Hey, guys.
My name is Wilson.
Today we're going to be talking about how do you retain your all-star team.
So many people ask me, how do you retain your staff because the number one problem that
food and beverage owners face is the turnover.
Turnover of staff is super, super unhealthy for a food and beverage restaurant because
with food and beverage restaurants we're talking about always constantly go, go, go.
It's a super high paced environment and when it comes down to training, we spend so much
time and energy and money into training, staff, chefs, whatnot and talent.
Okay, so today we're going to be talking about the top six secrets that I've learned throughout
the years of doing food and beverage.
I'm going to be sharing everything with you on how do you retain top talent because at
the end of day we spend so much time hiring for these talent, we cannot afford to lose
them.
Make sure you guys stay till the end of the video because I'm going to be sharing a lot
more resources with you.
Otherwise, let's dive right in.
By the way, if you have not checked out my previous video on how do you hire an all-star
team, make sure you guys check it out right now before you continue on this video on six
steps on retaining your all-star talent.
So let's dive right in, guys.
The number one way to be able to retain your all-star team is to make sure you pay them
fairly and you schedule them fairly.
A lot of times we penny pinch with our staff, we pay them minimum wage mainly because we
think that these guys are entry level players and that's the reason why we don't treat them
fairly.
We don't pay them accordingly, we don't even think about wanting to pay them a premium
because we want to cheap out, because we want to save cost, because we want to make sure
that we are profitable.
And a lot of times paying them fairly is super important in terms of retaining them because
you need to understand on the other side of the table is another person, another person
that needs to be able to take care of their family, another person that has bills to pay
as well.
So if you don't pay them fairly and if you're just always penny pinching with them, then
you are definitely at a loss because the cost of hiring someone new is going to be much
more than if you were to pay an additional dollar above minimum wage, above market rate
to take care of these people.
That itself allows you to be able to show them that you care about them, show them that
this place is a little bit different.
It shows them that they are being treated equally and more and more so fairly in comparison
to the rest of the market.
The second thing is to make sure you schedule them properly.
In the industry of food and beverage, scheduling is everything and what I mean by that is a
lot of times if they do not get enough shifts, then they cannot really afford to pay for
their bills and if you only shift them based upon your needs and based upon what the heavy
traffic hours are, then you're going to be able to lose a lot of talent because you don't
give them enough shifts.
And because sometimes, for example, your managers that are doing the shifts and scheduling,
they may be playing favorites because this guy is, doesn't listen to them properly or
their values just don't match.
And when they play favorites, that's when you're going to lose a lot of power and you're
going to lose a lot of talent because they don't think they're being treated fairly.
So make sure that you always audit your pay for your staff.
And of course make sure that you audit the schedule if you're not the one that's making
the schedule to make sure everyone has enough shifts and pay their bills.
Because at the end of the day, one thing, they have their bills to pay.
And on the other side, they have people that they need to take care of as well.
The third type of way to retain your all-star team is professional development.
In the food and beverage industry, this is definitely a very underrated thing to do because
in food and beverage we always see our staff as being entry level stuff and why should
we bother to develop them?
Why should we spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars sending them to a conference, marketing
conference, serving it right conference, and to help them develop when the turnover is
so high?
And that's precisely the reason why a lot of companies do not send them to professional
development.
And that's why they don't retain staff and talent as well as we do.
When people and when staff feel like that they're learning, they're going to be able
to have much more ownership for this business and for this company because they're learning,
because they feel like they're a person of value.
After they come back from a conference, from a personal and professional development course,
then they're going to have much more skills and much more to give, much more value to
be able to teach the team.
And as a result, the whole company evolves and become a better organization and in turn
they're going to provide much better service and much better value to you.
So at the end of the day, when you are paying for their professional development, it's not
really paying for them, it's paying for your company's evolvement and betterment of your
company, which is a reason why you should always, always invest in your staffing, invest
in their career and invest in their professional development.
This is the reason why we send one of our top guys and our top talent to different professional
development courses.
And in turn, every time they come back, they bring in a new set of ideas for us, a new
set of marketing ideas and strategies and tactics, which in turn we implement and in
turn uplifts our revenue.
And this is all because of the fact that we're willing to be able to pay the price up front
and in turn, what they feel like that they're learning, and if they feel like that they're
making a positive effect on the company as a whole, that they have much more buy-in.
And if they have much more buy-in, they're going to stay in your establishment much longer.
And this is the reason why I always, always encourage my team to go on holidays, go on
trips at the expense of our timeline.
And what I mean by that is when my staff wants to go on a holiday, I'll make sure that they
have an adequate amount of time to go on their holidays, to enjoy themselves, to feel refreshed,
to feel recharged so that now we don't have this ready to quit moment.
And every time they come back they feel refreshed, they feel like that they can give much more
to the company because I truly care about their work-life balance, because I want them
to feel like they have a break and that they have an opportunity to really recharge.
Very importantly, make sure you give them work-life balance.
The fourth way to retain your all-star team is by rewards and incentive.
And what I mean by that is yes, so you're going to be able to give them incentives and
rewards based upon their performance.
And if you can create an environment of a friendly competition, a positive competition
environment that allows them to be able to have a certain reward by hitting a certain
quota, then that itself is very, very good to increase the productivity of your team.
And what I mean by that is, and the key on rewards and incentive must be positive competition.
You cannot impose a quota for your team to hit, okay?
That itself does not equate a reward.
A lot of companies, they put a quota in and after they hit a certain quota, then they're
eligible for a bonus.
And if they don't hit a certain quota, that they're penalized for not hitting their quota.
That in turn, turns into negative reinforcement, that itself is very unhealthy for your business.
Always, always choose the positive route and actually incentify them and provide them a
reward if they're able to hit a certain number, but if they don't hit a certain number, they're
not being penalized.
That in itself allows them to have this friendly competition amongst our staff to be able to
see who does a better job, who has more upsells, who is going to be able to have a higher average
table order.
All this really plays along with how you impose the rules of your rewards and your incentives.
The fifth way to be able to retain your all-star team is empowerment.
What I mean by empowerment is to be able to give your team authority to make certain decisions
without going by you and why is that the case?
By you empowering your staff to make decisions without you and make decisions along a certain
parameter and certain rules, they are able to, they're going to be able to have much
more accountability and ownership of their role.
And when they have that ownership and that accountability, they feel that they much more
belong and when they feel belonged, they're going to stay with you.
As an example, with 720 Sweets, our ice cream shop, we have a $10 rule.
And what that means is that anything below $10 they have the authority to make the decision
right there and then.
So imagine a kid falls down with a cup of ice cream that they just picked up.
They lost the ice cream.
Are you going to be able to charge them another ice cream, another six, seven bucks?
So then that way they're going to have to buy another ice cream just because their kid
fell down.
How would that parent feel having to pay double the price because their kid made a small mistake?
You're not going to feel good about that, which is a reason why anything below $10,
any of our staff can make a decision to either comp or whether to void or whether to gift
an item or whatever the case may be.
And that itself allows our staff to deliver an exceptional experience by providing a free
ice cream because the kid dropped and fell their first ice cream.
The customers would feel amazing.
They feel like this company is empathetic.
They feel that this company truly understands that, "Hey, you know what?
As a parent, I'm already, I have so much obligations and for you to be able to take care of me
even at my own fault," they feel much more grateful and a lot more gratitude for their
company that is comping the ice cream, which is the reason why we have this $10 rule for
any of our staff.
Now, of course there are people that are going to abuse this rule and people who abuse this
rule already right there and then is a bad hire because their values don't align with
our values and these people shouldn't even be in our organization.
So at the end of the day, this is not something that I worry about at all because we are very
strict with our hiring process which in turns allows me to trust my staff much more.
And that's the reason why I don't even worry about this $10 rule.
If they say that it's comped, then it's comped.
If they say that is gifted, then it's gifted.
I trust in my staff because our values are so aligned.
The sixth secret in retaining your all-star team is to care.
And what I mean by to care is you need to understand these people that you hire are
not just randoms off the street.
These are people, too.
A lot of times when we are in a different position, we neglect that person's feelings
because we see them as a staff.
But if you can actually truly bring your emotions and bring your human out and truly care for
every single of your staff, ask them about their day and truly care about their wellbeing,
they're going to be able to feel that and that's when things are being reciprocated.
A lot of people treat their staff like crap.
They treat them like any people or random people off the streets, which is a reason
why when there's any opportunity for the staff to go above and beyond to provide a service
or to actually want to care for the business, they don't because they think their boss don't
care because their boss does not treat them with respect, because their boss does not
care about their own wellbeing.
And that's why a lot of businesses do not and have difficulty finding people and talent
who cares for their business.
At the end of the day, if you want care, you need to first give care.
If you want people to be able to take care of your business, you need to take care of
them.
At the end of the day, they, too, are human.
They're not just a staff.
Okay.
If you take off the position of you being the owner and you take off to their position
as being an entry worker, a waiter or waitress, cashier, you guys are just equal human beings
and that's why it's so important and crucial for you to care for your staff.
And that in turn would allow them to feel that and for them, when they feel that they're
being loved, they feel like they're being cared and that whatever they are doing in
your organization, they're having satisfaction, they're going to stay much, much longer in
your food and beverage establishment.
So there you go.
The six secrets in retaining your all-star team.
Pay them fairly and give them a fair schedule.
Help them have a good work-life balance.
Get them professional developments so then that way they can improve on their skillset.
Give them incentives and rewards for doing a great job.
Empower them to give them ownership for your business.
And lastly, care for them like a human being.
These are the secrets that I've used to retain my top talent, and I'm talking about people
that have been working with me and for me for the last six to seven years.
I'm sharing these secrets with you because I truly want to see you succeed.
If you want to succeed even more, and if you want to see what I've learned throughout the
last 10 years in this food and beverage experience, in the link below, I've compiled from A to
Z, how do you hire staff?
How do you find your customers?
How do you develop a winning matrix of your menu?
How do you find a good location?
How do you negotiate free rent?
How do you market and get lineups out the door?
All on the link below you're going to be able to find that out.
I really, really hope you enjoyed this video.
If you like it, give me a thumbs up.
Subscribe along the journey because I'm going to be sharing much more valuable content with
you.
Otherwise, I'll see you guys in the next video.