By Theresa Bontempo
The restaurant industry is a fast-paced environment with very little room for error. After all, each time you offer food and drinks to your customers, you’re putting your brand and your reputation on the line. This is why it’s so important to hire staff that are qualified and can do the best job possible. Both the front and the back of the house employees need to feel like they’re seen by management, and that their voices are heard when it comes to policies and recognition for their contributions to the business.
Unfortunately this isn’t always the case, which is why the restaurant turnover rate is so high, at 79.6% as of 2024. Turnover is incredibly costly to restaurant owners, and it can reduce the morale of your workforce. So how can you reduce the rate of attrition and ensure your employees feel a part of the team? In this article we’ll be covering:
- Why restaurant employee engagement is so important
- 10 ways to keep your employees engaged
- Tips to help reduce turnover
Why is restaurant employee engagement necessary?
You want a workforce that is engaged and ready to do their best each day
Running a restaurant is hard work, but it can feel a little bit easier when you have the right team who wants to succeed.
If you want to run a successful restaurant, you’ve got to make sure you have the right employee engagement. This means more than just ensuring employees are satisfied with their job, it means that employees are motivated and invested in their work and representing the brand. You can’t just ask employees to feel this way, you’ve got to make sure you as the management have ways to grow this organically. When employees feel like they’re a part of a team, they’re more likely to want to contribute to the success of the restaurant, are enthusiastic about customer service, and create a welcoming environment for patrons.
There are a lot of beneficial metrics to ensuring your employees feel seen and heard in the workplace including:
- Improved customer service. Any restaurant that wants to flourish needs to make sure employees offer excellent customer service. While this can be easier to do when things go right, it’s definitely more challenging when things don’t. However, the way in which mistakes are handled with customers can still leave them with an overall good impression of the restaurant. When employees are engaged and enthusiastic about their job and performance, that authenticity shines through to customers, who leave with a good impression.
- Increased productivity. Employees that feel like they’re a part of a team that’s all working for the same goal are more productive when they’re at work. They can go out of their way to ensure other team members get the assistance they need, and they know that management is there to give support as well.
- More positive work culture overall. Engaged employees aren’t only more productive, they contribute to a more positive work environment. Satisfied employees want to make their time at work more enjoyable for everyone, which definitely has a rippling effect. These employees also feel like management is there to support them and create a fair environment, and they aren’t just there to oversee them. A positive work place is key to reducing turnover.
- Increase brand reputation. When you have a positive work environment with engaged employees offering fantastic customer service, your customers notice. This increases the chance that they’ll become repeat patrons who spread the word about the excellent experience they had at your restaurant.
Top 10 ways to keep your employees engaged
Tips to keep your employees engaged so you can reduce turnover rates
There are definite steps you can take to increase your employee engagement and help make your restaurant a great place to work!
If you’re ready to start investing in your employees, then you’ve got to start incorporating some best practices.
1. Create an employee engagement platform
One of the best ways to ensure that employees are engaged is to create an entire digital platform dedicated to this. You can easily create this with Shift, which offers ways to deliver custom made communications to your staff in real time. It’s easy to set up a TV screen in your employee area so you can use this digital platform to let your employees know about important information, goals, objectives, recognition efforts, and even employee-created content.
Shift makes it easy to deliver real-time messages as well as reminders and administrative information to employees.
2. Foster employee growth
No one wants to stay at the same level forever, as this can lead to boredom and turnover. Instead let employees know about all the opportunities your restaurant has for them to grow. Continuously learning is a great way to encourage engagement, as it sets clear goals that they can achieve, as well as a pathway to do it.
Growth can occur in all positions, whether it’s learning to manage a team, taking on supply ordering, or getting certified at different stations in the back of the house—it’s essential to promote a culture of learning and growth opportunities with your staff.
3. Effective onboarding
Finding the right people to work in your restaurant is easier said than done. Once you’ve found one that is a right fit, you’ve got to show them the proper support and encouragement before they even start. Make sure they have all the necessary information and are aware of expectations from day one. Ensuring that their co-workers and direct supervisors know their names and role is a great way to make them feel welcomed.
The lines of communication should always be open, but this is especially important for new-hires to ensure they feel supported and have the training and resources needed to do their job well.
4. Meaningful work
Every employee wants to feel like they’re contributing, which is why ensuring that their autonomy is respected and they’re empowered to make their own decisions is key. You don’t want to micro-manage employees to the point they feel like they aren’t trusted or that their decisions aren’t the correct ones. When they are encouraged to take ownership of their work, they’ll want to do the best job that they can. After all, taking pride in your work is a great sign that they feel engaged and supported.
5. Good communication channels
Open communication channels between managers and staff is an important part of fostering a supportive and positive work environment. Employees should feel comfortable coming to supervisors with concerns or suggestions, which should be considered with the respect they deserve.
Increasing employee recognition is one of the best ways to improve engagement and reduce turnover in the restaurant industry.
6. Recognition from management
According to a 2024 report, employees want to see more recognition from managers. Everyone likes to be called out for their hard work, and this can be an incredible motivator for other employees. Whether you want to do employee of the month events, have bonuses for reaching milestones, or just want to sing the praises of employees whose work often goes unnoticed, celebrating the wins of staff is always a good way to build team spirit.
Shift makes it easy to display employee accolades and shout outs so everyone on the team can see.
7. Work-life balance
This is important in any industry, but in the hectic restaurant industry, it’s very important. People would like to have flexible schedules, so work with team members to choose the best times for their shifts. While this isn’t possible all the time due to high demand hours, being willing to work with employees goes a long way. It’s also a good idea to offer paid time off, benefits, and encourage breaks away from their job throughout their shift.
8. Employee perks
Including perks like free/discounted meals or drinks is a nice way to show employees that you want them to enjoy their time spent at work. Because restaurant shifts don’t follow the 9-5 path, ensuring your employees are fed is a great way to make sure they feel their best and can offer the best service possible. It also makes them feel appreciated and increases their happiness.
9. Provide clear goals
Giving employees clear pathways to growth and ways to reach goals is another way to ensure they’re engaged. Encouraging them to continue to learn new skills (and attain higher compensation) is a great way to ensure your team is trained on a variety of tasks so they’re more capable and confident when they need to fill in or assist other team members.
10. Promote teamwork
And finally, you can’t get far in the restaurant industry if your team doesn’t work well together. Promoting a culture of teamwork and collaboration allows employees to learn from each other, and mentor less experienced members. When members of the team feel comfortable asking for help or guidance from other team members, you’re increasing their camaraderie and helping them work towards a common goal.
Key takeaways to increase engagement and reduce turnover
Know how to effectively manage your team and you’ll see results!
These 10 ways to keep employees engaged are going to yield great results, as long as you stick with them. It helps to be open and flexible with employees, and ensure to tailor those methods to your own specific workplace. Remember, you can help reduce turnover by:
- Ensuring employees are properly trained to do their job, and offer continuous training
- Offer competitive compensation and benefits
- Consistent recognition goes a long way
- Opportunities for growth
- Foster a positive workplace
How will you engage your restaurant employees and reduce turnover?
If you’re ready to stop the constant turnover that occurs in the restaurant industry, you’ve got to make an authentic effort to keep your employees engaged. When you’re ready to take the next big step to do so, contact Shift and we can set up a solution that will streamline workflow and keep employees happy!
.webp)
