How to dream staff in a café

TREASURE ON BEHALF OF AN EMPLOYEE

Employees are one of your biggest investments. Don't overlook them and take note of their wishes and requirements. Demotivated employees do their jobs sloppily and can appear annoyed with customers. Customers won't come back, and then you won't have the turnover you may be imagining.

It's important to make employees feel that they are part of your business and that you can't do without them. They will feel indispensable, which in turn will make them more productive. This will not only increase your profits but also the happiness throughout the business.

A stable team also fosters meaningful relationships between your employees with each other. This contributes to better teamwork and good morale in the collective. The positive atmosphere throughout the business is then felt by everyone who walks in.

HOW TO SELECT EMPLOYEES?

You need to understand and test how many people you actually need in your café. This will then determine who all you need. Will just a barista and a waitress be enough? Or do you need someone in the kitchen? To wash the dishes? Don't forget that they'll need to swap shifts with someone. No one is going to come to workseven days a week.

But firstand foremost ,it's important that all these people have one thing in common. Alove of coffee. It may sound a bit cliché. But they work in a coffee shop. Your coffee shop! And a person who doesn't like coffee, and God forbid, doesn't like coffee, can't sell your coffee from the heart to your customers.

Before you choose the right staff, think about the qualities you particularly value in your employees. Are these innate qualities or can they be acquired through practice? You should employ people who can perform their jobs well and whose behaviour and mindset will match your company culture.

For example, if you are recruiting a barista, it would be helpful if they have the basic coffee knowledge needed to learn other technical skills. Knowledge of coffee flavor profiles, production, processing and roasting, various practical skills such as grinding, espresso preparation and milk whisking can all be taught.

Other equally valuable skills to look out for may include theability to cope with pressure situations (such as long customer queues) and working as part of a team.Then in day-to-dayoperations, flexibility (for example, covering for sick co-workers) and commitmentwill be appreciated.

DEFINE AND COMMUNICATE YOUR VALUES

Until you know exactly what you want, you can't ask your staff to be 100% functional. While some things are universal - like respect for co-workers - others will be more specific to your company. Take the time to define your values. Then make sure you communicate them properly to your employees who will be using them.

Getting the values right for your employees will lead to an effective business.

SET THE RULES

There are rules for every job and every profession. Set yours. They should be clear and specific, but of course not too hard that your staff are afraid to look at the phone, for example. The main thing is that your whole team knows and understands the rules you set.

Don't forget to reward positive behaviour. This can be achieved, for example, by regular appraisals so that you and your employee can reflect on future developments.

FEEDBACK AND BREAKFASTS TOGETHER

If you want your employees to work and perform effectively, you need to give them proper recognition for it. Therefore, create a reward system and procedures that also inspires teamwork in people. Make sure you praise team members who support others. Give your team adegree of autonomy. This increases accountability when things go wrong, but also increasescollective pride when your team works independently and thrives.

Regular communication with your team is key to monitoring performance and motivation, resolving problems, and keeping employees happy.

Make sure you have regular contact with your employees. How about a weekly or bi-weekly breakfast get-together? Even a morning coffee together will suffice. You can tell each other what's needed, what's bothering who, give out compliments and everything will work even better.

MOTIVATION

Motivated employees are happier, provide better customer service and contribute to the overall success of your cafe.

Different people have different motivations. It may seem obvious, but people are driven by different things. Don't assume that what works for you or one team member will motivate all your other employees. Instead, make sure you haveregular meetings with team members, one-on-one and as a group, and listen.

Some employees may be more introverted than others and it may not be obvious what motivates them. But over time, even these quieter employees will tell you what's important to them through their approach to tasks, reactions to change, and informal conversations. So keep your eyes and ears open and let everyone know you're available.

FINANCIAL INCENTIVES

Perhaps the most obvious way to motivate your employees is through financial incentives. There are plenty of creative and meaningful ways to offer financial incentives.

Listen for different complaints and suggestions from your team. Then, be careful when thinking about who to give a raise to. Will this solve the problems?

WHAT IS RIGHT?

If there is only one person working in your business during the entire shift, it's simple. Tips should go to the person who earned them.

It's just that in most cases, unless you have a small espresso bar, there are more staff in the cafe. You can leave it up to the shift supervisor to decide how to handle the tip, because they know best who's efforts throughout the day. In that case, you have to have 100% confidence in him.

A popular method is to add up all the tips at the end of the day and divide them fairly among the staff. One should definitely not forget the barista, who may not serve the coffee, but has the main credit for what the guests get.

MUTUAL RESPECT AND TEAM DYNAMICS

If you behave the way you would like your team to behave, then your staff will feel it and it will motivate them. Have respect for others.

Your staff need to feel that they have support in you. They will then be open about any work issues that are bothering them and confide in you. This can help you improve your business and handle staffing requirements better.

One practical method of building relationships is recognizing good work. This means openly praising employees for a job well done and acknowledging any little extra effort. Does someone always show up 15 minutes before shift prep? Maybe someone else takes responsibility for cleaning without having to be asked. Thank them for doing these things and they will then feel respected. Encourage team members to do this too, and have respect for each other.

When setting shifts, consider personality types and pair the right people together. Not everyone can sit down, and yet you don't want anyone to dread coming to work because they're there to meet their colleague.