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December 19, 2024by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode 1, Part 2

Bar Hacks: ReFire: Episode 1, Part 2

by David Klemt

The second of three real-life hospitality scenarios discussed on the new Bar Hacks: ReFire podcast deals with onboarding.

More explicitly, I, along with cohost Bradley Knebel, client services director at Empowered Hospitality, look at a situation involving onboarding, training, leadership, culture, and potential imposter syndrome.

Our goal with every episode of ReFire is for listeners to gain valuable insights into bar, restaurant, and hotel operations.

Whether you’re a bar owner, manager, or aspiring hospitality professional, these episodes of Bar Hacks offer a wealth of knowledge and strategies to navigate the challenges of running a successful bar or restaurant.

Below, a transcript of the second part of the first episode of Bar Hacks: ReFire. For the lightly edited transcript of the first situation we addressed, click here. Bradley and I jump into each scenario cold (for the most part), so the tone is conversational rather than formal. In other words, they sound better than they read.

Cheers!

The ReFire Format

David: So, for the audience, what happened is, I sifted through… I’m basically going through online—there’s subreddits that, basically, everybody knows there’s a subreddit for everything. Good or bad, there’s a subreddit for it. Servers have a subreddit. Bartenders, chefs, bar owners, restaurant owners, hotel owners… I mean, they all have subreddits. And then there’s just, you know, forums all over the internet. You can find pretty much any topic. And so, I’m kind of sifting through these for real-world situations. And the caveat there is we’re gonna take these at face value, for the most part. Unless someone is like, “I’m just kidding,” like, “I got you all like in the comments…”

But we’re going to accept that these are really happening, because anyone in the industry knows if you’ve been in there, you know, for a few years, everything happens in this industry. So, a lot of this stuff is believable, even as outlandish as it might sound. The only thing I’m going to do, really, and Bradley’s going to do when we bring these topics up, is we’re not going to read them verbatim. We’re going to summarize. And the reason for this is I don’t want people to get doxxed. I don’t want them to, you know, get review bombed because someone decided, “I’m going to side with the server on this and let’s review bomb this operator.” You know, things like that.

So, we’re trying to be general but still get to the crux of the situation, and I’m sure they’ll get more specific as we go. I chose three to start with; hopefully, we get to all three. If we have a great conversation on, like, the first one or two, we’ll save the third one, or you know, however it works, for the next one. But that’s how this is gonna work. I’m sure it’ll evolve, ‘cause I’m not, like, a strict, like, “Oh, this is how it’s going to be” ‘cause it’s quote-unquote “my podcast,” because I’m not like that. We’re going to have fun with this.

Situation 2: Imposter Syndrome and Onboarding

David: So, situation two. This bartender, the way they phrased it, I don’t think they ever did a year straight with one employer. And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. Like, it’s like you just said, it’s a transient business.

Bradley: Transient.

David: The experience they had was, I’m gonna go with, like, “high-volume,” but you know, it’s a college bar, a dive bar, which I… Apologies to Travis Tober, he does not like that term. He likes “neighborhood bar,” and I agree.

Bradley: I also could have felt like something like an Olive Garden or an Applebee’s, especially because they talk about how many steps there are.

David: Good point. It could be a neighborhood chain restaurant, and they’re behind the bar. That’s absolutely possible. It’s not the Baccarat Bar, we’ll just put it that way, where their experience came from.

They got hired by a more upscale, higher-end venue. They were given one training shift. And from what I could determine, the cocktails routinely had a minimum of six ingredients. So, lots of steps, and yet it was still high-volume because it was a popular bar.

So, it’s high-volume with a lot of steps, which.. That was cool, you know, call it a dozen years ago, 15, when, like, “Wow, I’m gonna wait ten minutes for this cocktail ’cause it’s supposed to be awesome.” Where now people are like, “I don’t care if it’s 30 ingredients, I want this thing in three seconds ’cause I’m not standing here, and your team is supposed to be high volume.”

So, they got the one training shift—that was it. And the ownership and leadership team appears to like to sit at the bar. And I don’t know if this is when they’re working; that wasn’t made clear. But the person feels they’re being scrutinized. They have questions. It sounds like they asked a question, at least one question, and got a very, in their opinion, terse and impatient reply. They now perceive this culture as they do not have patience for questions. “I have to just know my job. I’ve got to get these cocktails down. I have to be perfect.”

And I’ll kick this off by saying it is possible this person is just so in their head because it’s imposter syndrome, and they got one training shift, and now they, because it’s one training shift, are in their head, saying, “I have to be perfect now; I had my training shift. I can’t ask questions because I’m going to get fired or they’re going to give me less shifts because I don’t know, quote-unquote what I’m doing.”

So, it’s possible that just they’re not confident because they’re in their own head. However, that still had to come from somewhere. So, I do believe someone maybe—and I don’t even know—they gave him a short answer or a bit of a terse reaction because they’re just, maybe they’re having a bad day or they weren’t even thinking. They just threw an answer out and to them it’s not a big deal. It wasn’t a, a short or curt answer because that’s not how they meant it. They’re just like, “Yeah, you just do this,” and they walked away.

So, I think we both agree though that this does sound like we’re rubbing up on a culture issue, within the business. But they weren’t even trying to throw the ownership under the bus. They were just like, “Do I quit this job and go for something I’m more used to, or do I stick it out because this is more money?” It’s a higher-end venue, the tips are better. And I mean, the general consensus appeared to be like, “No, you stick it out. You can figure this out.” It’s bartending: If you did high-volume in an easy call bar, that’s still brutal. If you run a high-volume college bar, you’re getting destroyed. So, you should be used to it.

Just One Training Shift?!

Bradley: If it’s just Vodka Sodas all night, with splash of cranberry, or making, yeah, or you’re making, like, Death & Co. drinks to bring Dave back into the conversation, you know, bartending is hard. And, you know, there’s a reason that most volume bartenders, usually the higher volume the bar, the less touches there are. The less, kind of, ingredients per cocktail, right? It’s built for speed and efficiency.

So, I agree with you that this sounds a little bit like this person may be in their head a little bit, and maybe second-guessing themselves, or needing to build their confidence. But there’s a lot of things about this case that I think a lot of people can learn from. And the biggest flag to me is if this is an upscale cocktail bar, and if their signature ingredients have six- to eight-plus steps, which, first off, like, combine some of those into a cheater bottle or something. Like, come on, that’s crazy. But even if all of that is true, one training shift is absolutely not… Like, that, to me, is a huge flag. If I came into a bar, no matter if I’d been bartending for six months or six years, if I walked into a new space and they said, “Great, you get one shift, and now you’re on service bar,” like, that just is not a recipe for success, you know? And so, the reason that you and I kept talking about this being a cultural piece almost more than a training piece is, why is there only one training shift?

Are they just churning through people so fast that they literally just have to be live instantly because the owners are sitting at the bar constantly critiquing everybody? And are their cocktails built for their concept? And I think that is a big issue. If you have that many steps in your cocktails, but you have 150 covers in your space, like, there’s no way that those two things are going to meet. Even if you have 30 covers in your space, there’s no way that those two things are going to meet.

If it’s a purely cocktail bar where people are supposed to be coming in, and getting a bunch of different cocktails, and ordering something different every time. And so for me, from the employee standpoint, there are a few things that I would question, and I take issue with. Well, is this place set up to support me? You know, it’s funny because the last question, we talked all about the employer standpoint, right? Like, the employer standpoint against the employee. But it is a relationship. And it is, when we talk about interviewing a lot, right, that interviewing needs to be a dialogue. It isn’t just me asking you questions, you answering questions, and then “boom,” question two. It needs to be a dialogue.

And I think employment is a dialogue, right? You’re giving just as much to your employer as they should be giving to you. And that is in training, that is in culture. And so, how are they supporting you and your growth? And it sounds like here that they’re not, from a technical standpoint. And, like, I think it’s what probably most of the people on the thread were saying is, you can learn anything. You can learn all these cocktails.

Three Months

Bradley: Like, this is going to sound really dumb, but when I first started bartending, ’cause I am a virgo and a perfectionist and a Millennial, so, like, all those things just combined into a terrible mixture. But the first time I started bartending, I literally sat home. I didn’t have any pour spouts. So, I may or may not have borrowed them from work—I’m sorry, boss, I’m telling you this 20 years later—and put them into empty wine bottles. And I just practiced, because we also had to do counts instead of jiggering. And so I was just practicing until I figured out how it all kind of worked together.

And then the next thing is, you know, I tell people this all the time, that it takes three months just to figure out what your job is, and how to be good at it. Not to be good at it, just how to be. There’s different cultures, there’s different steps, there’s different people you’re dealing with.

How do I show up on time? What is my uniform? How do I get it cleaned? Where is everything set? What is my opening side work? When is lineup? Who are the regular guests? What do people usually order? What am I recommending? There are so many pieces of a job, especially in the dining sector, that come together that it takes you three months just to figure out. “Okay, what am I actually doing? How do I actually do it? What does success look like? What is my team here? And are they supportive or not supportive? And who can I lean on? And then also how do I get better?”

And then it takes another three months to get better. Whenever I’ve promoted a server assistant to a server, a server to a sommelier or a captain, you know, prep cook to a line cook, like, garde manger to, like, flat top, or if they’re looking, working on a grill. No matter what your promotion is, and actually the biggest one is from line level into management, right? So, like, going from a server or bartender into a manager for the first time is, give yourself some grace. It takes three months just to figure out what the heck is going on. Like, who’s here, who are the players, what am I doing, what’s important, how often do things rotate, how much do I really need to know these things? And that takes you another three months just to build that skill set. And so, if you’re working for an employer that gives you one training shift and then is critiquing you for not being perfect right off the bat, to me, that’s less of a flag of you not being a skilled bartender and more of a flag of this is maybe not a place that’s going to be supportive for knowing that the restaurant industry is so transient.

And the restaurant industry is a lot of times almost like the gig economy. Before that became my thing, it was the pre-gig economy. Are they going to be there to really help your growth, and as things change, and as you either get another bartending job—because very few bartenders have one job, they tend to have two or three. So, if you get another job, if you are in school, if you’re an actor or in some sort of artistic discipline and are going to need to go on show, how supportive are they going to be in view of that lifestyle? Or if you’re a dedicated bartender full-time, then this doesn’t sound like a bar that’s going to dedicate timing to you to grow.

So, my biggest pushback to this employee is, hey, get out of your head. You’re not going to be perfect. Like, you have to learn it. But is this a place that’s going to support you, or is it time to look somewhere else? Because I’ll tell you one thing—going to the last one (the first story of this episode). So, we’re in a talent shortage, still there. There is a plethora of jobs out there. And talk about the one job that’s almost most in demand on the front of house side, it’s bartenders. Bartenders who have done it for six months. When I was bartending and when I was hiring bartenders, especially pre-pandemic, if you didn’t have bartending on your resume for two years you wouldn’t get an interview. Now, if you’ve had bartending on there for three months, great, let’s go in. I’m going to ask you what a Cosmo is, and if you can answer, that’s question one, check. Different game.

Leadership Sitting at the Bar

David: And my one of my flags was: Why is management or leadership, if they’re sitting at the bar, I’m blown away by that. Like, what are you doing?

Bradley: That’s, that’s a revenue-generating spot. Yeah.

David: You just decided to voluntarily give up money. I don’t understand that. Like, what are you doing? And then do you micromanage everybody, or is it the bar team? And again, it’s perception. Like, did this person, every time they happen to look up because they’re not confident in themselves, perhaps do they think they’re being stared at by this team that’s not even looking at them? They just re looking around, like, “Hey, you need to touch that guest. That’s a VIP; we should go say hi. Those people look new, look like they’re having a blast. Let’s go introduce ourselves.”

We don’t know exactly what that was, but if you are micromanaging, I have a big issue with that because no one performs well under that kind of pressure, really. I mean, maybe a 20-year veteran bartender who’s like, “Yeah, you can micromanage me all you want, I don’t care. I’m gonna get this done, get my tips, and get out of here. Like, watch me all you want. I’m not doing anything, so go for it.”

But I do wonder… I mean, I don’t want, I don’t ever wanna see leadership or management lean against the bar, even a little. And sitting at the bar when they’re working, like, that’s not okay with me at all. I mean, yeah, you check in with the bar team, but you can do that from the side of the bar, you can go behind the bar, but to sit there… And now guests are like, “Why? Is this person, is this bartender not doing the right thing?” It just, it leads to a lot of questions either from the guest side, which you definitely don’t want, and from the team side, like, “Wow, this team, the leadership team, doesn’t trust me. And I (ostensibly) did nothing wrong, and they just are watching me like a hawk. Like, did I do something wrong?”

Like, it’s just, to me, it’s just too many questions. And I know there are people who, they’re micromanagers, but then maybe they need to be moved or spoken to or something. You just can’t do it that way anymore. It just doesn’t, it doesn’t work. And if you, if you are behaving that way, then why’d you hire this person? If you’re just going to watch them like that, then they shouldn’t have been hired or you’re in the wrong position, to be honest. Like, maybe you shouldn’t be a manager. Like, sorry, but that could be.

Coaching, Holding People Accountable, and Setting Standards

Bradley: I think there’s a big difference between coaching, holding people accountable, and setting standards versus micromanagement, right?

David: Absoutely.

Bradley: I think a lot of that—I mean, there’s a lot of very, I mean, specific differences—but I think it really comes from, are you doing it for the employee’s benefit, or are you doing it to control the output? Right?

So, you are never going to be able to replicate yourself. And this idea of people saying, “I need to find somebody who’s just like me, who’s going to do this just like I’m going to do so I don’t have to manage them,” is a fallacy. That’s not true.

It’s all about building standards, building practices, and holding people accountable, and coaching them in the moment, but not doing it through fear or doing it through anxiety. Because what does that do with somebody being watched, but they’re being watched with a knownn critical eye? Like, if somebody’s just being watched and, like observed, that’s one thing. If somebody’s being watched and observed where they know that they’re being nitpicked and critiqued, they’re going to fumble.

Think about it: No matter how confident you are, somebody comes in and says, “I’m going to rate you today.” The nerves happen. I mean, to use the Tokyo Olympics, like Simone Biles, even people at the highest caliber can get nervous when they know they’re being watched, and they know they’re being critiqued. And so, that has a whole separate issue. I just watched that documentary. But it really shows that we as human beings, we want to know our boundaries, we want to know what success looks like. We want to be helped and given the tools to achieve success. But if you’re just constantly nitpicking and aren’t, like, really helping me get there, then you’re just creating moments for me to have anxiety and get stressed. It’s just going to make me perform worse instead of better.

David: I did an assessment not long ago. Flew in, get there, and rumors already started like, I’m there to fire people. And that’s not what I… You’d have to, like, punch me in the face for me to be like, “You need to fire this person.” Like, that’s not what I’m there for. And turned out they had a platform they were using, and the bar team was really, they weren’t all outgoing [toward me]. When I was just trying to just talk and see what their guest service is like. How chatty they were. Just kind of watch them a little bit.

And the one bartender was like, “Oh, you’re from this company, right? You’re here to test us, right?” And I was like, “Do you want me to test you?” Like, what would I be testing on, cocktail builds? I’m like, “No, that’s not why. I don’t work for that company, and that’s not why I’m here. But if you want me to test you, I will.” And, then I got him to calm down, and he then totally relaxed. The rest of the bar team relaxed. So, yeah, if they even have an inkling that someone is in there to evaluate them, that’s a lot of pressure. I feel the same. I feel the same way when the client is watching me assess their team… They’re like, “Well, why is he watching that? Like, what does he see? Like, I feel pressure a little bit. I don’t want to screw up an assessment. Like, I don’t want to interpret this wrong. Yeah, it’s just pressure that you don’t need to put on someone.

Is There Even an Onboarding Process?

David: And also, before we on to the next one, it does make me think that there isn’t a onboarding process. And if there is, you have a training shift, and then now you’re a bartender. It’s like, okay, but if you’re micromanaging, I really don’t think that you have an onboarding process. Because if you did, you would trust the process, and let these people assimilate and get in their own grooves.

They’re not gonna work exactly how you expect them to. They’re bartenders, servers, whatever; they have their experience. They do what they’re gonna do behind the bar. They hold jiggers differently. They sometimes build cocktails a little bit differently. It just happens. So, I just don’t think that you actually have onboarding, and I definitely think, “Do you have manuals? Really?”If you are going to sit there and stare somebody down while they do their job that kind of brought that red flag where I don’t think there’s onboarding.

Bradley: I absolutely agree that there’s none. And I also have to wonder about people in that sort of environment. Because we’re kind of leaning towards we think that this is a pretty, maybe, aggressive micromanaging environment, which I think it is. At least, the person who wrote this thinks it is. But in those environments, too, the staff tends to band together a little bit, for better or for worse. And so I also wonder if he’s reached out to other bartenders. It’s like, “Hey, can you help me get this cocktail? I can’t figure it out.” Or, “How did you get faster at this?” Because, especially if it’s a tip pool, and whether tip pools exist in the restaurants at large or not, a lot of them in New York City do, but most bars are pooled in general just because it’s easier. And so, it incentivizes every other bartender to want you to be just as fast as they are. And so, is either this person too nervous to ask another bartender for help, or does the bar in general have a culture of just, kind of, like, sink or swim? Which, my very first server shift in my entire life was a sink-or-swin shift, and I had never served ever before. And I’ll tell you that that was a terrifying and terrible experience. Apparently I did okay, but it felt shitty the whole time.

So, culture starts the very first day. Culture starts, actually, during the interview process. And so, this employee doesn’t feel like they were set up for success. If they were set up for success, then they’re not the right fit for the company culture, where they just aren’t the right fit for what this bar is trying to do. But it also sounds like the owners, and/or management, and/or leadership could use a little bit of a, “Hey, you have to trust the team. You have to trust the process.”

“If you can’t trust the team, it’s the process that’s wrong.”

If you can’t trust the team, it’s the process that’s wrong. The training process is wrong. Your coaching and standards process is wrong. Your communication of systems is wrong, or you don’t have any. Also, again, there should never be a cocktail—and you, some people, will disagree with me, but then you can charge $50 for them—there shouldn’t be a cocktail that has that many steps to create. Especially if high-volume has anything to do with the bar concept.

David: Yep. There’s a bartender, bar owner out here in Vegas. They don’t like all the steps for a Sour, and they have developed a technique to remove one to two steps, make it that much faster. Their whole team knows it; anyone who’s working behind the bar there knows this technique. So, yeah, adding steps is… I have zero problem with keg cocktails. I think people for some reason think they’re hilarious. I mean, look at all the pour walls. People are like, “I’m gonna come to this bar and restaurant, and put money on a card to serve myself drinks.” Like, people like this kind of stuff. So, you can take steps out. Like you said, if you can can make housemade ingredients that much faster, then those are the right steps to take. And I’m sure the bar team would be like, “Yeah, we can do this if you’ll let us do it.”

Bradley: We had a rule that a drink on our menu should never have more than three touches. Right? You have the base spirit, you have one juice, and, you know, it was always, like, the combining of other ingredients, and then either one more or a bitters or something. Maybe you had four touches at the most. But you’re not sitting there trying to like reinvent the wheel every single time. If you always have a one-to-two ratio of a ginger syrup to some other juice, then just put it in a cheater, just put it in a bar bottle, and just have that two-to-one ratio because also you know it’s already measured, right? And so, prep, absolutely, just in the kitchen and in the bar, is the best recipe for success.

Going way off tangent for this topic, but it sounds like very little process exists here, right? There’s no onboarding process, there’s no training process. It seems like there might not be a good feedback process or coaching process. There’s definitely no bar process that I think is really setting the team up for success. Or this person is just so under-qualified and over-exaggerated that they came in and just, essentially, they’re like, “Oh, you’ve got this. You can do this in your sleep,” right? And then left. So, there’s something weird happening here. But I definitely think that it’s a mismatch between employer and employee.

“It’s all solvable.”

David: Yeah. And we’re not trying to roast the owner because we don’t know how much of this is true. Again, like I said in the beginning, we are taking these at face value, just as learning opportunities, really. So, it’s not like we’re like, “Oh yeah, this operator is terrible.” There does seem to be…there’s an issue. And again, the issue could literally just be this person is convinced they faked their way into this job ,and now it’s coming home to roost. And they have zero confidence because they’re trying to mask that: “Man, I probably don’t belong here.”

Which, again, I think is silly if you can learn this. And again, like, to your point, is the bar team cool enough to be like, “Hey, this impacts all of us. It impacts the servers. If this bar is slow and our drinks are slow, like, we all need to be…we can help you improve this.” Like, “Let’s do this.” And they obviously saw something in this person to hire them. I’m hoping it wasn’t just “here’s a body” if it’s a more upscale, higher-end spot.

So, that should tell them, hey, you got the job—nice. Gotta keep it. And you’ve done high-volume, most likely. If you worked in a college bar or a neighborhood bar, you’ve probably done volume. So, now it’s steps. It does suck: There are at least six ingredients in some of these signatures. Hopefully, there’s also, you know, people drinking G&Ts and Jack & Coke, and not a big deal. But this isn’t something that can’t be solved. And it’s either on the process side and leadership side, or it’s—

Bradley: Or it’s imposter syndrome.

David: Yeah, exactly. So, it’s just, what is the actual issue? It’s all solvable, is the great part of that one.

Note: Transcript provided by Eddy by Headliner, edited by author for clarity.

Image: Canva

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Chef in commercial kitchen handling a pan on fire

August 18, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Hospitality Mindset: Restaurant Edition

Hospitality Mindset: Restaurant Edition

by Jennifer Radkey

Have you ever wondered why you just can’t seem to get ahead regardless of what you do, or why you appear to be developing a negative team culture?

Maybe you wake up with a sense of dread or anxiety about what lies ahead of you each day, or maybe no matter how hard you try and how much money you pour into your restaurant it never seems to be enough to get you where you want to be.

The cause of these problems may stem from your—and your team’s—mindset.

But what is mindset exactly?

Simply stated, mindset is an individual’s usual attitude or mental state. It reflects someone’s way of thinking and motivates their actions. So, why is it important to be aware of your mindset?

Well, if your mindset dictates how you show up in your life each and every day, then it will influence all parts of your life. Your thoughts about yourself, others, your business, your opportunities, and your challenges are all influenced by your mindset.

Your mindset can either hinder or promote your overall well-being and success in life.

The good news about mindset is that you can change it – if you want to. It can also be contagious—in a positive way.

These facts led me to question if the different sectors of the hospitality industry face unique mindset challenges and what can be done to overcome them.

To find answers and gain further insight I decided to turn to our team at KRG Hospitality for their thoughts. In turn, I’ve written a series of hospitality mindset articles, including one for bar operators and one for hotel operators.

In this article I’ll explore the restaurant industry, with thoughts from chef consultant Nathen Dubé.

Let’s dive in!

The Restaurant Industry

The restaurant industry is massive, employing 12.5 million in the US and 1.2 million in Canada.

Ranging from quick service to fine dining and offering every type of cuisine imaginable, the industry is a staple in any community. And while many enjoy being guests at these establishments, the same can’t always be said for working in them.

The restaurant industry faces constant challenges, ranging from mental health issues to labor shortages and rising costs.

So, what makes a restaurant succeed despite these challenges? While there are many ingredients involved in running a successful restaurant, arguably one of the most important is a strong operator.

Successful Operators

Operating a successful restaurant takes a certain mindset. You need to be organized, open-minded to growth strategies, resilient, and responsive to the needs of your team.

Interested in what makes a restaurant operator stand out, I asked Nathen what contributes to operator success:

“The key strength for a restaurant owner, first and foremost, is resiliency. You need to stay even keeled during the good and bad times. Things will fluctuate between busy and slow. You will experience great staff, not-so-great staff, shortages, bad reviews, good reviews, equipment breaking, orders delivered late, plumbing issues, electrical issues… The list goes on and on.

“But at the end of the day, when you say you’re open at noon or 5:00 PM or whichever, you better be ready on time, every time. That can give the strongest characters stress and anxiety over the long term. I think being resilient and able to do what is in your control and let go of the rest will help an owner maintain one’s sanity.

“The second strength needed is empathy. Without empathy for your staff, your customers, the many other people in the food and alcohol chain, the risk of becoming a tyrant no one wants to work for or associate with is real, and I’ve seen it happen. Your staff are people too, who have doctor’s appointments, family gatherings, and trouble at home. Some may suffer from addiction and mental illness, and some live in borderline poverty, which is a truly sad reality for many hospitality workers.

“The third characteristic is good business sense. As much as restaurants and bars are about hospitality, engaging customers, and providing great service, if you can’t run a business properly, that is all for naught. Money management, accounting, marketing, the whole lot is important to your success and longevity.”

Operator Challenges

Operators need a positive, strategic, growth mindset to be successful in the restaurant industry. Maintaining this kind of mindset takes self-awareness and consistent cultivating. There will be challenges every day that will test you and if you aren’t checking in with your thought patterns, it can be easy to fall into a negative mindset.

When asked what specific challenges hotel operators face that may affect their mindset, Nathen shared some insights.

Financial Risk

Opening and operating a restaurant comes with inherent financial risks. Sometimes it may feel as if more money is going out than coming in.

“When dealing with perishable food items in a time-sensitive environment, there will be plenty of challenges,” says Nathen. “Some are temporary, some are constant, and some are one-offs, but they all need careful attention. There is obvious financial risk and stress that comes with that. Labor costs, food, and alcohol are the main culprits of financial strain for the back of house. The kitchen setup costs (equipment, construction, etc.) are also in this category. Money can be a great source of stress for anyone, and more so for those who are risk averse.”

The Human Element: Guests

As a restaurant operator you rely on guests. Your efforts are almost always focused on how you can get more guests through the door and how you can get them to return.

Besides the stress of keeping them happy, sharing, and returning, guests can create another level of stress.

“Dealing with customer feedback can affect well-being,” Nathen says. “Not everyone who comes into your establishment will love everything. There will be complaints, there will be disagreements, poor online reviews, and there will be outright rude guests. This causes stress to staff, as well as the owner’s state of mind. Keeping staff motivated, calm, and on the same page when dealing with these guests and reviews is a lot of emotional work. It takes a strong-willed individual to let it roll off their back while still learning from it.”

The Human Element: Staff

Without your team there would be no restaurant. Your team is key to your success and can also be a cause of stress to your overall well-being.

“Issues can and will arise in dealing with the human element of labor,” explains Nathen. “Concern and care for staff is a full-time job in itself, and that’s in a best-case scenario. In a worst-case scenario you can experience shortages, theft, drama, and the like that will need to be dealt with or it can drag down a good establishment and create an exodus of good staff. Not to create a bleak picture, but management can take a toll.”

Employee Challenges

Your team experiences their own unique set of challenges that can affect their well-being and mindset as well. Being aware of these challenges is important if you are hoping to create a culture of respect, collaboration, and trust.

When asked what specific challenges restaurant staff face, Nathen had some insights:

“It’s well documented that working in a professional kitchen is difficult work when things go perfectly well. Long hours standing, hot kitchens, short time constraints, and difficult customers can be draining on a person. Mix in stress, poor health habits, and skipped meals, you get the perfect recipe for very hard work. Managing stress and employee wellness within the kitchen team is important to an overall successful business. Not paying attention or implementing ways to help will lead to a difficulty hiring and retaining staff.”

A Living Wage and Safe Environment

The restaurant industry has faced criticism for low pay, unsafe working environments, and an unsupportive culture.

While this is not the case in all establishments, it occurs enough in the industry to make potential employees wary.

“Pay in the industry is notoriously low for entry level positions,” Nathen says. “There is typically limited room to grow on the pay grade, and a lack of insurance, health, and dental care can compound the issues.

“Workplace standards including safety and culture are another common pain point for restaurants. Dirty, unsafe conditions create a dangerous work environment. It will also make it difficult to pass health inspections. Allowing a toxic culture to develop creates an environment that no good staff wants to work at. All of these issues can drain the pride from a good, well run, happy environment that employees want to stay and thrive at.”

Harmful Beliefs in the Restaurant Industry

Your belief system directly impacts your mindset. If you have negative beliefs regarding your team, your guests, or your community, it’s time to sit down and recognize where those beliefs are coming from and how to change them.

The restaurant industry has a few specific common, harmful beliefs that are prevalent in many establishments. Being aware and knowing how to acknowledge and combat these beliefs is crucial to creating a more positive work environment.

Stigma

When I asked Nathen what one of the most prevalent harmful beliefs operators have about their team, he discussed the stigma restaurant employees often face:

“Unfortunately, there is still a stigma around restaurant staff being uneducated, working in this industry only because they can’t do anything else in society. Often, they are seen as doing this job until something better comes along. Why should they invest in their staff’s well-being if they will vanish in a moment’s notice?

“The next stigma is that all workers are just lazy drunks, addicts, and thieves out for a paycheque to drink away at the bar. While there is a prevalent issue of substance abuse in the industry, it can be a tough challenge to address, and unfair if everyone is painted with the same brush.”

Selfish/Uncaring

Operators are not the only people in the industry who harbor negative or false beliefs.

Staff can do so as well. One primary negative belief is that management and/or ownership doesn’t care about them.

“In terms of ownership, kitchen staff can feel ripped off, or that they are doing all the work while the owner gets rich,” explains Nathen. “Staff will make accusations behind closed doors that they do all the work while the owner does nothing.”

To overcome negative beliefs, says Nathen, “[a]n engaged owner can eliminate the walls between staff, customers, community, and themselves. Talking to those in your business circle and including everyone squashes resentment, misunderstandings, and most complaints will be solved immediately, eliminating potentially bad situations.”

Toxic Culture

The last thing that any hospitality business needs is a toxic culture. A toxic workplace culture encourages and breeds negative mindsets on all levels.

I asked Nathen what creates toxic culture in a restaurant and he shared his thoughts and experiences:

“It starts with ownership. Defining a clear set of core values and standards in the workplace—and adhering to them from the hiring process all the way to daily operations—will dictate the type of people you hire and attract. Toxic environments can be created by just one employee. My experience with toxic kitchens was based on there being no consequences; there wasn’t even a lack of standards enforcement because there were no standards to begin with.

“Things like bullying, harassment, poor attitudes, low morale, lack of leadership, and poor working conditions—whether physical, emotional or both—are the typical causes of toxic culture. To blame is also the negative actions of others, and equally the lack of action from management. Bad eggs are left to rot and quickly poison the whole omelet, so to speak.

“Define a concept clearly, every step of the way, and then find the people to fit that vision. But also deal with problem employees immediately; there is nothing worse than losing good employees to bad ones.”

Moving Forward

Understanding the challenges that operators and staff are currently facing, and acknowledging the importance of growth mindset and the need for change, I asked Nathen what positive changes have been occurring in the industry as a whole?

“Restaurant work environments have improved over the last few decades but still have a long way to go. When I started in the mid ‘90s, belittling, yelling, and screaming—general abusive treatment of anyone and everyone—was commonplace. There was no compassion for the environment that staff worked in. The culture, the workload, pay… Literally everything was just ‘take it or leave it.’ ‘If you don’t like it, leave,’ was repeated everywhere to any staff who raised concerns.

“Over time, a stand has been made in response to a mass exodus, tales of burnout, and at the worst end of the spectrum, severe addiction, and even suicide. It was time to look from within at where the actual problems were, and what could be changed. The veil of toughness finally came down, and an honest conversation has led to slow changes.

“One of the more prevalent changes is an overall less-abusive environment. No longer is it tolerated to show anything less than human decency to staff and guests. Genuine care for staff well-being is starting to be seen almost everywhere. It’s leading to a new excitement among hospitality professionals and can hopefully attract new individuals to the field.”

Room for Improvement

Although awareness of the well-being of those working in this industry is increasing, there are still changes that need to happen.

Nathen believes that improvement lies in focusing on balance and respect:

“There is no way around the fact that cooking and serving is hard, long work, regardless of concept. This is unfortunately the entry point for all those who claim to want to change the industry or make it better. In my opinion, this is the wrong approach. Enhancing the whole experience of the employee, leadership team, and guest will make everyone happier and, hopefully, healthier.

“Balancing the workload for everyone, finding creative ways to increase pay, and offering benefits leads to a strong sense of job safety. Rotating schedules, for example: four nine-hour days; or two on, three off; or something away from the traditional 10-, 12-, or 14-hour days and five- to six-day work weeks, reduces burnout, gives employees a chance at a social and family life, and still allows everyone to earn enough income to live. Throw in benefits and some sort of bonus pay, and you will have a brand everyone wants to work for.

“Another big contributor to improving the industry—and we have made big strides already—is the respect for people and creating an environment or culture void of bullying, harassment, intimidation, and general mistreatment of the people who make this the best industry to work in.”

Final Thoughts

In a highly competitive industry facing consistent challenges and harmful beliefs, it will come down to developing and maintaining the right mindset to truly succeed both professionally and personally. It starts from the top with a positive, resilient, growth mindset.

I’ll leave you with a few last words of wisdom from Nathen:

“Hopefully, there is a sense of urgency in the fight to change the industry for the better. It’s important to recognize and praise positive contributions and not just positive people because everyone needs encouragement. It’s equally important to handle negative contributions quickly and correctly.

“A positive attitude can go a long way toward creating a strong team player who can make the best of stressful times and have a coachable attitude. A positive person can help change the culture of a workplace and pick up other teammates who may need a boost. They share their optimism and passion for the job and can make management’s life easier.

“A negative person will contribute to a toxic environment. Resentment begins to build on both sides as a negative person sees things not being done their way, contributes less to the success of the kitchen, and spreads their toxic beliefs to other employees who may start to feel similarly.

“I recently heard a saying, and I don’t recall by who so I can’t quote it, but it goes, ‘It’s important to get the right people on the bus, but it’s just as important to get them in the right seats.’”

Cheers to personal and professional well-being!

Image: Helmy Zairy on Pexels

May 26, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Raise the Bar: The 3 Ps of Hospitality

Raise the Bar: The 3 Ps of Hospitality

by David Klemt

No, one isn’t “pineapples.”

Nightlife, bar, and cocktail experts Mia Mastroianni, Phil Wills, and Art Sutley want operators to focus on what they call “the Three Ps.”

The engaging trio shared their trio of Ps recently in Las Vegas at the 2023 Bar & Restaurant Expo.

So, what are the Three Ps of hospitality? People, Place, and Product. Operators who pull the threads tighter on each of these crucial elements will be well on their way to improving operations and the guest experience.

People

Remember all the way back to a week ago when I shared Mastroianni, Wills, and Sutley’s thoughts on service versus hospitality? Consider the first P a deeper dive into that topic.

Operators need to focus on two categories of people who help their businesses succeed: their teams and their guests.

Addressing the former, the trio feels that operators are centering a disproportionate amount of their attention on guests in comparison to staff.

“We’re not lacking for people who want to work in the business and are outperforming other industries, but we’re not focusing on staff like we focus on guests,” says Wills. “Treat everyone with respect, including through the hiring process. If you don’t engage your staff, you won’t retain them. You need to show them they can grow in your business.”

According to Sutley, 89 percent of operators say that labor costs present a “significant challenge.” It follows, then, that committing to treating staff with respect and nurturing their careers isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s smart business.

Look for people with passion, those you can motivate to go above and beyond so you’re not stuck with a team full of space-fillers who are just after a paycheck, suggests Mastroianni.

Of course, operators and their teams must also focus on providing exceptional service and experiences to guests.

“Treat ever guest like a pearl in an oyster,” advises Wills. “They’re the pearl, we’re the oyster. We need to ‘protect’ them.” Anything less, cautions Sutley, and guests won’t return.

Place

Interestingly, the trio touched on design, aesthetic, and vibe. However, that isn’t the crux of the second P.

Rather, Place is really goes back to the guest experience. The design, aesthetic, and vibe need to meet guest expectations.

“Make sure your space is what it’s supposed to be,” says Wills.

For example, if a concept presents itself as a high-end cocktail bar, the four walls need to deliver on that expectation. With the exception of a handful of high-level examples, an upscale bar won’t survive if they deliver a dive bar—not neighborhood bar, dive bar—vibe and service. (For the record, I love a dive bar. But I don’t expect to encounter TV trope-style dive bar service if I walk through the doors of a high-end cocktail bar.)

One way operators can ensure their space is what it should be is standardization. Once a concept goes from idea to brick and mortar, when the owner’s vision is realized, the team needs to deliver a matching experience. Steps of service, systems, procedures…standardization is the name of the service game.

“Standardize your opening, shift, and closing procedures and systems to maintain your place,” says Mastroianni.

Every team member—front of house, back of house, leadership—needs to know and buy into an operator’s standards.

Product

Standardization breeds consistency. And consistency is a key element of the third P, Product.

Per Sutley, 76 percent of operators have noticed that guests are opting for more premium drinks. That’s great news, but it’s not the whole story.

It’s great that guests are opting for more expensive drink options. After all, that can certainly help the bottom line.

“However,” cautions Mastroianni, “they won’t come back without consistency in production.”

To drive this point home, consider this story from Mastroianni. A bartender made her a drink, and it was pretty good. She ordered another one from the same bartender and watched him make it differently the second time around. Not only was this second version different, it was better. While one could view this story through a positive lens—the drink was even better the next time!—that’s not the correct takeaway.

If the bartender was committed to building cocktails consistently, the second version of that cocktail would’ve been the first one served to Mastroianni. It would be the best version, and it would always be that impressive version.

When we’re fighting the possibility that up to 70 percent of first-time guests never return, the importance of product consistency can’t be overstated.

“Really focus on the small details to affect big change and get guests through the doors and keep coming back,” says Wills.

Image: Aleksandar Pasaric on Pexels

March 24, 2023by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Addressing Employee Theft

Addressing Employee Theft

by David Klemt

Recent posts about employee theft in the hospitality industry throughout Canada and the US have the KRG Hospitality team talking.

Indeed, the statistics are startling. For instance, there’s the claim that a staggering 75 percent of employees admit to stealing from their employers “at least once.”

A few years back, the Retail Council of Canada reported that while “customers” stole $175 on average, employees stole $2,500 before being caught.

Then there’s the incredible economic impact. Multiple sources claim employee theft in the US costs businesses $50 billion annually. In Canada, theft costs businesses more than $1 billion per year. Both numbers are shocking.

Looking at US restaurants specifically, the number ranges from $3 billion to $6 billion in losses due to employee theft. According to Business.com, employee theft affects four percent of a restaurant’s sales and accounts for 75 percent of shortages in inventory.

At this point, you’re probably Googling security cameras. But hold on for a moment.

Disclaimer

Before proceeding, know this: I’m going to make a few points that will seem like victim blaming. In part, this perception will be the result of my addressing recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, the leadership team, and workplace culture.

Let me be clear: I’m not excusing employee theft. I don’t think there’s any justification for it.

Despite what a (hopefully) small number of loud voices claim on various social media platforms and forums, I don’t think it’s acceptable to steal from a corporation or business owner. No, theft isn’t a justifiable response to feeling slighted by ownership or leadership. And no, it’s not “okay” because a company generates “so much” revenue, has insurance, and can “write it off.”

With that out of the way, let’s proceed.

People are Going to Steal

Here’s one immutable fact: You’re going to hire someone who’s going to steal from your business.

Is your business up and running and serving guests? You employ someone right now who has either stolen from you already or is going to steal.

So, you can run your business under a cloud of suspicion and distrust. Or, you can improve your odds of reducing theft and ferreting out thieves before they do too much damage.

Again, you can install security cameras and place them above each POS terminal and every cash drawer. You can ensure you have clear, cutting-edge CCTV coverage of the entire bar and dining areas. Walk-ins and storage areas can have clear, high-resolution camera coverage.

Honestly, you should have that type of coverage. That type of security can improve employee and guest safety, and your insurance carrier will likely be happy about it.

But you don’t need to impose an atmosphere of suspicion, fear, and intimidation along with the cameras. If you were an employee, would you want to work somewhere that makes it clear you’re always under suspicion? Would you want to work alongside a leadership team whose default setting is that all employees are thieves unworthy of trust?

Workplace Culture

You’re never going to have a theft-free business, period. That’s another reason to not “lead” with fear, anger, and suspicion.

Truly, all that style of leadership will do is drive good, honest employees out. So, the approach should be attracting honest workers. You build a strong, trustworthy team through respect and empowerment.

Yes, there will be employees who take advantage of that respect. They were going to behave that way and steal or otherwise disrespect you, your business, and the team regardless.

Putting in the work to reflect on your leadership style and that of your leadership team pays dividends. It aids in recruitment and fosters an atmosphere of respect and honesty.

Become known for a healthy, positive workplace and you’ll attract the best workers. Nurture that culture and the team will police itself; they won’t tolerate anyone harming the business.

Am I suggesting you view your business through rose-colored lenses? Absolutely not. Install security cameras. Maintain the right insurance coverage. Conduct regular inventory checks. Review comps and voids for irregularities. Limit access to cash. Outline what constitutes theft—including time theft—and make consequences clear.

And here’s a crucial item: Prove you respect and care about your workers. Not say it, prove it.

You don’t need to know their life stories and everything going on in their lives. But you can let it be known that if they’re struggling with something, you and your leadership team are there to listen and help how they’re able.

Nothing you do will eradicate employee theft completely. You can, however, reduce it and learn to quickly stamp it out. And you can do that while maintaining a happy, healthy workplace.

Image: Tobias Tullius on Unsplash

December 10, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Leadership Facepalm, Part Three

Leadership Facepalm, Part Three

by David Klemt

We almost got to next year without another viral leadership facepalm moment but then an Olive Garden manager sent a memo.

In case you’re unaware of the now-infamous Olive Garden memo, here’s a recap:

Zero tolerance for calling off.
Sick team members must come in and prove they’re ill.
If someone’s dog dies, they must bring the dead animal in to prove its death.
Family emergencies are not private and must come with an explanation.

The manager who authored the memo also takes time to boast about their perfect attendance record.

For the curious, the first entry in our leadership facepalms is here. Part two is here.

The Letter

Below you’ll find the letter, addressed to “ALL Team Members.” To read it in its entirety, click here.

“Our call offs are occurring at a staggering rate. From now on, if you call off, you might as well go out and look for another job. We are no longer tolerating ANY excuse for calling off. If you’re sick, you need to come prove it to us. If your dog died, you need to bring him in and prove it to us.”

I highly doubt that’s Olive Garden or Darden policy.

“If its a ‘family emergency’ and you can’t say, too bad. Go work somewhere else. If you only want morning shifts, too bad go work at a bank. If anyone from here on out calls out more than ONCE in the next 30 days you will not have a job.”

It doesn’t get any better when the manager brings up their own track record:

“Do you know in my 11.5 years at Darden how many days I called off? Zero. I came in sick. I got in a wreck literally on my to work one time, airbags went off and my car was totaled, but you know what, I made it to work, ON TIME! There are no more excuses.”

Interestingly, the manager implies they’re speaking for all the leaders:

“Us, collectively as a management team have had enough.”

A Breaking Point

First, I’m not pretending a staggering amount of operators, leadership teams, and team members aren’t at their breaking points. The labor shortage and staffing struggles are a real crisis in our industry (and others, of course).

Second, I’m not suggesting that operators and their teams aren’t justified in their frustration and anger.

If we’re to accept just this year’s reporting alone, it appears many people are comfortable being rude to service workers. It’s a disturbing trend, and it’s motivating people to leave public-facing roles. As they’re leaving, many are swearing off the hospitality industry entirely.

Third, I think the memo above highlights our need to address mental health in this industry. Sure, it’s easy to write this manager off as a jerk and terrible leader. But what if we look at this through the lens of stress?

The memo could easily be the manifestation of a breaking point. It’s also possible the entire management team was behind this email.

Damage Done

Let’s look at this situation solely as an example of poor judgment and leadership. Imagine the damage it could do to any restaurant or bar, chain or independent.

What do you think a memo like this does to the ability to recruit? To retain? How does such an email do anything but exacerbate labor problems?

Darden, Olive Garden’s parent, went into crisis management mode when this memo went viral. It appeared on Reddit, was picked up by news outlets and other websites, and exploded.

Ultimately, Darden terminated the manager to whom the memo is attributed: “We strive to provide a caring and respectful work environment for our team members. This message is not aligned with our company’s values. We can confirm we have parted ways with this manager.”

The Olive Garden location in Kansas where this situation took place may recover. They’re a large chain, people tend to have short memories for news, and regulars will likely stay loyal.

But what if this occurred at an independent restaurant? The damage could be irreparable.

Work Culture

Now, it should be obvious that from a simply operational standpoint, this situation highlights an unhealthy work environment and culture. That should go without saying.

So, instead I want to say something else.

Operators need to check in with their team members. Leaders, front of house, back of house—everyone. Stress levels are reaching breaking points and every one of your team members needs to know they matter, they’re safe, and they’re supported.

Check in. Survey your team. Be empathetic. And if you’re an operator, you need a support system of your own.

Being a leader doesn’t mean being infallible. It’s not poor leadership or weakness to admit you need help.

Image: Nik Shuliahin 💛💙 on Unsplash

Newfoundland and Labrador during daytime

November 16, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

These are the Happiest Provinces in Canada

These are the Happiest Provinces in Canada

by David Klemt

If you’re wondering which province in Canada is the happiest, Statistics Canada has the answer—and the happiest may surprise you.

Of course, those who live and work in the happiest province won’t find it shocking. After all, they’re largely happy to be there.

However, if you expect the happiest province to be the home of Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal or Canada… Well, you’re in for a surprise.

Earlier this week we took a look at the happiest cities and states in America. Congratulations Fremont, California, and Hawaii, respectively. To learn where 181 other cities and 49 states rank, please click here.

The Happiness Survey

Or more accurately, the “life satisfaction” survey. For this survey, that’s what Statistics Canada reveals: life satisfaction.

Interestingly, the survey is very simple. Apparently, Statistics Canada simply asked participants to rate the satisfaction of living in their province, zero through ten. For this survey, zero is least satisfied, ten is most.

Ages 15 through 75 (and older) were able to participate. The survey was also broken down to gauge the satisfaction of men and women.

Before we jump into the breakdown of province satisfaction or happiness, some good news. Reviewing the Statistics Canada data, most participants across all age groups are happy. In fact, age groups 65 to 74 and 75-plus appear to be happiest.

On the other side, ages 15 to 54 had the most people who rated their life satisfaction between zero and five. Even so, just over 20 percent of survey respondents rated their satisfaction a five or less.

So, on the whole, Canadians seem satisfied or happy with their lives, regardless of the province in which they live. Personally, I find that to be great news.

The Happiest Province

Okay, let’s dive into the reason you’re here: to learn which province is the happiest.

Newfoundland and Labrador
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
New Brunswick
Manitoba
Alberta
Saskatchewa
Nova Scotia
Ontario
British Columbia

The above rankings are determined by the percentage of survey respondents who rated their life satisfaction eight, nine or ten. So, if you’re in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island or Quebec, wow—you’re apparently one incredibly happy person.

Conversely, below you’ll find the rankings as determined by the largest percentage of respondents who rated their satisfaction a five or lower. As you’ll find, the list below isn’t simply the inverse of the one above.

Ontario
British Columbia
New Brunswick
Alberta
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Manitoba
Saskatchewa
Quebec
Newfoundland and Labrador

As far as Canada overall, the results of this particular survey are positive. Just 19.4 percent of survey respondents rated their satisfaction or happiness zero through five. And only 28.9 percent provided a rating of six or seven.

More than half of Canadians, 51.7 percent, rate their lives an eight, nine or ten. That’s some great and welcome news.

Image: Erik Mclean on Unsplash

October 11, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

The Crucial Role Systems Play

The Crucial Role Systems Play

by David Klemt

Having efficient systems in place does more than just streamline day-to-day restaurant, bar, and hotel operations and increase productivity.

Of course, that’s an excellent reason for operators to ensure they implement multiple systems. Front-of-house, back-of-house, and leadership team members need systems to perform at their best.

Six Sigma, kaizen, the technology stack, checklists, manuals, marketing strategies, the guest journey… Each of those systems and more are key to the long-term success of restaurant, bar, and hotel operations.

In fact, these systems should be developed and ready for implementation before the doors ever open for the first time.

Further, effective systems communicate the expectations for roles and tasks. Onboarding and training systems improve recruitment and retention. Also, they provide the transparency that today’s professionals expect from their employers. On top of that, systems help develop consistency, which keeps guests coming back.

A strong leadership team is effective at implementing and following systems. Overall, a strong team is one that understands, embraces, and adheres to a systematic approach to operations to achieve shared goals.

Simply put, the only way achieve success is to be strategic. One can’t be strategic without the implementation of systems.

But there’s another crucial role that systems play in restaurants, bars, and hotels.

Get Out

This topic is the byproduct of a recent KRG Hospitality client call. While explaining our approach to projects, our team touched on the importance of systems.

However, the topic wasn’t brought up simply to detail what systems the client would need to have in place.

A crucial role systems play in a successful operation is getting an owner away from their four walls. More importantly, allowing them to confidently and comfortably leave their business.

If an owner—be they a sole proprietor or business partner—can’t step away from their restaurant, bar, or hotel without worrying, something is wrong. Either the systems in place are ineffective, they don’t address every element of the business, they aren’t being adhered to, or they don’t exist.

Effective systems allow an owner to take time away from their business without micromanaging staff. Systems should also be in place so the owner or owners don’t feel anxious when they’re not working on the business.

Breathe

Stepping away to pursue a hobby, engage in self care, spend time with family and friends, or just because one wants to take a “lazy day” is necessary.

The strategic implementation of systems makes it possible for someone to take time away from their business. They can take that vacation, pursue that goal that doesn’t relate to their business directly, recharge, etc.

Of course, having systems in place also mean an owner and members of their team can travel. They can comfortably attend industry shows, make a guest appearance at a peer’s bar, or host a pop-up without worrying about the business. Having systems in place also makes it possible to travel to discover new F&B items, learn new techniques, and forge relationships with industry peers.

In other words, systems help owners and operators do something they likely haven’t done in months, if not years: breathe.

Image: Fabian Møller on Unsplash

September 26, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Canada’s Restaurant Labor by the Numbers

Canada’s Restaurant Labor by the Numbers

by David Klemt

While there are positive signs for Canada’s foodservice industry, recruiting and retaining labor continues to be a challenge.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a challenge unique to Canada. Operators throughout North America and indeed across the globe are facing labor shortages.

Restaurants Canada addresses this topic in their 2022 Foodservice Facts report. The non-profit research and advocacy group predicts sales will reach pre-pandemic levels by Q4 of this year.

However, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs may have to achieve traffic and revenue growth despite a significant labor deficit.

Please click here to access the 2022 Foodservice Facts report yourself.

Labor Shortage by Category

In their latest report, Restaurants Canada crunches the numbers for three distinct venue categories. These are quick-serve restaurants, full-service restaurants, and bars and nightclubs.

The organization finds that QSRs and FSRs are facing the greatest shortages. In fact, in response to a survey from May of this year, at least half of QSRs and FSRs aren’t operating with fulls staffs.

For QSRs, 52 percent of respondents say they perceive restaurants and bars they’ve visited to be understaffed. A bit over a third (36 percent) think staffing is “about right.” Unhelpfully, 12 percent “don’t know” if restaurants and bars have enough staff.

So, let’s switch gears to FSRs. Precisely half of survey respondends say restaurants and bars don’t have enough staff. Just like their QSR counterparts, 36 percent say that staffing seems to be at the ideal level. Fourteen percent respond that they “don’t know,” which doesn’t tell us much.

Per Canadians who responded to Restaurants Canada’s survey, bars and nightclubs are fairing better…at first. Frustratingly, a staggering 37 percent of respondents “don’t know” if bars or nightclubs have appropriate levels of staffing. Thirty-two percent think they’re understaffed, 31 percent think staffing levels are “about right.”

Industry professionals are probably already putting two and two together here. As long as guests receive the level of service they expect, from greeting to speed of service, to closing out their check, they think things are fine. If they’re made to wait longer than they want, they’ll likely say a restaurant, bar or nightclub doesn’t have enough people on shift.

Labor Shortage by Role

Okay, so the May 2022 Restaurants Canada wasn’t entirely helpful. It still provides interesting insight. That is, we know how guests perceive staffing in at least most instances.

So, let’s get down to hard numbers: shortages in specific roles throughout the industry.

Here, Restaurants Canada provides compelling information, even if it’s not what we want to see. In comparison to 2019, every role is down by thousands of people. In some cases, tens of thousands.

Below you’ll find the deficits by role:

Foodservice supervisors: -3,100
Chefs: -10,900
Bartenders: -17,600
Maîtres d’hôtel and hosts/hostesses: -21,100
Restaurant and foodservice managers: -22,400
Food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, and related support occupations: -43,200
Cooks: -44,400
F&B servers: -89,500
Other: -18,800

Add that up and that’s a shortage of 271,000 people throughout Canada’s foodservice industry. For further context, the industry boasted 1,265,700 workers. In 2021, the industry was down to 994,700.

Unfortunately, from 2020 to 2021, just 4,100 jobs were recovered, according to Restaurants Canada. This situation clearly shows that operators need to change their approach to staffing.

Now, more than ever, operators must focus on effective recruitment, onboarding, and retention. For tips on making improvements, click here. To learn how to implement employee surveys to boost retention and avoid costly turnover, click here.

Image: Brian Tromp on Unsplash

August 24, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Are You Surveying Your Team?

Are You Surveying Your Team?

by David Klemt

Successful recruitment is only one element of overcoming the current labor shortage—retention is another crucial element.

In fact, employee turnover can be incredibly costly. According to the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell, employee turnover costs nearly $6,000 per hourly team member.

Now, consider what it costs to hire a single employee. On average, it costs $3,500 to hire that worker in the first place. So, the math is simple: Losing an employee costs an operator more than hiring one.

Unsurprisingly, turnover cost more than doubles—nearly $14,000—for a restaurant manager. In short, employee retention is arguably more important than recruitment and hiring.

Labor Shortage

Per Datassential, 33 percent of 801 survey respondents say the labor shortage is their greatest challenge in 2022. More than 70 percent of those respondents are independent operators.

However, independent, chain, and franchise operators appear to agree on one particular element of the challenge. Across segments, hiring hourly back-of-house employees is the most difficult.

In fact, Datassential’s latest FoodBytes report states that restaurants are coming up short in the kitchen. Two-thirds of restaurants are struggling to fill open hourly cook positions.

So, what’s the solution? Higher starting wages? Bonuses for remaining in role for 90 days? Benefits like health insurance and a 401K?

Each of those does work—for recruitment and hiring. What keeps a new hire from leaving after 90 days with their bonus cash, heading down the road to the next restaurant or bar?

It’s commonly agreed that the first 90 days of a new hire’s employment are the most crucial. Wages and benefits keep them in role for roughly three months. During that time, they’re deciding if their role and the employer’s culture are for them.

Employee Engagement

If you’re an owner, operator, or member of the leadership team, you know the importance of data. In fact, you should be obsessed with data collection and analysis.

Truly, the best way to make decisions that will impact the business is with information. Guesswork just doesn’t cut it. Yes, you should pay close attention to your “gut.” However, you should avoid acting on gut instincts before analysing the relevant data.

Wisely, many operators encourage their guests to complete satisfaction surveys. After all, their feedback is crucial to the success of any business. But what about employee surveys? Your team is equally as important as your guests.

Unhappy team members, unhappy guests. Unhappy guests, reduction in traffic. Team members fleeing your business? Your guests pick up on turnover. Eventually, you won’t have a business.

Now, you can assume your team is happy. You can feel like your leadership team is ensuring employee satisfaction and engagement. Or, you can know.

How do you know? You ask.

Satisfaction Surveys

Call it a satisfaction survey, call it a happiness survey… Either way, you’re asking your team members how happy they are with you and their role.

Operators will likely want to keep these surveys anonymous. Several sources that address employee surveys claim most employees prefer anonymity. Unfortunately, this is due to a fear of retribution from ownership or the leadership team.

Even with a healthy workplace culture, anonymity is probably the best for these surveys. Of course, if you’re implementing a 90-day happiness survey for new hires, anonymity doesn’t make much sense.

As far as company-wide survey frequency, there are several options. Once per year is obviously the bare minimum. Therefore, it’s not very effective. Every six months is better but is checking in on your team’s happiness twice per year enough?

The sweet spot appears to be quarterly surveys. More than that—monthly or bi-monthly—will likely get annoying.

Survey Questions

Below are a few questions to consider for your surveys. You’ll have to decide if you want to use multiple-choice, yes or no, matrix, or open-ended questions, or a mix of each type.

Another consideration is how your team will access the survey. The process needs to be as painless as possible. So, consider pushing a link via your scheduling platform, text, or QR code.

How happy are you working here?
How happy are you in your current role?
Would you recommend us to friends and family as a good place to work?
Does the leadership team make you feel valuable?
Do you see yourself working here a year from now?
Are we helping you succeed in your role?
Are we giving you what you need to progress in your career?

Image: Roman Kraft on Unsplash

April 25, 2022by David Klemt David Klemt No Comments

Hiring Struggles? Engage These Age Groups

Hiring Struggles? Engage These Age Groups

by David Klemt

Staff turnover rates are still above pre-pandemic levels and there’s no silver bullet solution. However, two companies have some helpful advice.

Both Service Management Group and Technomic shared their tips during Restaurant Leadership Conference. Interestingly, each company has a different approach to the current hospitality industry labor problem.

In short, both SMG and Technomic advise operators to engage with vastly different age groups. However, they each have information that supports their recommendations.

Service Management Group

Jennifer Grimes, senior vice president of client services for Service Management Group, co-presented a session with Jim Thompson, COO of Chicken Salad Chick.

SMG is a software-with-a-service platform that seeks to the employee, customer, and brand experience. One crucial element of the company’s mission is the reduction of staff turnover.

During the RLC session, Grimes shared several years of hospitality turnover rates:

2017: 72%
2018: 75%
2019: 79%
2020: 130%
2021: 86%

First, some context. The general consensus is that the industry’s average turnover rate has been between 70 and 80 percent for close to a decade. However, in comparison to other industries—10 to 15 percent—that’s stratospherically high.

Secondly, the turnover rate has been on rise since before the pandemic. Per some sources, the rate jumped from 66 percent in 2014 to 72 percent in 2015, a trend that continues to this day.

For SMG, the age group operators should seek to engage—generally speaking, of course—is 25 to 34 years old. Per the SWaS platform, this group was the most engaged pre-pandemic.

One reason for SMG’s suggestion is that Boomers appear to opting out of the workforce.

During the presentation by Grimes and Thompson, the latter shared that Chicken Salad Chick predicts the 2022 turnover rate to be just slightly above the 2019 rate.

Technomic

Unsurprisingly, Technomic had some numbers to share during RLC 2022 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Per data provided by Joe Pawlak and Richard Shank, 70 percent of operators are still struggling with labor. Recruiting, hiring, and retaining staff doesn’t appear to be getting any easier four months into 2022.

Technomic also pointed out that the US saw the lowest population growth in its history last year: 0.1 percent.

Additionally, almost 17 percent of the country’s population is now at least 65 years old. In 2019, 48 percent of people 55 or older retired. That number is now just over 50 percent for the same age group.

Nearly seven million American consumers turn 60 each year, while four million turn 70 or older.

Logically, one may assume that Technomic is saying a significant portion of the US population is leaving the workforce. So, it’s best to focus on the same age group as SMG recommends.

However, Technomic is recommending a different strategy. Per Pawlak and Shank, retirees (mostly ages 55 and up) tend to have valuable managerial skills and experience.

Obviously, those skills and all that experience can be of great benefit to operators and our industry.

Certainly, all groups should be engaged by operators seeking to recruit, hire, and develop their teams. So, as KRG Hospitality sees recruitment, operators should craft targeted, authentic messaging that appeals to each age group.

Image: Sebastian Coman Photography from Pexels