Why Staff Need Incentives To Make You Money
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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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Hi Ray,
Start by ensuring all staff are made aware that it is against house policy to give away free drinks. Ask them to sign off a document that have been told and understand that failure to comply will result in dismissal.
Depending on how big the problem is, you may benefit from having a mystery customer sit in the bar on a number of nights to watch what is going on.
Can you work out which shifts this is occurring on? Vary the shifts and see if the problems change shift too. That way you will narrow it down to a staff member or two.
Let staff know that due to stock losses, jobs may be in jeopardy until you get to the bottom of it.
Let me know if any of this helps.
Barry
i am a small business with a small staff ratio but i think i have a problem with one or two of the staff giving drinks away free of charge, any ideas on how to catch or stop them from doing it ?
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About Barry Chandler
Barry Chandler works with bars and restaurants to bring more customers in the door through effective use of social media, online tools and customer engagement.
Since 2004, more than 2500 bars, restaurants and hotels have used his tools and services to improve their bottom line.
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These incentive schemes are all fine and dandy if you have a bar with tenders and glass collectors separately, but if staff are to do both then you will find the selfish few who will refuse to leave the bar and those who have initiative and are 'house proud' who will give up due to sheer embarrassment, these are truly the ones who should be rewarded.
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