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Here are 77 ways to boost sales and get more repeat bookings from your existing customers to generate more profit for your restaurant
I discovered a new hotel last week, perfect for my visit. And my stay there was great; a warm welcome, spotlessly clean room, free use of Mac, delicious breakfast. So when I had to travel to the same city again this week I naturally booked in again.
But what a difference a week makes. Or was it just the day of the week. Either way, I was disappointed.
There wasn’t any one major problem, just lots of little things that made the whole experience a let down after last week.
There was a stain on the carpet, the carpet was fraying as it met the bathroom tiles, the bathroom floor felt slightly tacky under bare feet, the start of that build up of yellowing limescale around the plug hole in the basin and in the corners of the shower, a small tear in the bedroom curtains.
Was I just oblivious to these on my previous stay? I don’t think so, as I remember noting how clean and fresh everything was. So how come there could be so many niggling problems this time? Was it down to the room maid, housekeeping audits, maintenance schedules, poor systems?
I don’t know for sure, but one clue was that when I gave some feedback to reception of all these points, she went through the motions of caring, and was very apologetic. But the clue was she never asked for my room number, or even what floor I was on; so how on earth do they hope to rectify the problem?
The morale of this tale? What systems do you have in place to ensure consistent and exceptional customer service, so your guests know what to expect every time they visit?
In the A – Z of hospitality leadership G is for setting goals.
Do your team know what you expect and how you’ll measure this?
In the article on Communication I talked about the need to let people know what is expected of them, and how their contribution fits into the bigger picture.
So how does this translate into day to day leadership?
It means communicating your longer term goals; what do you want to achieve over the next 5 – 10 years? Then break this down into goals or objectives for the year ahead, for the business as a whole, for the departments, and on an individual level.
This enables your team to know what they are each responsible for. And when everyone achieves all their goals the department as a whole should achieve their goals. This seems obvious, but it’s surprising how many businesses don’t make this connection!
These goals need to include some KPIs or metrics. Most of us are familiar with SMART goals, which are a good starting point.
Here SMART goals are explained; however I’ve added in a few more criteria to make goals that bit more robust and more likely to be achieved.
S
Be as SPECIFIC as possible. What will they see, hear or feel when the goal is achieved. The more vivid the image the more powerful it will be. Can you easily explain it to someone else? I want you to increase sales is not specific; how much more sales, in areas, at what profit margin, by what date……?
As well as being specific, the goals you set must be STRETCHING. Is the goal something that will get the business further forward, but still provide an element of challenge?
M
Goals must be MEASUREABLE so you can all quantify their progress and track it. What MILESTONES will you set?
Any goal you set must be MOTIVATIONAL too – What will achieving their goal get them? How well does it fit in with their values and what’s important to them? Does it inspire them? Will it give them a sense of accomplishment on achievement? If not, then the chances of them achieving it are slim!
A
Getting a balance between being stretching and motivational and at the same time being ACHIEVABLE is key. Unobtainable goals will have a negative impact. But it is important that they are ACTIONABLE by them, not dependent on others’ actions out of their control.
It is also important that the goals you set are AGREED with the individual. If they don’t agree with the goal, maybe because they think it’s unachievable, or not part of their job you will get reluctance and the goal will be put to the bottom of their priority list.
R
How RELEVANT are the goals to them, their role and the business as a whole? A goal that is incompatible will mean inevitably that something will have to give.
Once you are both happy with their goals ensure you RECORD them. Then keep the goals as a focus of your review process. If they are working on things which do not contribute to their goals ask why.
T
When wording your goals specify what you are moving TOWARDS rather than what you want to avoid. Our brains find it difficult to process negatives, so by concentrating too much on what you want to avoid actually focuses the brain on this rather than what you want instead. So, for example, if a goal is to reduce complaints, focus on the reaction you want to get from your guests instead.
Finally, goals must be TRACKABLE (including TIMESCALES) so you can review at any time how well your team are on track. We all know the results of leaving everything to the last minute, so set some specific timescales when you’ll review progress, and schedule these into your diaries.
Join me on my recent tele seminar where I share the answers to the questions I’m asked most often by my leadership coaching clients.
In the A- Z of leadership E is Empathy. Putting yourself in another’s shoes.
Empathy is really understanding the other person’s perspective, position and feelings. It is the ability to ‘step back’, and achieve a detachment from our own emotions, and is essential for building trust, rapport and effective relationships.
It involves listening and understanding – not necessarily agreeing (which is different) – to the other person. Listening without judging.
As a minimum a good leader asks open questions to encourage and understand the views, feelings and attitudes of others, and reflects back to show they understand or to clarify. But a good leader will do this without being judgemental of others’ views even if these conflict with their own, and will be open to differences in opinions and perspectives.
Empathy goes beyond what is said, it is also demonstrated via your tone and body language. A critical or sarcastic tone will not encourage someone to share their views; neither will raised eyebrows, scowling or defensive body language.
Active listening is key, show your interest, ask probing questions (in a non-judgemental way) to ensure understanding. Aim to understand how the other person feels, why they see things as they see things as they do (so bring out any underlying assumptions) and to discover what they want to achieve.
‘Seek first to understand’ is one of the seven habits described by Stephen Covey in ‘The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People’
Ask for feedback on your own behaviour so you can use this information to strengthen your relationships with your team. Be open with your own feelings and views too to enable your team to see things from your perspective, and by sharing your views you will encourage others to do the same.
Aim to develop a culture of trust and openness where your team can speak out knowing they will be heard and without fear of criticism.
Why is empathy important?
When you understand others’ perspectives it can help in the way you sell ideas to them and gain buy in (as well as the way you sell to customers and suppliers).
If people know they are listen to it helps to build trust between you and your team
It creates a more open and honest environment where you will get to hear of issues and concerns before they become a problem
Your team feel able to state their true ideas, feelings and beliefs maximising their contribution.
Empathy is also important in dealing with guests and customers, so demonstrating the skill with our teams will act as a role model
Building relationships with your team is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will is covered in detail in my new Leading for Peak Performance programme,
Welcome to the first in my A-Z series of hospitality leadership.
A is for attitude. Your attitude.
It’s easy to criticise our staff’s attitude, their enthusiasm for the job, the way they support their colleagues, how they talk to your customers. But how much of this stems from the example you set?
Attitude is one of those things it’s sometimes a little difficult to quantify. What we can quantify are the behaviours – what people see or hear – that suggest our attitude.
So to give an example: You have to announce a change in some internal systems that may not be well received because they involve a little extra work for everyone, including you. The tone of your message – what you say and how you say it – focuses on the negatives and uses words and phrases that emphasise the extra work involved, but make no mention of the benefits and the reasons why. You also stress that you are also being affected. This could easily infer that you have a negative attitude to the changes. Net result? They will too. Conversely if you focused on the benefits these changes bring and your confidence in the team that they can deliver your attitude will be perceived as being positive.
Your attitude is conveyed in all that you do – how you interact with guest (and what you say about them behind closed doors), your support for management decisions, the enthusiasm at which you approach challenges, how receptive you are the staffs’ ideas and suggestions, even down to your personal organisation and personal presentation.
Always ask yourself – what attitude am I conveying , and is the example I should be stetting for the team?
Involving your team in problem solving is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will be covered in detail in my tele seminar: Leading for Peak Performance on 19th October.
We said that the goal is to improve performance or prevent this happening again. This requires buy in and commitment from the other person. In order to change, there needs to be some incentive. The fear of the disciplinary process may be enough, but it is hardly motivating! Nor is it any guarantee of a change in behaviour.
Understanding the reasons enables us the come up with options, and to gain buy in we need to ask the employee for their ideas on how to improve. Sometimes a simple “don’t do it again” is all that is needed, but it may not be as simple as this.
For example if the issue is poor timekeeping, but the reason is there is no bus that gets them into work in time for the start of their shift, the problem wont just go away – can we change their shift times? Is there someone who passes who could give them a lift? Or they may be a carer or their partner / child is ill and cannot leave home until the nurse or help arrives.
Of course the problem may be down to a flagrant disregard of the rules, in which case you must first help the employee to understand the impact of their behaviour. Homing in on the effect it has on his or her team mates, of the impact on guests, or the business may not be enough to get buy in. Focus on something that is important to this individual employee. An example might be making their job easier, being able to finish their shift on time, getting cooperation from their team mates, the opportunity to be considered for other roles, etc. The conversation needs to be tailored to suit the individual’s motivators.
Agree on an improvement plan. This will involve gaining their commitment to improve, and may require some help from you or other members of the team. Then agree how and when it will be monitored, as well as any consequences if there is no improvement.
Finally show your support and encouragement. If you suggest or imply they can’t or won’t improve it generally becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Managing poor performance is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will be covered in detail in my forthcoming online leadership coaching programme Leading for Peak Performance which is being launched in late September.
The only way to do this is to get the employee to talk the situation through by asking open-ended questions, and by listening.
There may be a number of legitimate reasons why someone has not performed to standard. Lack of resources, time pressures, insufficient training, bottlenecks in the system, mixed messages in terms of expectations, for example. (See my earlier article “Bad workmen or poor tools?“).
Everyone has a right to a fair hearing. However do be prepared for the excuses – “well Fred does it all the time and gets away with it”, or “I don’t see why that’s a problem”, “No one’s ever told me that I had to do that”. Is this a genuine disciplinary problem or an indication that help is required? These last two responses suggest that some more explanation or training is needed, and you may need to draw a line in the sand and set out your expectations for the future.
Also consider if the problem is down to relationships, to get attention, a grievance, or a clash of personalities.
Only by really understanding the reasons are we in a position to turn the situation around or prevent a reoccurrence. Tomorrow we’ll look at how to eliminate the performance gap.
Managing poor performance is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will be covered in detail in my forthcoming online leadership coaching programme Leading for Peak Performance which is being launched in late September.
What is it they have done or failed to do? How does this compare with the standard or rules? What is the impact (actual or potential) of their actions? We should be focusing on actual behaviours – what we have seen or heard first hand.
It’s very easy to haul someone into the office to take them up on something you’ve been told by someone else, only to have them deny their actions. So gather facts (opposed to hearsay, and others’ perceptions and opinions). Be prepared to give specific examples, the more recent the better – so don’t start dragging up something they did or said two months ago.
Avoid making judgments about their attitude or personality e.g. “I don’t like your attitude”, or “you are very arrogant”. What have you seen or heard them do that has led you to that conclusion? Is there a genuine shortfall in standards of performance?
By focusing on their actions and behaviours you are less likely to get a defensive response and it is easier for people to identify what they need to change.
Tomorrfow we’ll go on to look at eliminating the gap.
Managing poor performance is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will be covered in detail in my forthcoming online leadership coaching programme Leading for Peak Performance which is being launched in late September.
Last week I listened to a feature on the radio talking about driving offences and whether or not people should lose their licences even if they are dependent on their car for their job. In the UK we have a points system that states that when you reach 12 points on your licence you should be banned from driving until the offences have lapsed.
Why have the system if some magistrates then let people off the hook and allow them to continue to drive and re offend. If you’ve been caught driving on the motorway using your mobile phone why is someone who drives for a living any less likely to be a risk to others than someone who doesn’t? To be caught a second or third time should come as no surprise to lose your licence and maybe your job. So soapbox rant over…
But is this any different from the way you treat people who break the rules at work?
I remember in my early days of management someone relating discipline to a red hot poker. If you touch a red hot poker you know you will get burnt. The harder you touch it the more it will burn. The poker does not discriminate; anyone who touches it gets burnt. It burns straight away so conditions you not to keep touching it.
Discipline should be no different.
Rules may be set by legislation, the business, the individual site or department or there may be the unwritten ‘rules’, standards or guidelines set by the individual team or line manager. Whoever has set the ‘rules’ needs to ensure they are not only communicated, but check they are measurable and people understand why they are important. Any rules or standards laid down that you have difficulty explaining begs the question are they necessary? (OK, there may be some legislation we find difficult to explain at times, but any internal rules with no value should be reviewed and updated or binned).
Failure to do anything about it sends the message to everyone else that it’s OK to break the rule. We sometimes misguidedly believe that it’s a one off or the problem will go away; but before you know it the problem has escalated – either the person in question continues to disregard the rule or standard, or it becomes custom and practice for everyone to follow suit.
So nip it in the bud and address it straight away. This does not mean giving everyone a lecture in a group meeting – all this does it makes the ‘non offenders’ irritated that they are all being ‘accused’, whilst those to whom you are aiming your comments either just laugh it off, or it goes by without them realising you are referring to them.
Of course every business should have its own disciplinary process, and I am not going to go into that here. But irrespective of the seriousness of the problem – whether it’s someone being late, not greeting a customer in the way you’d expect, breaking health and safety rules, failure to carry out part of their job, arguing with another member of staff, or doing something in a haphazard way with a poor result – your goal is to resolve the issue and improve performance in future. There are three phases to dealing with poor performance and I’ll be covering these over the next three days.
Managing poor performance is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will be covered in detail in my forthcoming online leadership coaching programme Leading for Peak Performance which is being launched in late September.
Have you ever noticed when you are away for a day or two, or even a few hours, your team seem to be able to solve their own problems? Having to deal with every question or every problem your staff face can be draining for you and does little to develop your team.
A couple of week’s ago I wrote about using the GROW model, which can be used to great effect to tap into people’s potential when solving problems or improving performance. It is based on the principle that the coach (the line manager) asks questions and draws the answer from the employee. This leads to increased awareness of what they are doing and how they are doing it, better buy in and commitment, increases confidence and good development.
But it’s not appropriate for every situation. So when can you use this approach, and when do you need a more direct approach?
There are 2 key considerations
The situation and the person
A directive approach will be more appropriate when:
It calls for speed
There’s no opportunity for risk
There’s no debate as all the decisions have been made
When you need to retain full control
When the person has neither the capability or willingness to resolve the problem themselves
However bear in mind that this approach
Limits potential
Limits innovation
Assumes you are right
Adds potential for error
Gives no ownership or responsibility
Does not develop people
Can add a fear factor
A non directive approach conversely:
Develops people assuming they have the basic experience or knowledge to build on
Gives them ownership
Helps with problem solving as it generates more than one solution
It gives a sense of achievement
It builds people’s confidence if they come up with their own solutions
Takes the pressure off you in the long term as people get used to coming up with solutions
Doesn’t need you to always know the answer
So the following situations might lend themselves to a non directive approach
There is reduced risk, or at least an opportunity to monitor or correct things before putting anything at risk
The employee has the appropriate skills, experience or knowledge to work things out for themselves (even if they don’t have the willingness to do so)
There is some degree of flexibility in the way something can be approached (even if the end result is not negotiable, such as legal requirments or demanding targets)
It is not time critical and provides some time for the employee to think or talk it through
Most often speed is given as a reason not to use a non directive appraoch.
“We need to make a decision on this now; we can’t keep the customer waitingwhile we sit and discuss it.“
In this instance use a non directive approach initially, then go back after the event and discuss with the employee what they would do in similar circumstances to resolve the problem.
Clearly if you are someone’s line manager they will have an expectation to get guidance from you on how they should do their job, but to get their buy in and to develop them put some of the onus on them to come up with their own ideas and solutions as often as possible.
There’s nothing more frustrating, and demotivating for staff than lack of communication and being kept in the dark. Unless people know what’s expected of them and what’s going on you’ll end up with an unhappy team, and ultimately an impact on performance levels and increased staff turnover.
Hopefully the communication starts with a thorough induction, which includes not only an outline of their job and what’s expected of them, but how their contribution fits into the bigger picture, the values and culture of the business and an insight into what happens in other parts of the business.
But recognise that a one-off training session will never be enough.
Your staff need to be kept up-to-date all the time. They need to know what is going on in the business, and how this will affect them and they need feedback on how they are doing. Here are four ways to keep your staff up to date and let them know their contribution is important and valued.
Tomorrow we’ll look at the importance of the daily briefing.
Good communication is key to effective leadership, and the skills needed will be covered in detail in my forthcoming online leadership coaching programme
