We are well aware you have a full plate with owning and operating your restaurant, but employee compensation is key to maintaining loyal employees. Traditionally, the model has been to pay your kitchen staff by the hour and your wait-staff makes their money on tips. But in order to not have high turnover the best kind of compensation is to motivate your employees and bring their priorities in line with the priorities and goals of your restaurant. These strategies are different depending on whether you are dealing with the front or the back of the house employees.
Front of the House
It seems unusual to suggest another way to compensate, as tips are so ingrained in the minds of those in the restaurant industry. Yet, European restaurant servers are salaried. Interestingly enough, priorities for salaried servers change. When servers are paid on tips, they have two goals; to upsell and raise the average check and turn tables as quickly as possible. However, this can affect good service and the overall experience of the customer.
Salaried servers do not feel the pressure to hurry. They are free to focus on good customer service that adds to loyal and repeat customers. In these cases, a flat rate service charge is added to the bill and goes directly into payroll. Bonuses and incentives can also be considered for salaried servers who are top sellers.
And the best part about a salary method is that you enable and encourage career servers. Turnover is almost non-existent when you provide a stable income for your employees. You will also save on training new staff and maintaining a consistent level of good service.
Back of the House: Share Profits
Creative Compensation Strategies
The kitchen must be efficient. Kitchen staff is paid by the hour and will not be paid if they continually mess up. They are more concerned about keeping their job than the amount of money they earn. An incentive to promote productivity is profit sharing. Kitchen staff accumulates shares depending on how long they’ve been with you. A portion of the profits can be divvied up among the staff quarterly.
In a profit sharing kitchen, it behooves the sous chef who has been with you for a number of years to teach the new-bees the correct way to do things limiting spoilage. It is in his/her best interest to cut food costs whenever possible and teach. Line cooks must learn to minimize energy turning the range off during slow periods. Scales should be used to limit waste.
Following these creative compensation strategies you will find your profits will still rise because of the kitchen is running efficiently and the turnover rate will plummet saving you time and quality control with an inexperienced staff.
Please note, these strategies only work for some segments in the restaurant industry. It might not work in casual dining establishments, but in these smaller informal restaurants there are other ways to be creative.
