Problem Employees: Tips for hiring and keeping quality servers

I recently received a letter from a small cafe owner with regard to the problems associated with hiring and keeping servers in their small Northeastern USA town. Following are some of the suggestions that I provided him with and I'd like to pass along the same to others as staff turnover with non-serious industry employees is a problem in many markets--especially during school breaks.

98% of the problems that I encounter regarding staff issues are with owners who are far too flexible as a result of the fear that they will lose necessary wait staff. But, it all starts at the top and good-intentioned owners quickly lose respect with this kind of thinking.

1. Cafe's and restaurants are a business and not a democracy. I encourage owners to immediately adopt a "matter of fact" (no announcements necessary) turnaround of any mutiny of non-compliant employees and take control of the stern. Develop an "employee handbook" which, for smaller establishments, can be designed on single page of paper printed from and back entitled: "What We Expect From You..." on the front side--and on the reverse: "What You Can Expect From Us..", including disciplinary procedures with little leeway. Make sure that you have "employment at will" agreements with your staff to protect you and them legally so that there are no misunderstandings.

For example, if John Smith is rude to customers, routinely late, or otherwise does not adhere to policies and procedures determined BY YOU, take corrective action promptly and do not play favorites with disciplinary procedures no matter how good one staff member is over another. First offense: verbal warning. Second offense: written warning. Third offense: suspension and/or firing. While owners may think -- and even however realistic it is that you may have a "small pool" of employees to choose from, blatant disregard concerning customer issues will surely sink your business and those employees that do dedicate themselves to your venture will also suffer in lost clientele, wages, tips and ultimately jobs.

2. Do not overlook senior citizens and available single Moms as a source of employees. They just might be able to add some significant life experience to your establishment and based upon my experience, have proven at times to not only be more reliable but also complement working owners in providing some sense of structure to the establishment. Often working owners are just too busy trying to run the establishment and do not have adequate time to monitor servers. There is, at times, the complaint that "a younger customer does not want to be served by someone that reminds them of their mother, uncle or grandmother", but this target group of prospective employees can work in a variety of capacities--depending upon their personality and skills. I encourage restaurants to employ seniors, for example, as hosts/hostesses and single Moms have plenty of energy. Compared to what some of them do as a single parent, working in a restaurant is considered a "break" one glad Mom told me.

3. Hire carefully and seek employees through other sources than the local town crier. Advertise for "professional servers for growing business" at employment agencies and other sources including culinary school internships. Scrutinize employee applications and do not hire on the spot. Make them come in for a second interview which creates aura of a privilege to work there -- as it should be. Check references. Ask for written references, if possible--character and either instructors or professional. Bonus employees who find you other good employees that last at least three months.

4. Lay the cards on the table and be honest with you staff: "If you do not ALL shape up here -- we will LOSEEEEEE business. We want to work WITH YOU. This week we are offering a gift certificate for XYZ for the best suggestion to increase the sale of (whatever). Next week we are giving away (recognition gift) for the server who is the server of the month. And remember, any server with a perfect attendance record for the month of March will receive a bonus gift of ($XX) tax free. All employees MUST be here on (weekday at set time) for our staff meeting without exception. Failure to attend will bounce you to the bottom of the schedule (schedule good employees at their preferred hours first and so on)." Have the employees vote as part of this process.

5. Create a hierarchy no matter how small you are. Assign a "team leader" to create an operations checklist that is provided to you daily. Start at your entrance and have this wait staff member check every single solitary area of your cafe to ensure that everything is in place and make all staff accountable to that person to correct immediately. (If anyone needs help in creating an operations checklist, I can make them available.)

Operate from a position of strength rather than fear. Get tough and keep the faith. If all else fails -- warn them that you are hiring a hospitality consultant and heads will roll...

Maren L. Hickton is the principal of Maren Incorporated, a Full-Service Hospitality Consulting and Marketing Firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. Maren writes about a variety of business challenges that independent restaurants encounter. Maren can be reached by e-mail at mareninc@aol.com or info@mareninc.com.