If you don’t think a high turnover rate can have a negative effect on your business, think again! Having to advertise for hiring can cost your restaurant money, training new employees takes time and money and having a high turnover rate can give a bad impression to customers or investors. As a restaurant owner, you have the ability to create an environment that encourages employees to stick around. Today we will cover a few tips to help minimize employee turnover and create more satisfied employees!
Tip 1: Increase Pay
This may not be feasible for every restaurant, but paying employees more will mean they are less likely to leave and more willing to invest time with your business. Also, if you factor in the amount you are spending on recruiting, advertising, etc. to fill all of your vacant positions, you might not be spending a whole lot more by paying your employees a better wage.
Tip 2: Create a Culture of Positivity and Professionalism
There is bound to be disagreements between staff, but having a strong culture of positivity and professionalism will help to alleviate some of the high stress tension. This culture should begin during the hiring process, continue through training and be reinforced daily by how management conducts themselves and interacts with employees. The employee handbook should include the culture of your business and be clear in stating expectations. You want employees to know that they matter and that their voices will be heard. Creating a rewards program for employees is also a great way to spread positivity and get employees excited about going above and beyond. Having an employee of the month who wins a giftcard or gas card or allowing employees to shout out positive work related things about their coworkers on a cork board, then tallying up to see who had the most shout-outs and gifting them is a great way to create positive culture!
Tip 3: Communicate
Communication is key to a healthy workplace. Holding staff meetings is a great way to keep everyone in the loop about work related issues. This gives employees a space to speak up on any questions or concerns they might have and also allows space for positive feedback. Issuing comment cards or quick surveys to see what employees enjoy most about where they work and what they think could be improved are good for getting honest feedback to better build that positive culture you are striving for. Share the successes and the struggles as you see fit, but include your staff so they feel a sense of ownership and investment in where they work.
Tip 4: Conduct Exit Interviews
Take the time when an employee does leave to ask them some questions. Ask them why they are leaving. You want to get as much information as you can to see if there is anything on your end that can be corrected. Are they leaving because of pay, bad work environment, limited technology? Learning why can help in preventing more turnover in the future.
It’s important to remember that sometimes you can’t help it. People are going to move on and that is ok. Just be sure you are doing everything on your end to create a strong, healthy work environment that people want to be part of. Minimizing your turnover rate can save your restaurant money in the long run and will make for a less stressful environment for the staff members who are sticking around.
