Everything You Need to Know About Gamification, Rewards, & Recognition for Restaurant Waitstaff

The restaurant industry commonly experiences high levels of turnover, and the pressures of the pandemic definitely don’t help. In 2022, 61.6% of employees said that they were likely to quit their jobs in the next year. To combat this reality, restaurants should do everything they can to  provide an engaging employee experience.

Give recognition, gamify work, and incentivize employees with rewards to boost engagement and make the employee experience more enjoyable. Keep reading to learn how Raydiant’s Employee Experience Platform can help you accomplish these goals.

Why recognition matters

Though employee recognition may not be a top priority when running a restaurant, lack of recognition is the top reason employees quit their jobs. When hard work is not acknowledged, employees can feel underappreciated and undervalued. However, establishments see a 31% lower turnover rate when employees are recognized for their contributions.

So how can restaurant owners and managers better recognize their employees? One way is through automating this process so that employees receive recognition the moment they achieve a goal or complete a task. If you’re focused on promoting seasonal menu items, set a goal for each employee to sell 20 of them in a week. Using Raydiant’s experience platform, you can trigger shoutouts automatically when those goals are reached.

Providing restaurant workers with timely praise creates a culture of appreciation that energizes and motivates employees.

It’s all fun and games (and a productivity boost)

Introducing games, contests, and challenges can transform the work environment. A little friendly competition increases motivation, productivity, and profits. It’s an easy way to communicate your goals and bridge the gap between work and fun.

Let’s say you want to set up a competition for selling the most seasonal menu items in a week. Whether you want to track sales by employee, location, or pre-set teams (such as front-of-house vs. back-of-house), Raydiant’s integration with Square’s point-of-sale system makes managing data a breeze.

Connect the POS data to a live leaderboard so employees or teams know exactly where they stand. The leaderboard can also double as an opportunity to give recognition to employees who are doing well.

On top of gamifying the employee experience, introduce points and rewards as the icing on the cake.

Trophies are out, customizable rewards are in

Prizes are a great motivator and allow you to reward employees in a tangible way — but the prizes have to be worth working for. A plastic trophy might not be as enticing as a weekend getaway. It’s also worth considering that employees might have different prize preferences. For example, noise-canceling headphones would probably not appeal to someone who already has a pair.

A simple solution would be to let employees choose their own rewards. Better yet, allow employees to earn points and pick rewards from a marketplace. Raydiant’s Employee Experience Platform does just that. Award points after a contest and give employees the option to cash them in immediately or accumulate them over time to use towards a bigger reward. The marketplace has something for everyone, as it includes thousands of redeemable rewards in categories such as travel, electronics, and apparel.

Book a demo

Creating a brilliant employee experience starts with showing appreciation for their hard work. Harness the power of recognition, gamification, and rewards to motivate and engage your staff. Book a demo to learn more.