Today’s blog is based on the fantastic learning library at Service That Sells. This trove of online training resources is one of the best places you can visit to help develop the service, sales, and management skills of you and your employees. Visit their site to learn more about the Cycle of Service workshops. While this series is directed specifically at restaurants, the information is applicable to any business, so please take the time to consider these points even if you’re in a different industry.
Last in The Cycle of Service is “Succeeding as a Team”. There are several key points that are explained in the video embedded in the aforementioned webpage, so let’s cover those concepts in detail here.
Teamwork gets thrown around in the business world a lot, so much so that it sounds like a buzzword (like synergy, disruption, out the box, etc.). Despite the overuse, it’s a concept that should be taken seriously because it is absolutely critical to the success of any restaurant—or any business in general. In the parlance of Service That Sells, teamwork is how you keep the Cycle of Service rolling.
As such, we need to make sure we define teams before we can even tackle the teamwork itself, especially since many people think that a team is any group of people who work together. But a team is more than that: how each member complements the other is fundamental to its success. In sports terms, a successful coach doesn’t just collect talent: he finds the right people to fit the scheme and execute together. Consider that it’s possible to have an employee who excel at everything except working well with others; just as with an athlete on a sports team, such a presence is subtractive because it is disruptive.
If a team describes the people, teamwork is what they accomplish and how. This means that a team should be goal-oriented, which means putting those goals ahead of any individual frustrations. This also means adhering to policies and procedures because, in doing so, a team can function at its best to ensure a safe environment for employees and guests, and keep the restaurant running smoothly overall.
The backbone of team building is respect. Employees must treat teammates with dignity, avoid harassing or discriminating and make no suggestive or offensive remarks. Even questionable jokes and loose banter should be avoided, lest you accidentally ostracize an employee. That person can’t be a part of the team if he or she is made to feel excluded in some way. This also means having patience and committing to make sure that the employee is well trained.
Finally, successful teams have reliable members. This especially means being on time, as tardiness impacts both coworkers and guests. But reliability also refers to the trust coworkers place in one another to handle their responsibilities. A server needs the host to balance out the distribution of guests. The busser needs the host to direct him or her to the departing tables that need cleaning. And so on. Failure to execute ripples through the entire process. In order for a team to succeed, every member must do his or her job and, hopefully, not have to worry about anyone else’s.
Be sure to check out Service That Sells to learn more about these workshops, and stay tuned to us at The Brandt Group as we continue we continue to explore customer service and team building. We can help ensure your employees are executing at their best, together. Reach out to us to learn more.
