
