StarChefs JobFinder
Career Center

• Employee Retention
• Get on your employees' "soft" side
• Spoil your seasonal staff

Get on your employees' "soft" side

Wondering how to increase staff retention? Nurture your employees with "soft" benefits. Believe it or not, employees can be interested in benefits other than money. Here are some suggestions on how to keep employees happy for less.

Provide a two-way flow of communication. Employees should be empowered to present both major and minor concerns to their superiors. In return, they must receive timely feedback and/or resolution for each issue.

Promote employee development through on-site training. Employees will stay as long as they continue to gain valuable experience and transferable skills.

Reward employees for off-site learning. Be aware of your employees' efforts to improve themselves outside of work. Try to incorporate any appropriate skill development into their daily routines.

Cultivate a pleasant environment. Consider playing music during prep time. Update your uniforms with unique hats or aprons. Hold team-building events to increase employee interaction and cooperation.

Finally, be honest about the money factor. If you can't increase salaries now, tell them why not. It's acceptable for you to set realistic growth criteria to be met before discussing salary increases again. However, you must follow through on whatever deal you strike. Remember, it's always better for the bottom line to retain good employees rather than to train new hires.

Spoil your seasonal staff

Does your seasonal restaurant have a 100% attrition rate? Wondering how you can get your team to come back every year? We have some simple suggestions that will make your staff eager to return.

Pamper them with parties. At the start of the season, hold a modest welcome party so your new team can get to know one another. Also, you might learn which staff members to pair together on different shifts. At the end of the season, reward your squad with a mega-blowout. This will give your team incentive to stay to the end of the season and something they will talk about the following year to new employees.

Provide off-hours activities. No matter your location, you can swap favors with recreational outfitters in your area, they provide equipment discounts and you provide dining discounts for their employees. If you're on the ocean, arrange for access to the best beaches and discounts for water sports (sailing, surfing, fishing, and kayaks). If you're in the mountains, provide discounts for mountain bike rentals, ski passes, canoeing and kayaking, or hot air balloon rides. Remember an athletic employee can ultimately be a better employee.

Find a partner. Keep your team together all year by making a deal to share staff with a complementary seasonal restaurant or resort. You might share the travel costs between your locations or help provide low cost guaranteed housing.

If you make your restaurant the place to be, your staff will return season after season.