by Lee Schulman, founder of Panacea Management Group (PMG) Consulting
Hiring, training and retaining the right personnel is key to the success of any restaurant or bar. That’s even more true when it comes to an establishment’s management team – especially as operators continue to weather the challenges of the last couple of years.
Lee Schulman, founder of Panacea Management Group (PMG) Consulting, includes management coaching among the services he offers to restaurant operators. A hospitality veteran with three decades of experience, Schulman, the owner and operator of Old Vinings Inn, knows firsthand the importance of nurturing strong restaurant managers.
The first step is to ensure the right people are in the right roles.
“In this day and age, it’s a great idea not to start with any assumptions,” he says. “Whether it’s a new hire or someone who’s been with the restaurant for a while, it’s important to make a realistic, unbiased assessment of their skills and strengths. It’s always possible that person may not have been cast n the right role to begin with.”
But what if a manager is in the right role, but maybe not performing up to the level they need to? “I suggest creating a structured program for specific behaviors that need to be addressed,” Schulman adds. “That’s the easy part. But it’s how those issues or behaviors are addressed that is key.”
When it comes to evaluating managerial talent, restaurant operators should know:
- How to determine areas of focus
- When to share observations about specific issues
- How to frame the conversation when addressing problem areas or situations
- When it’s time to make a difficult decision
The management team is vital to any business. By hiring knowledgeable, skilled candidates for the right roles at the onset and creating a structured program to monitor performance, restaurant operators set themselves up for continued success.
For more information, please visit pmgconsulting.us.