Staff Recruitment & Management

How to Choose a Restaurant Roster & Staff Scheduling Systems

January 21, 2020 No Comments

These systems have become indispensable if you want to control wage costs and manage labour allocation. Rostering is one part of their function, and they should also allow interpretation of Awards and pay conditions, integration with payroll systems, and collection of employee data. Plus easy connection with a bookkeeping system like MYOB or Xero, and dashboards to track results. This list is regularly updated, and descriptions are taken from their websites. Terminology varies between different

What Employees Should Never See or Hear

February 17, 2019 No Comments

We want to be open with staff and involve them in decisions and success. And the team may feel like ‘family’, but there are some things the kids shouldn’t know about – personal and business! New managers can find it difficult to be discreet – do they need some guidance? Here’s my No-Go list – how does it compare with yours? Comments and examples very welcome… Pay Rates and Employee Perks. Most people know what

The Restaurant Management Blogs I’m Finding Most Useful…

August 17, 2018 No Comments

Have to admit I’m an information glutton, and part of my job as Community Manager at Silver Chef is to keep employees updated on what’s happening in the wider hospitality community. Generally I prefer to follow blogs and twitter, instead of receiving email newsletters – here are the ones I find most useful at the minute. And I’m very open to suggestions… Aaron Allen, Quantified Marketing Group – blogging on restaurant marketing internationally Jim Sullivan of

Restaurant Robotics – Two More Examples

June 27, 2018 No Comments

We’ve already looked at robots cooking stirfy, and robots delivering plates. Here are two more examples, both in early development but showing plenty of promise. The Hiring Robot, with an improvement to the speech and intonation, would be good for a first interview. Asking questions verbally is likely to get more responses than a set of written questions. You’ve probably already related to ‘people’ like this when you make banking or airline inquiries. It’s also

Dealing With Copycats…

May 24, 2018 No Comments

Tell the truth – most restaurant and foodservice ideas are some version of what you’ve seen or eaten before. You could call it ‘creative swiping’ instead of copying or plagiarism, but it’s rare for any chef or restaurateur to create a full set of completely original ideas for a new menu or cocktail list. Remember that trip to Chicago, Bali or Barcelona – tasting, taking photos and dreaming up how you could do an Aussie

Make LinkedIn More Effective: for Chefs, Restaurant Managers & Owners

April 26, 2018 No Comments

Want to be taken seriously as a professional? A good LinkedIn profile is essential, and this means more than just dumping your CV into a new location. LinkedIn for Restaurants, Cafes and Foodservice can be a powerful marketing channel. People who want to know more about you for a job, as a referee or even for a presenting opportunity will always Google your name. Your LinkedIn profile will appear high up on the first search

Understanding the Science of Timing – When to Take Action [Short Video]

April 8, 2018 No Comments

Social psychologist Dan Pink has released a fascinating new book called When – the Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing. I love the way he does a massive amount of research, then presents his conclusions in an appealing way that can assist us all to be more effective. Here’s a short interview with Dan Pink about his research, and how to work out when is the optimal time to do our best work. Short videos like

How to Improve a Cafe or Restaurant You’ve Taken Over

March 25, 2018 No Comments

A while back I wrote about the decline of a favourite cafe now under new ownership. I was challenged to give suggestions for how this could be done well, so here’s my Improvement To-Do list for a new cafe or restaurant owner: Highlight and Keep What Customers Value in the Cafe or Restaurant New Faces: own it, and let people know who the new owners are. Now’s the time for name tags (yes!) and the

Watching the Decline of a Cafe Under New Owners

March 13, 2018 1 Comment

It’s painful to watch the decline of a favourite cafe – it’s been under new management for the last 2 months. It was probably not an easy business to sell, as the menu is complex and standards high – that would make it intimidating for many potential purchasers. The previous owners set it up ten years ago, and it has a passionate following – for the product and for them as people. But new owners

How to Choose a Restaurant Roster & Staff Scheduling Systems

What Employees Should Never See or Hear

The Restaurant Management Blogs I’m Finding Most Useful…

Restaurant Robotics – Two More Examples

Dealing With Copycats…

Understanding the Science of Timing – When to Take Action [Short Video]

How to Improve a Cafe or Restaurant You’ve Taken Over

Watching the Decline of a Cafe Under New Owners

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