Hiring a great staff starts with knowing what you want in an employee and then doing a great interview. Do you have a job description for the different positions in your store? Whether I’m hiring district managers, managers or hourly employees, I interview with a strong bias towards appearance, speaking ability, friendliness and future aspirations. These are all traits that applicants either have, or don’t have–you really can’t train them. You can train how to ring up an order, how to dispatch, how to clean etc.
You should have an interview page that has 6-10 questions, diving into what you want in an employee. Set your standards high and look for applicants who can meet that. Always check at least 2 references. Although employment laws limit what information should be given out, you’d be surprised what a manager will tell you. If it’s the first job, ask for a teacher, coach, neighbor etc as a reference.
Of course, this advice is assuming you are getting a good applicant flow. If you aren’t, I suggest professional signs in your store, mini-applications as bouncebacks, newspaper ads, churches/schools and the favorite of all, steal great employees from other restaurants.
Once you hire a great applicant, give great training. This isn’t a “sink or swim” exercise. Have them shadow yourself or another trusted employee for at least 3 shifts. Follow the job description. If you have position duties charts, that’s really helpful.
Finally, when you find that employee who creates a positive, memorable experience for your customer, make sure to reward them with whatever motivates them–money, movie tickets, free food etc. Have contests and make it fun!
Good luck–they are out there, you just need to find them. Your reward–no more open to closes!
