Keeping employees motivated and engaged is crucial for any business, but it’s particularly challenging in the fast-paced food service industry. Due to long hours, high-pressure situations and rising costs, staff retention in the sector is currently at an all-time low.
In the fourth episode of the new Food Service Matters podcast, host Patrick McDermott interviews Zoe Watts, Managing Director of Bennett Hay, an independent provider of food, event and reception services within office spaces.
In this blog post, we highlight some of Zoe’s unique strategies for increasing staff retention in the food service industry by focusing on employee recognition and development.
Use small touches to show appreciation
You don’t need to take grand gestures to make your employees feel valued, according to Zoe. Often, the small, personal touches have the biggest impact.
Zoe explains that Bennett Hay has a weekly ‘board of appreciation’ on their internal communications app, where the team write each other thank-you notes.
“Everyone across the business is encouraged to send Susie, our happiness officer, their notes of appreciation to either individual colleagues or teams,” explains Zoe. “It’s just a really lovely way to thank staff.”
This type of employee recognition allows workers to frequently applaud each other for jobs well done. And it’s not just peer recognition – managers also get involved by giving spontaneous ‘on-the-spot’ rewards, such as gift vouchers when they witness excellent customer service.
The company also acknowledges other key accomplishments. “We recognise all sorts of things, including long service milestones,” adds Zoe. “We also make a big point of recognising charitable contributions and volunteering initiatives.” Celebrating these kinds of achievements, no matter how small, reinforces positive behaviour among team members.
Enable personal development opportunities
While Bennett Hay also holds an annual rewards ceremony and other social occasions to boost staff morale, Zoe explains that opportunities for personal advancement are what really make employees feel valued.
“We have lots of social gatherings,” she says, “but I think the main way we recognise our staff is just an absolute commitment to their development by giving them new opportunities, whether that is with Bennett Hay or externally.”
To illustrate this, Zoe describes employees who joined as kitchen porters and were trained to become head chefs, as well as other staff members who displayed natural talents that led to moving from site-level roles to creative positions at head office. She also describes how the company brings in external trainers so that teams can participate in workshops, with one recent example being an advanced wine education class.
“We’re always looking for those talents,” says Zoe, explaining that therein lie exciting opportunities. “It may become the next step in their career, or we may be able to tap into that talent and further develop their skills to support the bigger Bennett Hay picture.”
As Zoe’s examples demonstrate, personal touches and investing in staff development opportunities are powerful forms of employee recognition, further motivating workers to stay and build careers in the food service industry.
To hear more valuable insights, check out Patrick’s full interview with Zoe Watts in the Food Service Matters podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
Patrick is CEO of stocktaking app DigiTally, which is playing an increasingly important role as an intuitive and interconnected system that keeps your food service business up to date and helps combat food waste. Keen to learn more? Let’s talk! Book a 30-minute call with Patrick and get your demo set up today.
