Im new to the food business. My big challenge is how to motivate my employees to do their best. Help!!?

Question

I want my employees to do their job right even without my supervision. How can I motivate them?

Answer 1

This is a difficult challenge especially for those workers who are extrinsically motivated.
When you come in to work, take notice of the things they have done correctly, or to those little things that are above your expectations. Let them know that you noticed them with a simple acknowledgement "Thanks for doing ..... today" or "Good job on this" "It's nice to see there's no dishes piling up" (the last one sounds corny but I'm sure you can think of a way to rephrase it)

Every once and a while roll up your sleeves and get down in the trenches with them, they'll appreciate that you're doing work along side them instead of just instructing them on what to do.

Ask them what you can do to make their job easier/more enjoyable. This can be done either face to face or have them fill out a form(sometimes anonymous is best for forms)

Make sure that you're always open to their comments and that they know if they have any questions about the job they can come to you.

Start an Employee of the Month program, the winner gets a free dinner at a restaurant in town or gift card somewhere.

These are all things that kept me motivated, although I was intrinsically motivated to do a good job anyway.

Answer 2

Having employees who do their best begins not with how to motivate them, but with two factors that seem somewhat disconnected.

The first factor is you, as in you must understand what kind of personality and managerial style you have. Adapting methods and using skill sets that do not suit you or your managerial style will not accomplish your goals. As the leader of the group you actions and logic should be linear and logical, adopting methods that do not match that logic, will not yield the results you are looking for. The fisrt step of employee relations success is that you must be genuinely self-aware.

Second, the hiring process is where employee motivation truly begins. Explainging in detail the expectations, demands, and "tough points", of the job the candidate is applying for will start that relationship of in the right place. Also, having that candidate look you in the eye and say that they can complete the job as described adds accountability to the relationship.

To complete the second step you must have a detailed extensive understanding of the job/s you are hiring for. If you do not have a detailed understanding of the job and your explanation is short of comprehensive, you will be giving bonuses and "great job" quotes simply to motivate the employee to do the job as expected, rather than to go above and beyond.

Finally, remember this, food is all about the busy times; dinner rush, lunch rush, sporting events, etc. etc. Making your base of expectations (things you expect all the time without question, busy or not, or there is hell to pay) quality service, and positive attitude, means that any other program or support is icing on the cake, best used during a rush to motivate the emplouyees to take that extra step to ensure the rush goes smoothly. You did hire these people to fulfill a task, if they can not meet the base expectation no bonus, or motivational system, or "great job" will solve your problem

This is complex subject, there are entire books dedicated to this subject, as such I tried only to hit on those things not yet mentioned.

Answer 3

always play to a persons strengths rather than highlight their weakness. Everyone has a motivational trigger, and everyones is different. Its when you blanket treat your employees that chaos ensues and respect is lost. Treat everyone as an individual, and you will reap the rewards by having friendly but respectful, co-operative staff. Its easier, on all of you, including you. Good luck

Answer 4

stay very +++ with them! I had a manager that was always - towards us and it seemed to take away every-ones confidence to be a good employee. We always felt like we were not doing things right. Aways give compliments!

Answer 5

give out perks... hits the pocket but works well.... discount or free food to employees.... early out cards for wait staff, whatever waiter/waitress goes above and beyond get one and can use to be first out on a future shift... seems to keep people moving