Healthy Body & Mind

Staff Health and Wellness Means More Speed and Productivity

August 14, 2022 No Comments

At a recent management workshop, a restaurant owner asked in exasperation, “Just how much do we need to be ‘mother and father’ to our staff?” This followed a discussion about staff, healthy eating and the junk food that many of them choose to consume (like cola drinks loaded with sugar). So how much? The key is to be a modern parent – supportive, not nagging, open-minded, firm but flexible. Recognise that staff want a job

Health and Wellness Guide for Restaurant & Cafe Staff – Sample

August 14, 2022 No Comments

Our employees often lead high-stress lives: long hours, heat, tension and a lack of proper breaks or time to unwind. It’s the nature of hospitality, but we can’t ignore the negative effects on health and wellness if we are going to fix the problems of staff shortages and our failure to attract career-minded people. The broader issues of health and wellness also underpin concerns about mental health – the old saying ‘a healthy body means

No-Crisis Planning for Restaurants & Cafes

August 7, 2022 No Comments

Crisis and drama seem to be part of daily life in hospitality – something most of us learn to put up with and live through. We often have it for breakfast! But, with a little thought and planning, you could thrive instead of just surviving. Your life would be less stressful, costs would be lower and your businesses more profitable! Effective crisis planning and management is a must. That’s if you want to stay sane

10 Ways to Reduce Noise in a Restaurant or Cafe – and Bring Customers Back!

January 31, 2021 No Comments

Why don’t people come back, after they enjoyed your food and the service? It could be the noise – too loud to talk with friends and feel relaxed. Here’s a bunch of ideas for noise reduction, if you have to do it after your venue opens. The fact is, most architects and designers give little thought to effective noise reduction, creating hard-surface boxes with all 6 sides reflective so the noise bounces like bullets to

Promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Your Cafe or Restaurant

September 27, 2020 No Comments

It’s an important annual event in October and might be forgotten with all the COVID issues on our minds. It’s had less publicity in the last few years but is no less valued – we all have mothers, sisters, daughters and friends who have been affected. The purpose of the month is to raise money for breast cancer medical care and research. It also raises awareness of an issue that affects tens of thousands of

Quick Fixes to Guarantee a Happy Experience for Customers

August 24, 2020 No Comments

Anxious customers keep their wallets closed. The world is feeling less safe and much less friendly – we can do a lot to overcome those feelings and turn stress into business. There are many ways to ‘build in the welcome’ so it doesn’t depend on having a professional greeter. Genuinely happy staff: Negative Nick or Sour Sarah can cause lots of damage if left unchecked – are they the reason Happy Harry left after a

How to Share (and Receive) More Love in your Cafe or Restaurant

August 4, 2020 No Comments

Customers want fresh, not stale; inspiration, not gloom.. One way to do this is to think about all the things that we love, our staff love and our customers love! We all need to find more ways to keep a smile on our faces and share our love of food, customers and business success. It’s easy to share stories, photos and events – post them on Facebook, on a corner of the menu or add

How to Have More Life When You Own a 7 Day Business

August 3, 2020 No Comments

Have a life and a business. It works fine if you have a Monday to Friday cafe in a business area. But if you’re part of the raging weekend cafe market, Saturday and Sunday are top earners – they can’t be neglected. Maybe you can’t have office hours like your corporate friends, but there’s a lot you can do to have more time away from business and still have control. Build your Remote Control Systems:

What’s your Business Plan B for when the Caronavirus hits Australia?

January 28, 2020 No Comments

I’m still trying to process and understand the implications for restaurants, cafes and foodservice – the news keep unfolding every day. I’ll keep updating this over time – so much to consider… Last year we had more than 1.4 million tourists from Chinese, many of them travelling in groups – new bookings have now been stopped. How exposed is your business to overseas tourists? Even my Uber driver this morning said he often has Chinese

8 Enterprise Skills – the New Essentials for a Well-Paid Hospitality Career

March 4, 2018 No Comments

The New Basics is a very interesting report on the Enterprise Skills young people need for the new work order. It’s been prepared by the Foundation for Young Australians, and they have a steady stream of good articles about work and wellbeing. Enterprise Skills are transferable skills, and Technical Skills are those specific to a particular industry. It’s a good checklist for people who are thinking about moving into or out of hospitality, and finding

Staff Health and Wellness Means More Speed and Productivity

Health and Wellness Guide for Restaurant & Cafe Staff – Sample

No-Crisis Planning for Restaurants & Cafes

10 Ways to Reduce Noise in a Restaurant or Cafe – and Bring Customers Back!

Quick Fixes to Guarantee a Happy Experience for Customers

How to Share (and Receive) More Love in your Cafe or Restaurant

How to Have More Life When You Own a 7 Day Business

What’s your Business Plan B for when the Caronavirus hits Australia?

8 Enterprise Skills – the New Essentials for a Well-Paid Hospitality Career

Recent Highlights:

Questions in the Minds of Restaurant Job Applicants

Taste the Difference: 40 Flavour Training Activities for Restaurant Staff

We all need the Support Team!

Have you chosen the wrong person to be manager?