The Bar Blogger

Staff rarely have the same enthusiasm or drive for their work like you do as the business owner. I was reminded of this when a staff member came to remove my empty glass in the middle of my lunch yesterday, but didn’t offer me a refill. Had she offered, I would have taken another.

With staff members on duty, serving additional drinks doesn’t cost any more. So what can you do to make them more productive? Well training is obviously the first step; showing staff that upselling and increasing sales is part of their duties is the first step, followed by supervision. However, in my experience, incentives work the best.

In Ireland and The UK, tips are actually rare for service staff, because the law provides for a higher minimum wage. Compare this to the US, where a server’s wages are almost completely dependent on tips.

Modern cash registers/POS systems can track sales per staff member so that at the end of any shift, you will see at a glance which staff members are generating revenue. Why not offer a monthly bonus to staff based on the revenue they have generated. Perhaps a small percentage of their takings? Staff members who see that heir upselling results in increased wages will certainly make more of an effort with customers. You will see then which staff are motivated and which staff are not buying into the system.

What else should you consider?

Make sure to rotate where you assign staff so that all staff get a fair share of customers and that no staff member is left working in areas where they have no chance to generate extra takings.

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Let’s face it, staff are one of the most important aspects of running a successful hospitality business. While recruiting the right staff is essential (and sometimes difficult), retaining staff can be even harder. This is particularly true in the hospitality industry where staff turnover can tend to be high.

Keeping your staff happy will not only make them likely to stick around for longer, but you will find that happy staff are more productive which has a positive effect on your profits.

Don’t panic! Keeping your staff happy isn’t necessarily about being the most lenient employer with the highest wages. [...]

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