Motivating staff should be a top priority in 2025. Restaurants continue to go through a trying period where 70,000 jobs were added in September 2024, but the surge is met with tepid data that varies from segment to segment.
For example, cafes are experiencing employment counts that are 32% lower than four years prior.
In a competitive market, it's more important than ever to learn how to motivate employees so that turnover remains low, along with excessive spending on training. While there are many ways to keep your staff happy, the following are a good foundation for motivating your staff.
10 Ways to Motivate Employees in Your Restaurant
Motivation starts with your restaurant's leaders and a commitment to make integral, internal changes. One of the adjustments that you can make that will go a long way in helping you keep your team happy and working efficiently are:
1. Be the First to Give Credit
Your employees want recognition. If someone does a good job or you have a large party that is demanding but the staff member was able to handle the situation with professionalism, don't be afraid to:
- Congratulate them and give them praise
- Offer them a bonus for the night
If you have a team meeting coming up, add in words of praise for each employee. "Emma. Great job last Tuesday helping us handle the fundraiser event. Joey, customers mentioned you in a review. You're doing amazing."
Specific words of encouragement and praise can go a long way in helping your team feel valued.
2. Offer Flexibility to Staff When Life Happens
Life is unpredictable. If you have an employee who always covers other people's shifts and has been exemplary in all ways, they deserve flexibility, too. For example, if the person's mother is sick in the hospital or asks for vacation time, accommodate them.
One mistake that restaurant owners make is that when good, reliable employees need time off or some flexibility, they don't accommodate them.
Even if the employee does stay around for a while, they will resent your decision to be inflexible when they needed it the most.
3. Create Opportunities for Growth
At the end of the day, one of the ways to motivate employees is to show them that there's room for growth. You want to offer some form of career advancement so that employees can strive to:
- Learn new skills
- Earn more money
- Follow a passion
For example, perhaps you offer training to waitstaff who want to be chefs. You can even move one of your waiters who shows interest in being a chef to work in the kitchen and learn valuable skills that they can use to reach their goals.
Instead of hiring managers from outside of the eatery, consider promoting from within.
Promotions and the opportunity to earn more if the person works harder are all great ways to keep your staff working hard and eager to come to work.
4. Incentivize Success With Bonuses and Raises
Money motivates. One survey found that 65% of employees want to receive bonuses based on personal performance. You can motivate others to work harder and go the extra mile by either offering bonuses or good raises.
By good raises, don't offer a 25-cent increase and expect your employees to feel grateful when the cost of living is soaring.
Offer raises that are in line with the increase in cost of living and don't be afraid to share monetary wins with employees through bonuses.
5. Increase Benefits and Time Off
Want to know how to motivate staff? Offer them attractive benefits and more time off. Show your team that you value them not only as employees but as humans.
Offering health benefits and time off will also help keep your staff healthy and avoid burnout.
6. Create Team Building Opportunities
Teams that know and trust each other often perform better and work more efficiently. Creating a space where employees can get to know each other can help foster a positive work environment that will keep team members around.
How do you create this space? Organize team-building activities. These activities can be as simple as a 30-minute pre-shift event once a week, or you can host a staff appreciation event every quarter.
Just keep in mind that staff will be paid for their time at team-building events.
7. Celebrate the Holidays With Parties
Celebrating holidays, milestones and special occasions can help build a sense of community within the workplace and ensure your employees feel valued.
Plan parties to celebrate these special moments as a team and create opportunities for team members to build relationships and trust.
8. Invest in Your Employees
One of the best ways to motivate employees is to invest in them. Provide the training and support your team needs to excel in their roles and do their jobs with confidence.
Cross-training also equips your employees with the skills they need to handle various roles when needed.
9. Buy Newer Equipment
If your equipment is outdated or difficult for your employees to use, productivity and efficiency will suffer. And as a result, your team won't feel as motivated and may even become frustrated with their work.
If your cooks are having a hard time navigating the kitchen display screen, or your hosts don't have access to modern reservation software, you're setting your team up for failure.
Investing in newer equipment can help your employees do their jobs more safely and efficiently without frustrations and hindrances. Modern equipment and restaurant technology will minimize the risk of errors, automate mundane tasks and make your team's lives easier.
10. Resolve Workplace Issues Fast
A toxic work environment can drive good employees out the door. High-pressure working conditions and conflicts between team members can make it challenging to retain employees.
Strive to create a positive culture and resolve issues quickly to retain your restaurant team. Implement an open-door policy so that employees feel comfortable speaking out about issues, and check in regularly with your team to ask for feedback.
Making an effort to resolve conflicts or other issues as they arise will help create a positive work environment where employees feel valued.
Keeping your employees motivated will help improve productivity and efficiency while reducing turnover. You don't necessarily have to implement all of the strategies on this list, but it's important to focus on the things that your employees value. Knowing your team and their personalities is an important first step in determining which of these strategies would keep them motivated.