Managing staff can be an extremely difficult and draining process, especially if you are not experienced in frontline management or are a natural leader. Please remember that this manual isn’t specifically about managing people, however I’ve picked up a few strategies and tactics to assist in motivating and steering your team towards your desired goal.
- Try not to scream and yell at troublesome staff – raising your voice is probably not the best way to manage staff in the frontline, especially in this industry. Screaming and yelling will not genuinely motivate your salespeople (your bartenders and waitstaff). Remember that negativity breeds negativity – so if you have to yell and scream, be prepared for the repercussions. I’m not suggesting you let your troublesome staff take advantage of you, I’m suggesting you act professionally and objectively. Screaming and yelling is going to lower morale. Try and reprimand staff without raising your voice.
- If you have troublesome staff, take them aside (individually) and ask them why they are behaving like they are. Take a team approach (“Do you understand that your behaviour is letting the team down?”, or, “Do you understand that your behaviour is steering the team off course?”, or “Other staff are working twice as hard to pick up your weight”. Remind them of the impact of their behaviour). If you find this to be unresponsive, take a personal approach (“Do you understand you are letting me down?”) and/or remind them of any personal guidelines they may have acknowledged and agreed to following when they began employment (if this applies).
- If a staff member is acting disrespectfully towards you, ask them to respect the position you hold (as supervisor/manager/owner), if they can’t find the ability to respect you as a person.
- Establish all the facts before your reprimand a staff member. There is nothing worse than raising an issue with a member of your team to realise it wasn’t their fault (or they weren’t involved at all). Do your research before you take action.
- If you are a senior manager, be ‘big brother’. Use closed circuit television and other tools to your advantage. Catch staff ‘off guard’.
- Be professional in everything you do. Don’t gossip, or whinge – you’ll get more respect from your team if you keep as much professional integrity as possible.
- Don’t consistently socialise with your junior staff. Keep a ‘proximity barrier’ between yourself and your team. You’ll find it easier to delegate and reprimand staff if there is a degree of ‘unfamiliarity’ between you and your subordinate ranks. Plus, your staff will respect you more if you keep your personal life shrouded.
- Be prepared emotionally and physically and leave your personal life at the door. Sometimes things get tough (customers will scream at you, your staff will begin to struggle…) and it pays to be emotionally and physically prepared for anything your shift is going to throw at you.
- Don’t backstab or be two faced. If you have nothing nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all. Period.
- Try and network as much as you can. Introduce yourself to high-flying regular customers. Introduce yourself to other industry professionals (at other venues). You never know what they can offer you, or what you can offer them in return. You may secure a rare job offer, or be able to ‘poach’ staff from other venues. Networking is a very powerful tool in the hospitality industry.
- Invite the staff of other venues to your venue for training sessions and specialised product master-classes. This is a good way to get noticed in the industry, and the other venue’s staff will recommend your establishment to their You’ll soon gain a solid reputation in the industry if you have the means and ability to invite other staff to train at your venue.
- Recognise the efforts of your employees. Say ‘thank you’ to each and every staff member, genuinely and with sincerity. Contribute to their positive emotional connection with your establishment. Everybody will benefit from your positivity – the staff member will feel good, and you will (probably) feel good when delivering your gratitude.
- Delegate professionally. Research delegation techniques on the internet and in libraries.
- Give non-smokers small breaks too – this will be great for morale for those who don’t smoke.
- Try and be as approachable as possible. Your job will be much easier if people feel they can approach you when something undesirable has happened.
- If a difficult situation presents itself to your team, keep a cool head. Take the approach of ‘we are all on the same team, getting the same job done’.
- If a staff member causes a problem or situation, focus initially on the actual problem, not the staff member who caused the problem. Then follow up with a ‘who-did-what-and-why’ interrogation.
- When asking for promo stock (free stock) from your suppliers, also ask for dummy display bottles. They should be more than happy to, as you’ll be displaying their stock in your venue (and you also get free stock, which boosts your profitability, so everyone wins).
- Use a business card holder to store your suppliers’ business cards.
- Conduct your ‘see-ability’ carefully. If you are required to spend time in your office, manage your time correctly. Don’t sit in the office during your busiest periods. You need to be on the floor, orchestrating your venue. Be seen doing so.
- If you operate a cocktail bar, pay your most talented staff three hours every three month to experiment and make new cocktail recipes for themselves. Your staff will enjoy the time they get to formulate their own creations (conducting thought leadership) and you’ll get some great cocktail creations for your cocktail list.
- When you are writing a cocktail list, keep your target market in mind. Analyse your customers. Don’t make your cocktails too fancy if your customers won’t like them, and don’t make your recipes too expensive to produce if your customers can’t afford them. On the other hand, don’t use inexpensive or basic ingredients if your customers don’t want to be seen drinking them.
- Enforce the #1 cocktail creation rule: taste every mix before it is served.
- Organise a mystery shopper campaign. Offer sensible prizes (which will motivate staff) and set reasonable targets for customer service and ‘upselling’ skills.
- If you can’t afford a mystery shopper campaign, conduct a fake mystery shopper campaign. Carefully observe a diligent staff member conducting themselves amicably. Reward the staff member (and claim it was from a mystery shopper).
- Offer group and individual incentives to your staff. In my experience, group incentives work the best (offer your staff a party or something they can share as a team). Example ‘team goals’ could be to sell a certain number of cocktails in an evening, or take a certain amount of cash across the bar (revenue) in a certain time frame.
- If you are a bar manager, ask your superior/bar owner for incentives. Chances are they will be accustomed to the concept of entrepreneurship and will understand your approach. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
- If you are a bar owner, offer incentives to your staff. You’ll gain more productivity from a motivated staff member.
- Throw luxurious parties for your staff. If your establishment is known (internally and externally) for its epic staff parties, your staff will happily work under pressure to be rewarded with luxurious and exclusive party events.
- Have a ‘compliments’ wall in your staff area, where all written compliments are kept on display. This will breed positivity amongst your team.
- Find out what motivates your team, and ‘dangle the carrot’ to steer them towards desired goals. If you understand what motivates them, your job will be much easier.
- Bring a camera (either digital or Polaroid) in to work, and have a ‘photo wall’ where photos of your staff (having fun, or at a staff party, etc.) are on display. This will contribute to a positive morale amongst your team.
- Ask your team if they need anything extra to better do their jobs. You may be surprised by the things they ask for, and the greater result they’ll deliver.
