70% of customers who won't return to a foodservice establishment cite a negative interaction with an employee as the reason. By lowering employee turnover, service and customer retention can be improved.
No wonder Management Guru Peter Drucker says "Managers should spend more time on managing people and making people decisions than on anything else. No other decisions are so long lasting in consequence or so difficult to unmake."
Employee management is costly. If you're like most operators, you spend 36¢ of every $1 you earn on labor. High employee turnover affects more than just payroll. It can cause you to lose customers, efficiency, morale, and product.
You can find out what turnover is really costing you by using our Employee Policy Handbook. It's easier to be a winner if you know the rules of the game—the who, what, where when and why of your company. Let your employees know what they can expect from you and what you expect from them.
- Job Descriptions. In one study, 80% of foodservice employees surveyed couldn't give an accurate job description or list their major job responsibilities in order of importance. Read "If You Get To The Dairy Queen You've Gone Too Far" for tips on writing great job descriptions.
- Continuing Education. Training doesn't stop. Ever. If your business has changed, if your competition has changed, if your market has changed, then your employees need new skills. Effective training is dynamic. It's for all employees, all the time. "Everybody's Talking 'Bout" provides tips for developing a world-class employee training program.
- Evaluate and Test. Until you benchmark and measure performance, employee turnover will continue to increase. Periodic evaluations and testing give positive feedback and keep the focus on job specific duties and responsibilities, not personalities.
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