3 Tips to Improve Restaurant Employee Engagement
The restaurant industry already experiences high levels of turnover, and in 2022, restaurants are seeing 55.4% more turnover than ever. This begs the question: what can restaurants do to improve the employee experience?
Beyond reducing turnover, increasing restaurant employee engagement drives sales and improves the customer experience. Technology such as back-of-house digital signage, mobile app solutions, and an employee engagement platform can elevate the restaurant employee experience and streamline operations. Below are our tips for improving employee engagement in the restaurant industry.
Motivate through friendly competition
Gamification increases engagement, boosts productivity, and improves performance. Transform once-menial tasks into fun challenges that revolve around metrics you want your employees to meet.
For example, track who takes the most orders in the span of a month. While the competition is running, display a leaderboard (on back-of-house signage) that automatically updates based on data from your POS system. Live leaderboards provide instant recognition for in-the-moment accomplishments, and deliver timely, positive feedback that employees crave. At the end of the competition, reward the winner with points they can use to redeem a reward of their choice.
You can also hold competitions and challenges among employees across multiple locations. Easily manage these by using an employee engagement platform — and conveniently automate gamification, recognition, and rewards so you don’t have to worry about them.
Leverage back-of-house signage
Digital signage is an effective tool that can be used to relay important information to your employees. Operations run more smoothly when everyone is on the same page, and restaurant employee engagement benefits from better communication. There are several ways back-of-house signage can be used to keep employees up-to-date and optimize back-of-house processes.
Shift schedules: Easily display the week’s shift schedules so employees know who will be working and when.
Announcements: Make important announcements in 4K that can’t be missed. Keep employees informed about any updates or last-minute schedule changes.
Food safety: Alert employees when food temperatures are nearing unsafe levels. Use AI to reduce food waste and conveniently monitor fridge temperatures in real time throughout the day.
Customer arrival: Leverage geo-fencing technology to notify your staff when a customer is nearby for a to-go, drive-thru, or pick-up order. Empower staff to optimize their time, prioritize in-person needs, and efficiently serve on-the-go customers.
Restaurant workers are more engaged when communication is clear and they have the tools they need to do their jobs well. With back-of-house signage, you can ensure that employees are aware of pertinent, time-sensitive information and are equipped to keep things running efficiently.
Communicate effectively
Good communication decreases turnover by 50% and can make employees feel more connected to their organization. In our recent report on restaurant employee engagement, better communication was cited as one of the top 5 ways to increase engagement.
If your establishment is part of a national restaurant chain, employees may have a harder time feeling a sense of connection with corporate. With digital communication tools such as digital signage or mobile apps, you can help employees feel more aligned with company goals and easily push personalized messages, shoutouts, and announcements directly to them.
Communication also improves restaurant efficiency, which streamlines the employee experience. For example, managers can display announcements on digital signage instead of having meetings or flagging down individual employees.
Happy employees make good business
Increase sales, decrease turnover, and improve the customer experience by improving restaurant employee engagement. Through investing in the employee experience, friendly competition, back-of-house signage, and effective communication, employers boost productivity and streamline operations.
