Article

Why your employees are frustrated with you (and what you can do about it)

Restaurants that run a reactive culture operate hour to hour, putting everyone behind and causing frustration with employees and guests.

July 9, 2014

By Jon Hainstock

Co-founder of ZoomShift

When you run a small business, you face plenty of challenges every day. Hopefully many of those challenges are opportunities for you to grow as a manager and for your employees to learn through the experience of growing with you. But there’s no way around the fact that you will have other challenges that test your strength as a manager.

Your employees are without a doubt your strongest asset, and it’s important that you do whatever you can to make their experience at your restaurant as pleasant and rewarding as possible. When your employees feel challenged and appreciated, they’ll take pride in their work and your entire team will reap the benefits. But when your employees face the daily trials of working in a fast-paced, dynamic restaurant, there are many things that can lead to frustration.

Below are some of the most common frustrations that restaurant employees face, along with some simple ways you can address them.

A reactive culture

Imagine the best days and nights at your restaurant: your front of house is running smoothly, customers are happily eating and enjoying the atmosphere, and your kitchen is firing on all cylinders. This is the way a restaurant runs when each employee is proactive in their role, anticipating the day’s demands and preparing ahead of time.

Most people in the restaurant business have had the unfortunate experience of working in the opposite environment. Restaurants that run a reactive culture operate hour to hour, putting everyone one step behind. This is frustrating for your employees, but also means that your guests have a less than perfect experience when dining with you.

To be sure that you don’t fall into the trap of a reactive culture, make sure that you’re communicating with each of your employees about their respective roles. By helping them understand the steps they can take to stay ahead of the game when they’re under pressure, you’ll ensure that everyone feels the strength of a team that runs a proactive, productive restaurant.

Negative team dynamics

The trickiest part of any work environment is managing differences in work styles and employee personalities. It’s not easy to bring a group of people together and rally them around a common goal. But if you’re able to avoid some of the common pitfalls of team dynamics, you can help your employees play to each others’ strengths and create the most productive team possible.

The most destructive forces within your work team are gossip and conflict. While it’s not always easy to know whether your employees are spending their breaks talking about each other’s annoyances and downfalls, there are a few things you can do to foster a positive work environment.

First, be sure your management team is setting a good example. Speaking positively about your employees and highlighting the small victories of the job every day will show your team that positivity is valued at your restaurant. If your employees never see you speaking negatively about others on the team, they’ll know that they are expected to stay positive too.

Lack of communication

Even outside of the restaurant business, it’s common for employees at different levels in an organization to feel like they don’t have a line of sight into the vision and planning for the company. Many organizations keep the doors between management and employees tightly shut, which can be a frustrating way to work, and is a quick way to create a less efficient team.

It may feel challenging at first, but letting employees in on some of the higher-level decisions and plans for the organization is a great way to show your employees that you trust them enough to share important information with them. When they feel trusted and respected, they’ll see how much you value their role in your organization and will be more open with you as well.

At employee meetings, let your teams know about the plans and decisions the management team is discussing that will affect the restaurant's future and each employee’s role in it. In addition, be sure your employees know that your door is always open if they have questions or ideas to share with you.

Ultimately, keeping the lines of communication open means your employees will feel respected and rewarded in their work.

Not enough recognition

A job well done deserves recognition. As you know, when you’re running a business, it’s not easy to keep an eye on every employee’s work, but it’s an incredibly important part of each of your team member’s experiences at your restaurant.

When employees feel that they’re work isn’t recognized, it’s easy for them to feel frustrated. Everyone wants to feel valued, and if they don’t, they might let their performance slip. Even worse, they might resent your management team and create internal problems among others on the team.

Make sure you take the time to evaluate each individual’s work on a regular basis. You may not need to have formal performance reviews -- even small moments of feedback on a weekly basis will make sure your employees know that you’re invested in their work. And adding small, unexpected incentives for employees that go above and beyond their duties will show your employees how much you appreciate what they bring to your restaurant.

Every job has its own frustrations, but as a manager, part of your responsibility is to recognize potential frustrations your employees have and help mitigate them.

Jon Hainstock is the co-founder of ZoomShift, employee scheduling software. 

_{Photo provided by Flickr user Matt MacGillivray.}