S2E1 TEAM ATTITUDE SURVEYS
Hi and welcome to Season 2, of my Restaurant Rick Podcast series. If you are tuning in for the first time, these podcasts are aimed at restaurant and retail professionals.
I invite you to explore a few samples of our first season’s 29 podcasts on today's biggest concerns. You can find all of them on Spotify, Apple podcast and Google podcast or, on our website:
www.restaurantrick.com
Today's topic is on measuring your frontline Team's satisfaction with their job.
I can almost hear some listeners saying, “Come on dude, I've got much more urgent things to worry about”
and, in a way, you're right!
However, if you create your own Survey for tracking your team’s level of job satisfaction, you can stay in touch with any changes in their attitude and identify possible slippage.
In other words, you can head off some of those “more urgent things” you're worrying about.
More importantly, if you keep doing these semi-annual snapshots you’ve got the equivalent of a video that shows how your team is trending. You will have turned this Human Relations part of your operation into a fire prevention system rather than unexpected firefighting challenges. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a 10s of thousands.
The first step for building full staff participation in a survey is guaranteed anonymity. That’s easy with an app called Survey Monkey. A lot of us are turned off by lengthy surveys, so this is where I suggest a simple gesture that will show your sincerity and build participation in your survey. Let them know that you will add an extra hour’s pay to their next paycheck. An hour’s pay for 5 minute’s work? I’d sure take that deal!
Here are my favorite 10 Affirmative Statements that can best measure the happiness of your Team.
Each one-line statement invites the team member to rate his or her own level of agreement or disagreement on a scale of one to 7. 1 being “I disagree”, 7 being “Outstanding”.
Affirmative Statement #1
I work in a safe environment
This category has taken on new weight with the impact of Covid. Other safety and security issues can be the possibility of unwanted sexual advances, customer outbursts, theft of personal belongings and safe passage to and from work.
2. We have a good training program
A proper programme Includes a published Training Manual that is put in the hands of every new hire before they begin their first day of training. It should cover workplace policies, job descriptions for each station, pay rates, performance reviews and pathways for advancement.
3. I like the people I work with
This is a hard-to-define sense that is rarely spoken of but I believe that it’s close to the top of the list of staff retention drivers.
4. If I have a problem, management helps me
This is self-explanatory. Your staff want managers who have their backs. They want leaders who ask open-ended questions like, “How are you doing”? and “How are we doing”. For more on this, check out Season 1’s Episode 14 on our Podcasts, Blogs or Website: www.restaurantrick.com
5. My managers treat me fairly
Your people deserve fair and equal treatment. They will be dispirited if they see managers playing favourites.
6. I am aware of how I can increase my pay
It’s a good idea to publish wage increases for learning each station and pay ranges for each management position. This can be part of your Training Manual.
7. I'm aware of how I can move up to management
This should be a centerpiece of your hiring interviews, orientation, training programme and Team Meetings.
8. My efforts to do good work are valued
There are many ways to acknowledge, praise and reward the extra effort of your people. The most effective tools require little or no money. All we humans are happy when we are thanked for doing something noteworthy. It can be a kind word, a quick email or a personalized memento. Public praise amplifies every one of these gestures.
9. We make a good Team
When this particular statement gets a high score, warm up your happy dance! To paraphrase Sally Field, “They like you. They really like you.”
10. I'm proud to work at (fill in your brand name)
I can repeat statement 9. When you get a high score here, keep the Happy Dance going because you’re doing a lot of things right. The higher your retention rate is, the better chance you have for increasing customer counts, seeing higher cash flows and developing future managers.
Here are your 3 Takeaways from today’s Episode
1. By surveying your people regularly, you will become a Fire Prevention Officer, rather than a fire fighter.
2. Taking staff surveys seriously and openly sharing the results demonstrates your sincerity.
3. When you take action to improve weak areas, you build trust and long-term loyalty.
Say hello to better staff retention and say goodbye to firefighting.
If you liked the ideas in today’s episode and would like a sample design template, send an email to :
restaurantrick@gmail.com,
Type “Team Attitude Template Please into the subject line.
Thank you for tuning into Restaurant Rick Podcasts and Blogs.
Watch for my next Podcast release, Covid Update #3, Saturday morning, January 29. My goal is to break through the noise of misinformation and frustrating governmental decisions.
Until then, let’s stay safe and keep the faith.