Can a Consultant Help Me Staff My Restaurant Better
Yes, a restaurant consultant can definitely help you staff your restaurant better. However, it is expensive to have a consultant train every employee who comes through the door. So it is very important for the manager or the owner to also learn what needs to be done in order to train staff properly.
The Problem With Relying Solely on a Consultant for Training
I am working with a bar right now where we trained two bartenders and they are doing a great job. But while I was training them, the owner did not want to be trained behind the bar. This is a disorganized establishment that needs a lot of work. And there is a very high chance that the people I trained may at some point leave. Whether that is in two months or a year, at some point these people will move on.
So how will the next staff members who come through the door get trained? The short answer is the consultant will have to train them again. And that is where the issue lies. When we are training staff and not taking the time to train people on how to train, we are creating a dependency that costs the owner money every time there is turnover.
Turnover Happens in Every Restaurant
Turnover happens organically even in great restaurants. There are plenty of staff members who are eager to learn and want to know how to run the business. They will learn. But you have to start from the beginning, and the owner or manager, ideally both, need to know how to train people. Otherwise every time there is turnover in the restaurant, who is going to train the next group coming through the door? That is the question.
The Training Flywheel
The flywheel looks like this. You have a group of fully trained bartenders. You let them fly on their own for a while. Then you train those bartenders on how to train. After that, those bartenders can bring in new bartenders and train them, and furthermore they can train new bartenders on how to train. The beginning step of all of this is making sure the manager is trained on how to train bartenders. Because that person sets the example and knows what to look for when other people are working behind the bar.
So yes, a restaurant consultant can help you staff your restaurant better. But after the consultant leaves, the flywheel needs to keep turning on its own. That only happens when the owner and manager are trained to train.
Contact us for a free consultation about your restaurant staffing.
5 Loaves Restaurant Consulting works with independent restaurant owners across the US including Connecticut, Miami, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles. Our restaurant consulting services cover food cost, staff training, menu design, labor and scheduling, cocktail programs, and the full operational systems that build sustainable restaurants.
