What do teachers, coaches, parents, and restaurant managers have in common? They all use motivation to help those they interact with succeed. In the food service world keeping the team moving forward means success. To learn the art of motivating you could take a class at Northeastern University with Professor Leonard J. Glick. But if you want quick tips you can begin to implement today, check out the tips he gives FORBES to keep people “smiling and producing.”
Build Ownership Among Your Crew
Glick explains that company personnel must feel responsible for what the customer is buying. If you can achieve this, your employees will feel that they own the place, not just work there. Glick suggests that you allow your employees to bring their ideas for improvement and have people rotate responsibilities from time to time. When people feel like something is “mine” they don’t want to fail or dissatisfy the customer.
Trust Employees To Leave Their Comfort Zones
If we were to be honest, few employees want to do one specific task over and over. Glick encourages you to grant them new responsibilities. This will promote growth and confidence. It also will provide a sense of value. If this makes you nervous, Glick adds, “to me the bigger risk is having people get burnt out or bored.”
Keep Your Team Informed
As a leader, you have a clearer perspective on the bigger picture than your employees. It is crucial that you tell those under you what’s going on. Don’t fall in to the trap that something is “common knowledge.” Take the time to share with your employees. It will strengthen the feeling of importance as a part of the organization.
Treat Your Employees as Adults
Not everything that happens in food service is positive. At some point you will have to give bad news to individuals or the organization as a whole. Deal with tough situations in a straightforward and respectable manner, Glick says.
Be a Consistent Boss
Glick is very blunt in this section of the article. Ideally, he writes, you want in open relationship with your employees but not a peer relationship. “I think the work thing is to pretend you’re peer . . .it’s the inconsistency . . . which is the bigger problem.” You are the boss, and you may have to act like it, sometimes.
Money and Perks Matters (But Not As Much As You Think)
Glick encourages employers to find a salary that will allow your employees to feel they’re being paid fairly. Don’t bend over backward to lowball them. If the salary is in place, “the motivation comes from . . . the opportunity to learn [and] the opportunity to contribute,” Glick adds.
Perks are on businesses radars because of large companies offering lavish perks to their personnel. Glick cautions writing, “like money, these things tend to be less powerful motivators.” You must understand that these perks are no substation for in-job challenges and feeling of being a part of a quality team.
Check out the full article here.
