After running restaurants for over 2 decades and over-seeing all ages of staff working the floor, I can honestly say that Millennials are no different from any other age group.  

It’s the approach you use with any staff member that makes all the difference.  Lead by example is almost a cliche, but think about it…Do your staff regularly see you bus a table? Clean a bathroom?  Wash the windows? Expedite the food?  If not, they should.  

It’s more than just a point of pride, it’s a simple tried and true motivator and one that has worked for all generations!

Today’s episode is all about reinventing your restaurant and your management style. 

Listen as I share 3 simple best practices to inspire, raise the bar on service and get your team working together to over deliver and beat the competition.

And yes it works for Millennials too!

By the way, if you enjoy the podcast please subscribe on iTunes and if you find the content helpful, please leave a review.

Now go out there and Rock Your Restaurant!

Roger

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EPISODE #89 TRANSCRIPTION

[Start of Transcript]

You’re tuned in to the Restaurant Rockstars Podcast. Powerful ideas to rock your restaurant, here’s your Host Roger Beaudoin.

Hey there! Welcome back Restaurant Rockstars, you know everyone’s talking about the millennial generation; how they have a different work ethic, they want responsibility but they want to decide what projects they work on. If they don’t move up fast, they’re out of there.

This tells me that the Manager’s approach is flawed; you know I’ve worked with lots of people over the years. Baby Boomers, Gen-X and Gen-Y. Didn’t matter I found the best people with the right attitudes, those that truly wanted to meet new people, serve, sell and make friends. Didn’t matter what generation. I led by example, set the bar, high gave them responsibility, made clear that desired results and then recognized and rewarded great performance.

This approach raised everyone’s game no matter the age or generation; building your own restaurant dream team really is job one nothing is more important because each and every guest experience counts on it. listen as I share three simple ways to reinvent your restaurant and your approach to managing your team; then go out there and rock your restaurant.

Alright! Let’s talk about staffing, everyone knows it’s a tough labor market and that old phrase, “Good people are hard to find maybe more relevant than ever” Even if your team’s fully staffed; doesn’t mean everyone’s great. That may be the toughest part getting rid of the C-players. If you have a busy place you think you can afford to be short staffed? Well, the reality is you can’t afford to have less than the best to serve your customers. The long-term view is, great people bring your customers back again. C-players make customers disappear.

There’s lots of talk today about hiring and motivating millennials. Sure, they are a different generation but I found that the foundational basics of developing, recognizing and rewarding work with any generation. All you have to do is lead by example, set clear expectations, treat your people with respect and thank them for a job well done.

In the meantime, why not reinvent your restaurant and your approach; too many Managers scramble to put out the daily fires. You know the unexpected that just happens but being re-active and not pro-active affects the guest experience and gives your competitors an advantage instead I think how we as owners and managers can reinvent ourselves.

(1)   It starts with attitude- recognize the symptoms of complacency in your staff and yourself or your staff from the top-down excited about their work. Are they given opportunities to learn new skills and move up? Are they open to new ideas? Do they follow the rules all the time? Do they believe in your vision and the direction you’re taking them? Are they having fun or are they just going through the motions just here for the paycheck?

(2)    Measurement- Are you measuring staff performance daily against benchmarks to constantly raise the bar and the service you provide and the products you sell? Do you measure your staff against their team mates? Do you bring shortcomings to their attention when noticed? Or is what was good enough yesterday good enough today?

(3)   Time- Does your operation set aside time every week to focus on improvement? Do you have a daily pre-shift meeting? Do you delegate? Do you regularly look for areas that need improvement? Do you train your staff to look for opportunity? Do you role-play and practice great service and salesmanship? Do you embrace change to make your job easier and more fun? Too many restaurants fight fires, postpone until the last minute and a wait until business comes in the door rather than stepping outside and finding it. Don’t let this be your restaurant let this be your competitors, think about it.

OK there you have it three simple ideas that can transform your guest experience and your team approach. Start today, make training and recognizing top performance the number one thing you do in your restaurant. Do this and I can guarantee your online reviews, your customer accounts and your bank account will soar. Oh! And one more thing, make sure you’re having fun out there because after all if it’s not fun, why do it?

Thanks for listening to The Restaurant’s Rockstars Podcast. For lots of great resources, head over to media.restaurantrockstars.com and while you’re there, download a copy of the book, ‘Rock Your Restaurant’ it’s a game changer, See you next time!

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