Today\u2019s restaurant workforce likely includes everyone from a 58-year-old supervisor to a 41-year-old chef to a 30-something dining-room server. And don\u2019t forget those who bus tables and expedite food orders. They\u2019re just 20.<\/p>\n
The generational cross-section of workers can easily span four decades and an equal number of generations, with people of all ages serving in both supervisory and subordinate roles. From a management standpoint, this creates challenges when it comes to getting everyone working as a team. People from different generations have different ideas about what work means, and different expectations about everything from training to treatment to advancement and compensation.<\/p>\n
In other words, there\u2019s no one-size-fits-all approach to staff management. Indeed, recognizing and understanding generational cultural differences is a big part of the management challenge today. So says Dan Longton, President and CEO of Florida-based TraitSet, a workforce-management service provider.<\/p>\n
To facilitate inter-generational harmony, Longton advises, remember that all employees are of value to the operation\u2014otherwise, they wouldn\u2019t have been hired in the first place. You don\u2019t want to lose any of them to turnover because replacement is very expensive and time-consuming.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithin every generation there are people who have a strong work ethic, great integrity, and abundant skills,\u201d Longton says. \u201cEmployers need to conduct assessments and develop training to make sure everyone fits the operation\u2019s needs and, ultimately, the guests\u2019 needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Working to understand employees\u2019 needs, training them, and building on their strengths can lead to higher satisfaction scores from guests. And that results in return visits, word-of-mouth advertising, and an overall better image. This benefits the operation and creates a stronger work environment for the team.<\/p>\n
Dustin Windau, a Gordon Food Service Toledo West Sales Manager who is a former Executive Chef at Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, Ohio, reminds operators of the importance of teamwork.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must be a team every day, no matter what generation a staff member belongs to,\u201d Windau says. \u201cRecap every shift and lift up the team for things they did correctly, and, in a nice way, point out things that could have been better.\u201d<\/p>\n
While certain defining characteristics are true for each generation, Longton warns against stereotyping individuals. Not all boomers are work-focused; not all Gen Xers are slackers, etc. Instead, he suggests, use these descriptions as starting points for understanding and addressing the differences and values of each generation.<\/p>\n
For example, Longton says it\u2019s important for managers to know that boomers expect face-to-face communication with the boss instead of an email (so make a point of speaking to them directly); that Gen X looks for a work-life balance (so establish flex-time with them whenever possible); that millennials need space to show their strengths (so practice a \u201chands-off\u201d management style with them as much as you can); and that Gen Z expects to be able to check texts or social media (so set workplace policies that let them know when they can, such as during breaks).<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing the boss who \u2018gets it\u2019 is very important,\u201d Longton explains. \u201cAccepting and understanding generational differences allows you to stay ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Windau\u2019s experience validates this. \u201cEvery employee is an individual\u2014learning and thinking individually\u2014so motivating and communicating needs to be done individually to build an effective team.<\/p>\n
In the team-development sessions that Gordon Food Service Customer Effectiveness Manager Ken Wasco conducts, managers often gripe about millennial workers\u2014\u201cThey\u2019re impossible to manage. They get bored so easily. They don\u2019t care the way we used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than throw up their hands in despair, operators need to learn ways to use all of the generational differences to their advantage.<\/p>\n
If millennials love working as a team, Wasco says, they will deliver as a team when you set expectations, communicate daily, and offer feedback that keeps everyone focused. And, because younger workers come to the table equipped with a lifetime of hands-on high-tech experience, savvy managers will put those skills to work for the organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot every millennial is a tech genius, of course,\u201d Wasco says. \u201cBut all of them want to be best utilized. You have to get to know millennials personally to figure out their \u2018best fit\u2019 in your organization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting employees to their \u201cbest fit\u201d starts with understanding your organization\u2019s culture. That, Wasco points out, means constantly assessing the values and goals of your business.<\/p>\n
Tradition may be the very reason diners choose your restaurant. It\u2019s also possible some of those traditions are outdated and in need of change. It\u2019s the organization\u2019s job to know which assets to keep and which ones to change. It\u2019s the manager\u2019s job to get the team to apply those assets.<\/p>\n
One way to start this process is to understand those you serve. Workers from one generation, Longton maintains, may have a difficult time appreciating preferences diners from other generations. For example, a young server who seats an older customer at a dimly lit booth may not realize how difficult it is for the customer to read the menu. The older hostess who calls a group of young diners \u201cyou guys\u201d may unknowingly be putting them off.<\/p>\n
To remedy this, Longton advises empathy training. Have your employees put on a pair of sunglasses and try to read the menu. Have them consider how they would like to be addressed if they were the diners. \u201cEmpathy is recognizing how a person feels and responding to that,\u201d Longton says. \u201cWe need to remind ourselves and our employees of this all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Empathy facilitates better manager-employee relationships. Longton uses role-playing in multigenerational classroom training, to emphasize the point. Have a millennial play the role of a boomer, responding to questions and situations as he or she thinks a boomer would react. Then, reverse the roles.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you internalize what it\u2019s like to be in someone else\u2019s shoes, you learn that the differences between the generations aren\u2019t so bad,\u201d Longton says. \u201cDifferent, but not bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
For managers, Longton says, the toughest battle is to avoid projecting values on the workforce. For example, an older boomer manager may resist high-tech training and instead apply a method that doesn\u2019t resonate with millennials or Gen Z workers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you force a younger worker to sit through a seminar instead of offering an online tutorial, you\u2019re probably not getting your message across,\u201d Longton says. \u201cYou need to speak the right language.\u201d<\/p>\n
Windau points says it\u2019s important to be careful about special treatment for one generation because it will ultimately affect the entire staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cGen Z workers don\u2019t want to be yelled at or told they stink at something,\u201d he says. \u201cThis rubs off on all generations because other generations don\u2019t want to be treated that way, either.\u201d<\/p>\n
One excellent way to overcome this and improve working relationships among the generations, Longton says, is to use the buddy system. Pair two workers from different generations on the same job, and each will learn best practices from the other. This approach helps each learn that there\u2019s more than one way to provide effective service.<\/p>\n
The bottom line is that, no matter how much training a manager conducts, success is a matter of constant attention to individuals and staff dynamics\u2014knowing when to be a drill sergeant and when to simply direct traffic.
As time marches on and new generations enter the workforce, it\u2019s important to evolve. Having a happy workforce is essential to long-term success, Longton says. But, as important as generational harmony is, managers and workers of all generations must recognize they\u2019re part of a business\u2014one with a mission to satisfy customers and build business success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As new generations enter the workforce, it\u2019s important to build relationships that capitalize on diverse skills<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[110,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n