Having an open team communication in your restaurants can be the difference between a restaurant that thrives and a restaurant that fails.
Poor communication between staff can end with employees quitting and unhappy customers.
Here are four tips to improving communication with your restaurant staff:
1. Hold Daily Staff Meetings
Staff meetings can be a great place to share new restaurant reviews that have customers have left (both negative and positive), ways your staff can improve the customer experience, shine light on employees doing great work, new menu promotions, and even a time to go over food cost reporting. Use this time to get your team on the same page so that everyone is working as one cohesive group.
2. Offer One on One Meetings
Sometimes your staff might want to say things during the team meeting but don’t feel comfortable saying them in front of their team members or other staff. Things like tension between employees or meals prepared wrong aren’t things that someone always wants to talk about in front of a big group of people. This is a great opportunity to check in with each staff members and talk about ways each employee can grow and how you can help them meet their goals.
3. Have More Than One Type of Communication
As humans, we all take in information differently. And with how advanced the world is becoming with technology; cell phones and computers seem to be taking over our daily lives. We use them to make purchases, make payments, and even communicate via texts and emails. After a staff meeting, share updates through a digital form of communication such as an email, text, or create a team board.
4. Encourage Feedback
Employee feedback is so valuable. Make it a habit to ask for feedback from your employees. There is more than one way you can do this: an anonymous suggestion box, team meetings, and one on ones with your staff. This helps keep your staff engaged and can results in less employee turnover.
Communicating effectively and having an open-door policy sends a message that you value your employees and what they have to say. Improving communication in your restaurant can improve the overall employee morale and keep your business running successfully.
