As a restaurateur, you rely on your staff to provide stellar service and keep your customers happy. However, in order for your employees to perform at their peak, you may need to consider adding temporary staff to your restaurant at peak seasons, to help them cope with the added customer traffic. In addition to keeping your clients satisfied, hiring extra temporary staff will keep your restaurant running smoothly.
Getting the best seasonal employees
Plan in advance
If you have been in the restaurant business for a while, you probably know the peak business seasons. About three months before peak season hits, review your business with the aim of finding where you may need extra workers. In addition, talk to your staff and find out what they may need extra help with.
Think carefully about the sort of skills that you would like the new staff members to have. Decide how much training you will need to give, as this will influence the amount of time you require to advertise, recruit and train.
Get the recruitment advert right
When writing recruitment advertisements, make it clear what the role will be and list the skills required for the job. Additionally, make it clear that this will be a temporary role.
Add a description of your restaurant and share a snippet of your brand as this will give potential workers an idea of the type of place they will be joining.
The design of the advertisement should also reflect your brand and give people a glimpse into your restaurant culture.
Lean on current and former employees
Current employees are a good starting point when looking for extra workers. They may know other people, who are skilled and maybe good additions to your team.
If you have stellar former workers, you might want to reach out to them. You may find they are available to rejoin your team for the season.
Some people may look good on paper and interview well while hiding some issues they may have had at their former workplaces. Checking references may reveal any areas of concern that you may want to look into. Going through your potential workers’ social media pages may also give you an idea of the kind of people they are. Use this information to judge whether or not you would like them to represent your restaurant.
Once word gets out that you are searching for extra workers, you may find yourself inundated with job applications from skilled people. When you reach this point, look for people who not only possess the required skills but also have the attitude that will help them fit in with your company culture.
Take time to train
When your new recruits turn up for work, take the time to train them. Even if they have prior restaurant experience, you need to teach them how things work in your particular restaurant. Give them a background of your restaurant and the story behind your brand. This will help them appreciate why you do things the way you do and may motivate them to live up to your brand standards.
If you have hired a number of people, train them as a group as this will save time and help them bond as a group. You could also assign some of the older workers to help the newer recruits learn the ropes.
As you put a seasonal team together, remember that your customers should come first. Pick people who fit well with your restaurant’s culture and are driven to providing the best customer service.
