Fewer surprises. Greater restaurant efficiency.
Fewer surprises. Greater restaurant efficiency.
Good communication improves working relationships, helps create a better work culture, and allows restaurant teams to become more effective. This, in turn, results in improved customer service and increased profits.
However, achieving effective internal communication can be a challenge for many restaurants. You might find that messages get lost in translation, misunderstandings occur, or crucial information doesn't get conveyed to the right people. These issues can lead to frustrated employees, increased turnover, and ultimately, a negative impact on your bottom line.
In this article, we'll share the 5 best tips for improving internal communication within your restaurant team. Whether you're a manager looking to streamline communication processes or an employee seeking better ways to stay connected with your colleagues, these tips will help you foster a culture of clear, effective communication that benefits everyone. So let's get started and transform your restaurant's communication game.
1. Set expectations for internal communication
The first thing you should do to improve restaurant communication is to let staff members know what’s expected of them in terms of internal communication.
This might include being respectful and honest when communicating with coworkers, as well as being proactive and attentive during restaurant staff meetings.
You might also want to ask employees to:
- Submit their availability by a certain day and time every week or month
- Confirm that they’ve reviewed the new schedule within 12 hours
- Submit shift swap requests a certain number of days in advance
2. Ensure transparency
The entire staff should practice transparency if you want to achieve effective communication between team members.
The process should start with restaurant management. So, how do you ensure transparency in a team?
Well, there are quite a few things you can do.
Start by not hiding things from your staff. Share both good and bad news with the entire team.
Also, communicate changes and decisions as they happen.
This will help keep morale high and give staff members a sense of ownership. It will also create a healthier work environment overall.
Another way to improve transparency is to start an internal newsletter. This would give you a place to keep your staff updated on any important changes, as well as allow you to share announcements and other important information more easily.
An internal newsletter can also be used to inform staff members about the restaurant’s performance, as well as remind them about important events or dates.
3. Check in with staff members regularly
Another thing you can do to improve team communication is to make sure to check in with staff members regularly (at least once a month, preferably in one-on-one meetings) and see how they’re doing.
This will help develop trust and rapport and keep staff members motivated. It will also allow you to solve small issues that might have resulted from poor communication before they become big problems.
It’s good to start check-ins with a bit of positivity. You can do this by making an effort to recognize any achievements or good work a staff member has done recently.
After that, you should:
- Ask how they’re doing and whether they’re happy with their role (e.g., “How are you doing?”)
- Check if anything is bothering them (e.g., “What are some challenges you faced this month?”)
- Encourage them to share ideas about improving anything at the restaurant (e.g., “Is there something that you think we should improve in the future?”)
- Answer any questions they might have (e.g., “Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”)
Asking these questions should give you plenty of information you can use to help each staff member in their role and improve your team’s effectiveness.
4. Praise in public, criticize in private
When recognizing achievements or providing feedback, it’s a good idea to follow the rule of praising in public and criticizing in private.
This is a management concept made popular by Radical Candor, a book on business leadership written by Kim Scott, a former Google and Apple executive.
Here’s how it works: by recognizing employees’ achievements, you provide positive reinforcement that encourages them to keep performing at a high level. When this is done publicly, it shows other staff members what kind of behavior is desirable.
Criticizing publicly, on the other hand, can be bad for employees’ self-esteem and overall team morale. It can also put the employee in defensive mode and prevent them from learning from their mistake.
Be thoughtful about your delivery when providing criticism, and choose your words carefully. This will prevent any miscommunication and help staff members feel more comfortable accepting criticism.
Finally, make sure any type of feedback you provide is specific and delivered on time. Tell employees exactly what they did right (or wrong), and don’t wait too long to provide them with constructive feedback on their actions.
5. Ask for feedback
Apart from providing feedback to staff members, you should also ask them for feedback.
This can help you identify dissatisfaction among restaurant employees so that you can address any issues. It also shows that you value your team’s opinions.
Before you ask, it’s important to make staff members feel comfortable sharing their feedback. One way to do this is to provide them with a way to provide feedback anonymously (e.g., via a suggestion box).
When asking for feedback, focus on how you can improve in the future rather than asking what you might have done wrong in the past (e.g., “What could I do to recognize team members’ achievements better?”).
Finally, take the feedback you receive seriously. Let employees know that you plan on incorporating their feedback and advice as soon as possible and explain the next steps for doing so.
Wrap up
Ensuring good employee communication is a big part of creating a successful restaurant. It improves teamwork, creates a better customer experience, and helps combat the high turnover rate that’s plaguing the restaurant industry.
Follow these tips to facilitate better communication among your restaurant staff:
- Set expectations for internal communication (e.g., communicating in a respectful and honest manner, being proactive during meetings, and submitting availability on time).
- Be completely transparent with your team and communicate changes and decisions as they happen.
- Check in with staff members regularly (especially with new employees) to see how they’re doing and address any issues that might have come up.
- Recognize employees’ achievements publicly and provide constructive feedback in private.
- Ask staff members to provide feedback themselves and then act on it.
Finally, pay special attention to the communication between your front-of-house and back-of-house staff since it’s crucial for ensuring your restaurant runs smoothly. Check out how Lineup's restaurant communication app can help you facilitate communication with your staff and streamline scheduling operations.
Further read:
Boris Mustapic is a content marketer with a decade of experience in the digital marketing industry. He specializes in helping B2B SaaS companies drive growth through strategic, product-led content marketing.
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