My best tips on how to effectively manage and motivate your team.

A good manager puts his staff infront of everyone else

The best staff are the ones who are outgoing, flexible, and passionate about the industry.

Throughout my career, I have hired many people in different positions, and I made many mistakes but also managed to find a few stars. It's a long learning process where you get to know the "Specific" type of person you want in Hospitality. It's gonna take years to get good.

But it's extremely fun, and it even helps you grow significantly as a person, and become more reliable in your manager's eyes.

Managing staff in a restaurant or hotel is an important aspect of ensuring smooth operations, good customer service, and a fun and inspiring working experience.

I myself have had a real roller coaster in learning how to manage my staff, mostly because i had to learn everything myself.

VERY long hours with stress, a bit of unregular heartbeats, angry phone calls, undermining staff, and no budgets to follow.

I'm very glad I went through all these years; I don't regret it for a second. And I would do it all over again if I had the same staff.

It's very important to understand that you are dealing with humans and not robots or animals that you can treat or talk to in any way you like. Your staff is the heart of the operation, they have families and other obligations to fill as well.

Some might be working for you to develop their service skills, some to just pay the bills, and some to increase their cooking skills.

As a manager, you don't really know, because your staff rarely tells you much of their intentions. They tend to keep it to themselves or only share it with their other employees.

I remember throughout my career I learned early that my management (My superiors when I was managing restaurants) were the ones thinking they could treat people however they like. Only because they were in a position where they had money and reputation.

I ended up acting like a filter between my management and my staff. Making sure that no toxic words or decisions made it to my staff working on the floor.

Many times, I resolved the issues myself after management complained. This spared my staff from their toxicity.

It all comes down to some key points in managing your staff so they will find they respect for you as a manager and leader.

To be a successful leader/manager, you need to sacrifice a lot. Ultimately, it's your responsibility to ensure your staff is performing well, by making sure they are doing well.

Who is responsible for your customers? You? Your director?

no, the people working on the floor have the main responsibility to ensure a high-quality service is delivered.

And you as a manager have the responsibility to take care of the people who have the main responsibility to take care of your guest.

Take a look at this classic video from Simon Sinek. He explains in EXACT words how managing works.

The respect you need from your staff only comes AFTER you earned theirs.

1. Keep a clear communication

Set your expectations: Clearly communicate job roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations to staff. Make sure it's in line with your experience in managing. And involve your floor staff in meetings when setting expectations. Is a key point in effectively managing and motivating your team

Keep communication digital: Using digital communication is the best way to reach out to your staff. Through Facebook or apps.
- Using Facebook to create a group where people can be themselves. Posting funny pictures and talking about the perfect cake the chef shared at the last staff dinner. Or sharing pictures from last night's staff party. These memories will live on as long as the page is not deleted.
  The group community gathers your staff and ensures they can lower their shoulders when talking, even if they are talking to you as a manager.
- App/programs like Planday. It's super helpful. You can upload important documents on the front page for all staff, sign contracts digitally, and send messages to others. They can even swap shifts with each other, all you need to do is approve it.

Regular Check-ins: Keep up to date with the well-being of your staff. Make time (even if time is short) to arrange one-on-one meetings with everyone. It gives you an insight into how they are doing both at work and in private. It also helps you gain the respect you seek as they get more confident and trust you more when talking in private.

Communicate almost everything: And I mean almost everything important to the operation of the establishment. It will give the staff a sense that you are working hard on improving and developing the operation.
- Menu changes
- Staff meetings
- Big projects
- Low/high season coming and going
- Absent managers (vacation)
- New promotions
- New hires
- New Beverages (Wines/beers)
- New routines
- Staff training
- Changing suppliers
- Releasing schedule
- Happy birthday wishes

I remember 1 point my staff appreciated was that I sent out a message to staff every month asking if they had any preferences with their days off in the upcoming schedule. I would then grant all wishes as best as I could before I started working on the rest of the schedule. And i would say 98% of all wishes were granted.

2. Training, onboarding and development

Onboarding: Onboarding is just as important as training. If your new employee doesn't feel welcome on their first day, it's something that gonna stay with them for a long time and most time ends up with them quitting.
Some may have traveled from their home country just to find work.

A good onboarding consists of:
- Always meet, greet, and pick up the new hire when they arrive, at the train station or airport (If it's close) or by the entrance to the establishment. The first person a new hire should meet is the one who they have been communicating with.
- Offer them breakfast/lunch or dinner if they are hungry before you do anything else.
- Give them a grand tour of the place, showing the most important areas and of course introducing them to the staff.
- Make sure you have all the documents and logins ready for every app or program the establishment is using. It's horrible when you are not prepared and makes the new hire perceive you as an unorganized manager.
- Provide them with a copy of the food and drink menu so they can study.
- Provide them with their uniform, wine opener, pens, paper, etc.
- Offer them an extra day off if it's possible so they can get unpacked and have a walk in the local town.
- Explain the perks and bonuses of their new job; Family discounts, free use of gym and swimming pool, extra discount on the local stores etc.
Training: My approach to training was to have 1 person dedicated to training all of my staff. For example: The assistant manager.
It gives first an opportunity for my assistant manager to prepare, develop, and focus on the task of training staff, as well as having new hires meet the management team early in the onboarding process.
The training would consist of around 3-5 days with checklists to complete and working through all shifts - morning/lunch and dinner.
It's a good system because again, it gives 1 person the time to fully focus on the training. Develop their own checklists, routines on training, and tweaking routines that don't work.

During your one-on-one meetings. 1 point should cover the onboarding process and the process of training. Also, ask for feedback from your new hire on the person who was in charge of the training. It's a system that keeps open communication with your "training person" and you as a manager and gives you the chance to adjust and make changes without "stepping on toes".
Development: Don't make promises you can't keep. Promising someone a free course in cooking, wine tasting, waiter school, etc, and not delivering really breaks your trust in your staff. And it will come back to you eventually.
No one wants to feel "stuck" in a position, especially in hospitality. Once your staff has grown a passion and heart for the industry you want to keep it "Burning". Don't let the flame die out.
Always deliver on your promises- yes it will cost the company money but it's an investment. If there is a delay then communicate it and be honest.
If you train your staff well enough then at one point they want to leave to seek more inspiration. And that's something I encourage people to do. Not only for their well-being but for your own reputation.
If this person who wants to move on, talks well about you as a manager, he/she will without a doubt recommend people to come and work with you. And you can trust that someone who respects you as a manager won't send just anyone they find, but experienced or have the personality and motivation to fit well into your team.

3. Effective team motivation

Visibility: I guess it's a very old trick, but tapping your hands on someone's shoulder while looking them in the eye, and saying "Good job today" still works. And it's gonna take.. probably hundreds if not thousands of claps to keep the respect you seek from your staff.
Being visible is one of the key factors in succeeding as a manager. Working on the floor, running with plates, doing dishes, washing the floors, and staying til closing. All of it contributes to a positive outcome for you as a manager.
It also raises the team motivation significantly as the team can see you are working just as hard as they are.

When a situation arises, for example, a guest is unhappy with the food and has been sent back 2 times already. The waiter is upset and doesn't know what todo. Then take charge of the situation and talk to the guest offering different solutions. Instead of having your waiter waste any more time on 1 guest.

Just make sure you are in the center when something happens and always offer to help in situations where others feel uncomfortable. Who knows you might just start to like being in the center of uncomfortable "events"
Manage Stress and Burnout: The restaurant business can be very stressful. And we all deal with it in different ways. Some can take almost anything thrown at them. Some will eventually break down.
We want to of course prevent stressful situations from happening at any time.

Make sure you give people enough breaks and food to deal with the stress.
Staff food has always been a struggle in my career, either the budget is too low or the chef doesn't have enough time to prepare. But it's only gonna end badly for everyone if you don't make sure people are fed before running in service, hours after hours.

Make a clear statement that staff food is a high priority in the kitchens prepp. Healthy and tasty food.

In various situations, like when a staff member seems stressed during a service, make sure to support them. If they appear to be struggling, recommend that they take a break and focus on stressing down for just 10 minutes with some fresh air. Reload and come back. You as a manager can handle their station while he/she cools down.

4. Scheduling and Staffing

Efficient Scheduling: Create schedules that meet the restaurant's needs while respecting your staff's personal time. Use scheduling software like Planday to minimize errors and avoid understaffing or overstaffing.
Make sure you schedule a long time in advance, as long as you can. The longer the schedule is the more people can plan their lives.
Do not change a schedule you have published without asking the person first, it shows a tremendous amount of respect if you ask someone first.

Use templates to roll out fixed shifts for your 100% positions that works in fixed positions. For example your breakfast host, evening managers, barista, etc. The positions you know you're going to need every day to have the operation running smoothly.
You save a lot of time by using templates - Planday has a fantastic function for this

Use your POS system to get reports on sales by the hour. Here you can see which periods are the busiest, and on which days, and can staff up with extra help during the peak times in a week- down to the hour.

Use budgets. If you don't have one then make your own. Using last year's numbers of revenue and getting reports from accounting on staff cost. Make up your own budget and apply it to your scheduling software. Like Planday, it has a budget module that you can easily edit and you can clearly see, day by day how much your labor cost is and where you need to adjust, or if you are over or under your budget.
Flexibility: Be flexible with shift changes and time-off requests, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect operations.
Know your staff. Some people are more flexible than others, like seasonal workers who want to work as much as possible compared to the mother of 2 who only wants to work 5 days a week in the mornings.
Always try to find solutions when someone approaches you with a request on an already published schedule. Fulfilling these requests as often as you can helps you build trust.
Use a seasonal calendar: Plan for peak times like Christmas, new years, winter holidays, easter, summer vacation, autumn holidays, etc.
Use your POS and accounting to get reports on how your sales and labor costs were. How many extras did you hire last year? Was it too many? Perhaps 1-2 fewer people or more this year?
Working in a seasonal location you face the big challenge of planning your year. But with the seasonal calendar and your reports from the years back, you should have enough tools to come up with a plan.

5. Your voice

Set the Tone: As a manager, your attitude and work ethic will set the tone and voice for the entire team. And it will follow you through your career.
The way you talk to people and the tone of your voice helps your staff to build trust and confidence in you.
Always talk with a neutral voice in stressful situations. Switch to a happy and confident voice when it's quiet or in meetings.
Always try to aim for a neutral stance and voice if you are in uncertain situations. And Breathe slowly when you talk so you don't appear stressed or nervous.

Be Approachable: Maintain an approachable attitude so staff feel comfortable coming to you with questions or problems. Keep open to discussions, and be humble and honest.
When people have the feeling they can talk to you about certain problems or issues, it means they respect you enough to handle the problem and trust you enough to even tell you about the problem/situation.

7. Delegation

Delegate Tasks: Don’t micromanage! Trust your staff and delegate responsibilities according to their strengths. Often "test" your staff by delegating responsibilities that people know are very important to the operation.
Do not micromanage, don't have your head over your staff watching everything they do, and don't comment on everything they do.

Keep your comments and feedback to a single conversation perhaps at the end of the day, or 2 small ones during the day.
It's about finding the right balance in too little or too much feedback.
With too little feedback the person doesn't know if they are doing it right or wrong, too much feedback will give the person too much information for the person to handle and will eventually end up with that person making mistakes that could have been avoided.
Promote Leadership: Identify staff with leadership potential and give them opportunities to take on more responsibility, which can increase team engagement and loyalty.

12. Effective Use of Technology

POS Systems: Make sure all your staff feels confident in using the POS system. Have several different training sessions and follow-ups for new hires. The POS system is a wonderful tool for everyone as long as it's used correctly.
Management Software:
- Like planday for scheduling, budgets, swaps, and communication.
- Table reservation programs like dinnerbooking to get an insight into the day, weeks, and months ahead. It also allows staff to look at the bookings ahead and get their mind set on busy periods.
- Accounting programs to get ahold of reports.
Inventory Systems: Make sure your inventory stock is easy to count. Don't use pen and paper, that era has passed. Use your phone or tablet and start using inventory stock programs.
- POS systems often have their own "counting stock" system integrated.
- www.stockifi.io is an incredibly easy tool to use on your phone or tablet.

13. Team Building

Organize Team-Building Activities: Create opportunities for the team to bond outside of work. Organize activities like small trips or visits to farms or breweries. Just make sure you do something with your team OUTSIDE work. You spend enough time at work as it is.
Encourage Collaboration: Encourage staff members to look out for each other, especially during busy hours. Strong teamwork builds friendship and trust in both you as a manager and your other colleagues.

14. Adaptability

Be Flexible: The restaurant industry is fast-paced and often unpredictable. The staff and you must always be ready to adapt to new conditions or routines.
It's a very useful trait to be adaptive as a manager - I developed that skill during my years as a manager and I'm still using it today, not just at work but in any situation.