5 Steps to Successfully Onboard Restaurant Employees

Now that you have completed the task of finding and interviewing the right candidate for your restaurant, the next step is onboarding. Studies show that when employees properly onboard staff, it leads to higher satisfaction levels, decreases turnover and high retention rates. Not only do you want to remain compliant, you want to keep potential hires happy and make them feel valued.

Here is a checklist of must-do’s when onboarding your new staff:

#1: Send hires onboarding papers

At Harri, we make this step super simple for you and your employees. Send new hirees offer letters and necessary onboarding documents online. You save both time and money with digital onboarding. (And think about, you probably do not want to deal with piles of paperwork anyway.) In addition, you will be 100% compliant to labor laws. You do not need to stress about putting together an onboarding package because everything is already pre-loaded onto Harri. All you have to do is select whichever forms are needed, and send it over to them digitally.

#2: Plan out an onboarding first day

On the new hires’ first day, they will not know their way around yet, so do give them a tour around the restaurant. After, sit them down once more to review what their jobs’ responsibilities and duties are. They probably will feel like a lot is being thrown at them and it seems daunting. Don’t scare them away on the first day already. Set aside some time during their shift to do an icebreaker session with the rest of the team during mealtime. Provide a welcoming atmosphere for them so that they can get more comfortable with everybody.

#3: Run a trail and stage training

Run a trail (or stog) on the servers, chefs and others during the onboarding period. Remember – It is illegal to stage a candidate unless their onboarding paperwork in 100% complete. Monitor how their work ethic is like during their shifts and how they interact with the rest of the team. Keep note of these things so that at the end of their trial, you can make an informed final decision to hire or not hire the candidate.

#4: Assign mentors to new hires

Before you assign one of your current staff to mentor a new hire, make sure to ask them if they would be willing to take on the position. If they agree so, encourage them to help out their mentees get settled in and get them up to speed with the workings of the restaurant. The new hires can also shadow and learn from their mentors during this time.

#5: Provide feedback on performance

Schedule a meeting at the end of the first shift to go over the new hires’ performance. Things to review include their general performance, attendance, attitude, cooperativeness with the team, amongst other job specific-related details. Do not forget about your staff’s approvals as well. It is important to hear their comments too, since they will be working with the new hires as a team.

Ways to Reduce Restaurant Turnover

Retaining and keeping employees happy has always been a challenge in any industry. It's both time-consuming and costly to keep hiring, so it's in your best interest to retain staff for longer periods of time. Here are some ways you can reduce the rate of turnover at your business: 

#1: Establish specific goals for new hires.

Refresh your new hires of their responsibilities on their first work day. Make sure they understand their duties and that they are able to accomplish them. Create goals for them to achieve, so they stay on task and are motivated. During the first week, sit down to discuss what you want to see from them after 30, 60, 90 days and beyond.

#2: Assign mentors to junior-level staff.

Mentorship is key across all fields, but especially so in the restaurant industry. Assign a mentor to a each new hire. The senior staff will have more experience and will be able to guide juniors around the restaurant, answer questions that they may have and provide moral support. 

#3: Allow time for team bonding.

Set aside time for the entire team to meet each other and interact during non-working hours. Consider breakfast or dinner outings as a group once a quarter, so staff can build relationships. Employees that develop workplace friendships feel happier with that they are doing, which definitely helps retention.

#4: Encourage and praise great work.

Take notice of the exceptional work done by your employees. By providing positive feedback, staff will feel a sense of achievement. Also, they will know that they are appreciated and able to contribute greatly to the business. Employees like feeling they are valued, or else, they will feel like they are not needed and thus, try to find a new job.

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Tips on How To Be a Successful Restaurant Owner

Behind every great restaurant is a great restaurant owner. In order for your restaurant to become a success, you'll need to be an effective leader for your team. Here are four key pieces of advice on how to be a successful restaurant owner: 

Listen to your staff.

Your staff, especially the front-of-house team, interact with customers on the daily. They have a first-hand account of what the dining hall is like, and what can be improved so that they can serve guests better. Hear your employees out by holding sessions where they can voice out their concerns. Stay close to them, so they feel comfortable enough to share their ideas.

Your guests are equally as important.

Like your staff, your customers' feelings should not be overlooked. Include a suggestions/comments card along with the bill, so that diners can rate their experience, the service, the food and other items that you want to know more about. Gather the cards and analyze them to see if there are any particular patterns. Publish the results, then have your staff go through them. Review the information as a group, as well, so that everybody understands what needs to be fixed.

Leave room for growth and expansion.

Keep in mind you cannot rush success. It is possible that your restaurant can expand in physical size/scale and you might need to hire more staff. Also, realize that at a certain point, growth and sales will slow down. Be sure to have a back-up plan or ideas on how you can help grow the business. Maybe consider opening a second location, or even relocating. If not, what about reworking your restaurant's concept, menu, etc.?

Remember your role as the leader.

As the restaurant owner, be sure that you lead by example. Conduct yourself as a person that is hard working and dedicated to the restaurant. When your employees see that, they will be encouraged to be so too. You want your staffers to know you as somebody that is strong and dependable.

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How to Attract Great Candidates

"How do I attract and hire the best people?" is a very common question among hospitality HR professionals.

Finding the perfect talent can be challenging and may take some time. Here are some ways you can attract the best of the best:

#1: Recruit based on attitude, instead of skills.

When hiring, look for candidates that have a good personality, rather than exceptional skill. It's actually harder to teach a person how to be personable than to teach someone technical skills. Consider hiring a person that is willing to start at a lower position, who you could then train him/her for a greater role within the company. That way, he/she can see that there is opportunity to grow career-wise and see their work being valued in the business.

#2: Find candidates by networking.

Don't limit yourself to just those who applied to your job post. Search elsewhere and through other means, like using our Search and Connect feature. You're bound to find other great candidates that meet your requirements within our vast network of 180,000+ users. Add members to your Talent Pool and invite them to submit their applications.

#3: Promote from within the company.

During the recruitment process, inform candidates that your business looks to promote entry-level staffers to higher positions. That way, job seekers know that their efforts put in the company will be rewarded. In addition, this strategy will keep employees motivated to work harder.

#4: Company culture is essential.

Attract candidates with the amazing company culture that you've built. Express that your company is a great workplace, and provide supportive words like how everybody is a team player and the business appreciates and listens to the feedback from staff.

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Looking to hire in Hospitality?

Discover top talents on Harri

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The Harri Total Talent Solution: Digital Applications & On Boarding

Harri's Total Talent Solution empowers hospitality companies to discover, interview, hire and onboard new employees on a singular, intuitive and modern platform.

The days of using antiquated ATS's or fumbling through paperwork are over. Harri saves you time, money and most importantly, your sanity!

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While creating the #1 hospitality network in NYC, we realized the need for innovative technology to easily replace archaic hiring systems that Talent Professionals are currently forced to use. Harri’s full-suite solution brings the entire hiring and on boarding process into one modern, hospitality-optimized HR platform.

Harris Interview Scheduler

Beginning with our Advanced Interview Scheduler, Harri is building modern services that remove the traditional pain points associated with hospitality hiring.

Once you've found candidates for your open positions on Harri, the next step is the interview. Our Interview Scheduler allows for effortless management of interviews, drastically reducing the hassle of no shows. It instills a system of checks and balances allowing employers to indicate if a candidate has attended or missed an interview. If that weren't enough, the tool also allows interviewers the ability to take notes that seamlessly integrate with the AMS flow.

Product Features:

• Interview agenda
• Attendance (check-in or no show)
• Interview Notes
• Candidate response rate

Harri Digital Application

The final step in the hiring process is on-boarding new employees.

When it comes to moving applicants through the hiring process, most businesses are accustomed to using traditional methods for this process, such as paper forms and physical filing systems. With the introduction of Harri's Digital Applications and Employee On-Boarding, those days are coming to an end!

Our system removes paper as well as duplication of data by pulling the candidate’s information seamlessly from their initial application through the hiring process. Traditional applicant tracking systems lose over 70% of applicants because of inefficiency. Harri has built an intuitive and streamlined solution designed to enable the hiring manager to build the ultimate team efficiently.

Product Features:

• Basic information from Harri profile
• Business specific questions
• Self Identification and EEO reporting
• eSign and secure cloud storage for 2 years
• 100% Compliance with US Labor Laws

You wouldn't still use a type writer or a wall phone anymore, so why use out of date tools? You shouldn't have to, which is why we're here to help you hire the modern way. Learn how Harri can help your business by contacting our sales department.