Too busy to train your staff? All it takes is a little of your time to plan, the right attitude and some outside help to transform your team - and your business.
Staff costs can make up as much as 30% of a pub's turnover and yet it can often be an area that is neglected by licensees.
Bar and waiting staff are ambassadors for your pub by working front of house and having the first contact with your customers.
The most important things to customers are service, value for money and quality of product. Staff have the ability to make your pub stand out from your competitors if they are well-trained and motivated, and this will help to drive the business.
Reduce staff turnover
When a member of staff leaves, their duties tend to be passed to another staff member in the short term. The licensee may see this as a cost saving, however the unseen consequences are a lot more costly:
- standards drop
- complaints increase
- expections on staff to work more
- staff feel taken for granted
- staff start to leave
Benefits of training:
- helps to prevent the above
- motivates your team
- saves you time
- saves you money trying to employ new staff
- decreases turnover
- customers get better service
Here is a step-by-step guide to training your staff
| STEP 1 | Have a staff structure. Make a chart of the job posts you think you need and can afford |
| STEP 2 | Put your staff names next to the jobs on the chart matching their skills to the role |
| STEP 3 | Any empty staff positions will highlight a need for training and development |
| STEP 4 | Ask your staff what their aspirations are and find out who needs another challenge in their job |
| STEP 5 | See what areas of training you are confident in doing yourself and which staff you will train |
| STEP 6 | Arrange training dates and make a few notes as a prompt on the day |
| STEP 7 | Ask for professional help with areas of training you are not as confident with. No one knows everything! |
| STEP 8 | Review the progress your staff have made at individual appraisals and see that they are happy |
| STEP 9 | Get feedback from your customers with a questionnaire or by asking your regulars if they can see that service has improved |
