How to Choose the Right Team for your Start Up Restaurant

 Restaurant Manager's Handbook on amazon.

     You'll want the right team of workers in place when you're planning your start up restaurant. What should you know? What should you look for? How can you trust brand new staff members that you don't know?

     We've been there, done that, and often it's going to be a work in progress to find the right dedicated team so wanted to share our tips with you so that you can avoid problems hiring the wrong people and getting the right team in place.

One of the big problems with getting the right team in place is that so many people seem to think that anyone can work in a restaurant but, soon realize it takes more than they can give so it's one of the highest turnover businesses. It doesn't have to be that way if you know what to look for when hiring new staff members.      
     These tips will work for your new start up, newer restaurant trying to increase sales and profit or a struggling restaurant so we hope you'll take our suggestions and put them to good use. You can avoid hiring the wrong people for your business with the right questions.

What should you look for in new team members for your staff?

     ~  On time for the interview. Don't get started on the wrong foot with someone that can't be on time for the interview. I wouldn't even bother to interview this person, really. When someone is eager for the job, they'll do what it takes to get started early and arrive way before the interview time. This shows they have a good handle on time management and it's one of the keys to a good employee. Sorry for anyone that thinks that's harsh but, I've seen it too many times and offer this suggestion to restaurant owners/managers and you if you want the job.
     ~ Proper dress for an interview. I take this part seriously since it shows that the potential employee has a good understanding of and seriousness of the job. It's surprising to me that so many people would show up for an interview in shorts and a tee shirt.
     ~ Personable and eager: Since customer service is at the forefront of a successful restaurant, you want team members that already know how to be friendly, smile, are easy to talk to and show a willingness to learn, try hard with an understanding of these important attributes.
     ~  Knowledgeable in customer service. Many people that have had other experience in customer service will often work well in your restaurant so find out if they've had other work involving good customer service skills and how they would deal with problems.
     ~ Independent work. You want team members that can be shown or told a task and complete it without much supervision. There are too many tasks to be done in a restaurant to always have to be making sure things are getting done quickly and correctly. 


Qualifications to look for when hiring your start up team.
 
     ~ Experience ~ this is a tough one sometimes, since I've seen brand new employees excel even though they have no restaurant experience. When these particular people want to work for me, I can usually tell they'll be trainable if they've had other life experiences, similar job experiences, did well in school, are active in the community, have already visited my restaurant as a customer and want to be a part of it. In those cases, experience isn't always needed and you can still have a good employee that wants to be part of the team and will learn their way around quickly.
     ~ Work history. I like seeing potential employees that have long standing employment as it shows a dedication to the company, good or bad.
     ~ Good time management skills. Multi-tasking is necessary in the restaurant business so people that can show, describe and demonstrate their own good time management will be an asset to your business and growth. 
     ~ Calm, cool and collected. We all know that dealing with customers can often be tricky. Some people are never happy no matter what we try to do to please them. Having employees that won't start crying, stomp their feet, get angry or swearing and can demonstrate a cool and calm attitude is what you need.

How can you trust brand new staff members that you don't know?

     ~ One sure fire way to start earning the trust of a new employee is to be there yourself. It's your business, it's a risky business and you take all the risk as the owner!  I know many restaurant owners that disagree with this philosophy but, here's my take. Be part of the training or at least watch your trainers train your new people. I quiz them, watch them, teach them myself and I have them learn all the areas of the restaurant - who does what, they watch the chef and cooks, they learn from the bartenders and they get to know their way around the building.
     ~ Check references. All too often, I've seen restaurant workers bounce from one restaurant to the next simply because they don't belong in this business. If one of the other restaurants would have simply called the prior references, they'd have found out that this person isn't a good hire. You might find yourself though that since you're the competition, another restaurant will hire your fired employee just to get some information from them. You can't stop that but, more often than not - an ex-employee won't hurt your business by going somewhere else. Just keep doing what you excel at and your customers will keep coming. So do yourself a big favor, check references before you hire.
     ~ Give a new employee a task and make sure they follow through. Repeat and watch how they do it, their attitude and pride they show in their work.
     ~ Ask your best employees and customers for their opinion. Who knows better how a newer person is doing than the staff that works with them or the customers they serve. 
     ~ Run an X report on your POS system before one of your new employees picks up a table (especially useful for bartenders or anyone dealing in your cash) and then another X report when orders are added. See what is served and make sure everything given to the customers is accounted for on the customer ticket. Once, it's a mistake, and can be corrected on the spot. Twice or more and it's a warning sign. Unethical employees will try to hide sales and keep cash for themselves - these people are confronted immediately and fired on the spot.

Keep these tips on the top of your mind and always be on the lookout for more key employees to add to your team. It may take a while to find the right members for your team but, will be worth it when your business is up and running and increasing sales month after month. 

   Read more about Staffing a Restaurant and keep up the good work! You can do it, we're here to help you every step of the way. Cheers!