Successful restaurants are not unlike any other type of business regarding the connection between employee satisfaction and success. According to a recent study performed by economists, happy employees are approximately 12% more productive than unhappy employees.
What that means for your restaurant is that unlocking the secret to keeping your best employees engaged and happy is vital to the success of your business. When your employees are satisfied with their work, the quality of your business increases, and it is less likely to experience a high turnover rate, which is better for you on all fronts.
The Cost Of High Employee Turnover
Let’s face it, the hiring and training of new employees is not only an overwhelming thought, but it is also an expensive process. Recent studies determined the average cost of replacing an $8.50 per hour employee is approximately $9,440.00 per turnover, which is a staggering amount for any restaurant to absorb.
With the cost of employee turnover high for restaurants, let’s look at a few ways you can keep your best employees happy and productive.
Create An Open Door Atmosphere
When employees feel they can approach management and be heard, they respond more positively to their jobs. Make sure your employees feel free to speak with you about potential problems without fear of reprisal. But open doors swing both ways, and once you’ve created a workplace environment of communication, your business will benefit from the suggestions and ideas of your employees, not just merely managing their grievances.
Employee happiness soars when management is responsive and approachable, so encourage them to speak up and take stock in your restaurant.
Conduct ‘Stay’ Interviews
Exit interviews of employees leaving your restaurant are critical to determining what could be improved upon in your business. However, a proactive ‘stay’ interview of your best and longest working employees will tell you an entirely different yet crucial tale.
Stay interviews continue in the same vein as the open-door atmosphere of your restaurant and encourage communication with your best employees. Take their feedback and create actionable process changes based on what they like and dislike about their job with your company. This process shows you value your employees and consider them an integral part of the success of your restaurant.
Strengthen Your Team From The Inside
When possible, consider promoting your best employees to positions within your restaurant that consist of more responsibility or administrative tasks. When you invest in your best people, you strengthen your team as a whole. Give your employees incentive to remain with your company through the ability to grow professionally, and you will, in turn, reduce the turnover of valued employees.