3 Tips to Build Staff Morale

Restaurant owners..... staff's morale, what's that?

Have you ever had this happen...  It's Rush Hour and your Chef Just Quit...

Why you ask???

Staff turnover is a huge problem in the restaurant industry. It’s actually even substantially higher than call center turnover – about 33% in the call center business as opposed to nearly 63% in the restaurant industry.

Sure, you can always go out and get another worker, but have you considered the cost of hiring and training that worker? That’s actually another thing that restaurants and call centers have in common – it costs about $3,500 to recruit, hire, and train a new worker. Imagine how that affects your bottom line.

What Can You Do?

You could, of course, just accept high employee turnover as a cost of conducting business. Or you could work to retain the workers that you hire. In order to do that, you need to think about why employees leave jobs. Again, let’s compare restaurants and call centers. Both are high-stress jobs that don’t pay much. Both have a high burnout rate.

So let’s think about how to get, and retain employees in jobs that are stressful and low-paying.

Get the Right People the First Time Don’t settle.

Avoid that mentality that tells you, “I can always get someone else,” and look for people who don’t have a history of jumping from one low-paying job to another. You know that you’re not going to be paying much, so harsh as it sounds, look for people who are happy at a low rate of remuneration. You might also consider offering just a little bit more – sometimes, a few cents more per hour will get you a better employee, and if you add up the cost of their wages compared to the cost of hiring and training someone else, you’ll still end up to the good.

Start a Loyalty Program

You can decrease your turnover by offering incentives. How about an “Employee of the Month” award? It doesn’t have to involve much financial outlay. Just a $50 gift card and a certificate of recognition can make an employee feel valued and more likely to want to stay on. And again, compare it with $3,500 to train someone new.

Thank Them Seriously.

Really, really, thank them. It costs nothing. But remember when you had your first low-paying job? Remember locking up for the night and going home and thinking, “Well, another day that sucked”? Now, do you remember an employer who said, “Guys, we had a really hard day here, and you all went the extra mile. I just want you to know that I couldn’t do this without you, and I appreciate everything you’ve done.” Sometimes, that’s all it takes to build loyalty, so if you haven’t been doing it, start.

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