Employee Motivation In Restaurants

Employee Motivation in Restaurants

A Nate McCollum Powerpoint Presentation

Level 1: Long Term Motivation◦ This will follow Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs◦ Each employee has different needs to be

motivated for not just a single shift, but for the companies long term well being

Level 2: Short Term Motivation◦ Every day an employee starts their shift,

something should spark them to give a strong effort from clock-in to clock-out

A Two Level Process

In employee motivation, it is crucial to understand that each employee is an individual with different needs and career goals◦ Some employees must be motivated with short

term goals◦ Some employees must be motivated with the

possibility of career growth and increased responsibility

Step 1: Knowing Your Employees

Different types of employees◦ Full Time Students

Part Time Hospitality Workers Focus on School not Organization

◦ Lifetime Hospitality Workers Set Career/Life Goals in Restaurants

◦ In Between Job Employees Worked in Several Different Vocations Little Commitment to Organization

Step 1: Knowing Your Employees

All three types of employees are applicable into what is called the Hierarchy of Needs developed by the psychologist Abraham Maslow. Although it is applied differently to each individual employee as they each have different requirements to satisfy their needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy is modeled into a 5 level pyramid

Step 2: Applying Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

In general, the first level of Maslow’s pyramid refers to physiological needs◦ Hunger◦ Thirst◦ Shelter

In business this refers primarily to their basic pay, and the need for it to be adequate for each individual.

Pyramid Level 1: Physiological Needs

All three types of employees can be motivated similarly for this level◦ Full time Students

Typically search for adequate sustenance for social life Rent Food Social Life

◦ Lifetime Hospitality Workers Looking for adequate sustenance for their livelihood

Rent Ability to Support Family Social Life

◦ Various Job Employees Looking for adequate sustenance for their livelihood

Rent Ability to Support Family Social Life


All three types of employees can be motivated for this level in the same way. If you work for me, you will get paid and the organization will attempt to pay the employee enough to support their basic needs. This is a basic need that will not yield that high of motivation since many employees can find other jobs with similar pay in the same field


Maslow’s Pyramid describes the next need as safety, which translates into the restaurant business world into several different ways for each type of employee

Pyramid Level 2: Safety

Full Time Students◦ Employees who are full time students will have

less emphasis on their job safety and security.◦ To motivate them on this level, it is important to

let them understand where they stand (and their importance) in your organization, while letting them know that you understand that their job will still allow them to have security in their scholastic efforts


Full Time Students◦ To ensure their feelings of safety, a few steps

must be taken to make them happy and motivated Consistently discuss their school schedule Work around their school schedule Make them understand that if they work hard for

your company that you will work hard to balance their schedule between their work and their education


Lifetime Hospitality Workers◦ People who have set their careers into the

restaurant industry have separate needs to ensure their feelings of security to help motivate them as workers. They must feel that the company they work for will remain in business for a long period of time.


In Between Job Employees◦ These employees must understand that there is a

safety and consistency to their work that differs from other fields of work that they can be drawn to. In order to motivate these employees, consistent meetings with these employees can help obtain feedback into their likes and dislikes of the restaurant industry


In Between Job Employees◦ In the process of getting feedback from these

employees of their comforts or discomforts in hospitality, the manager and the employees can then focus on why this employee should feel secure in this business or why this employee should perhaps find another way to make money These employees may have to be let go if they do

not fit into the restaurant’s pace or style of work, but having these meetings can motivate them to feel secure within the company


Maslow’s third level to his pyramid deals with belongingness within the organization. It is important for each of your coworkers to feel that they can depend with each other, and get along with one another

There are many examples of ways to encourage this◦ Have each employee work different jobs within the kitchen.

This allows employees to understand how their coworkers effect their workday

◦ Encourage employees to socialize outside of work. Host parties in which every employee is invited. If employees feel like they are part of the team, they will be motivated to not let each other down

Pyramid Level 3: Belongingness

Maslow’s fourth level deals with esteem. A large motivating factor that helps employees take more effort into their work is if they are recognized for their hard work.

It is crucial to not let any well executed shift go unnoticed. Have frequent personal meetings with each employee for everything they have done well.

Make sure to emphasize everything that is executed well, this will motivate the employee to maintain their pride in their work by consistently performing to this expected level, and let them understand that they are benefiting the company and their coworkers◦ Pay raises and promotions will help increase this motivation. An

employee will have higher motivation if they are given more responsibility, and have a higher devotion to the workplace

Pyramid Level 4: Esteem

If the employees have risen to this level of their hierarchy of needs, then you have done a good job so far at motivation. This is when they have provided a unique contribution to your company. This will give the employee a great sense of pride to their job and motivate them to be the outstanding worker that they are.

Pyramid Level 5: Self-actualization

Each employee is different◦ It is essential to understand each employee has

their own problems from day to day, and their own daily goals

◦ You must use your knowledge of each employees personal characteristics. This will allow you to hit the exact points that motivate an employee to have a great single shift, every shift

Short Term Motivation

Pre Shift Meetings◦ A meeting before every shift can help motivate

the employees and give them a feeling of belongingness to the team

◦ Set goals for each shift, let them understand what was done well during their previous shift, and what could be worked on to help benefit the team and the shift itself

◦ Maybe propose an award if the team achieves all of their goals for the night, or propose individual awards for those who particularly excell.


Post Shift Meetings◦ Let the team know what they did well◦ Discuss issues with individual◦ Discuss goals for following shifts


Job Delegation◦ Give employees larger responsibilities to make

them feel more important to the organization. Give the employees a chance to prove themselves competent and reliable.

◦ Seeing other employees given more responsibility can motivate other employees to work harder to give them the chance to have a responsibility delegated to them. Every employee wants to be seen as responsible and great at their job


Motivation cannot be limited to raises and promotions. These stimuli will not bring the employees to long term motivation. Nor will it ensure that each employee is motivated for every individual shift.

It is important to listen to your workers in order to understand why they may have not performed as well as you expected. There are many factors outside of work that can deteriorate their motivation for a single shift. If you discuss these problems it can allow the employees to trust you, and this can make them more motivated for future shifts.

Summing Up

Motivating your employees is not easy, but is extremely important. No single method will work for every employee. They are all different and have different goals. There are many things that are important to understand about each employee to yield the most motivation and production◦ Life Goals◦ Life Needs◦ Feelings of Belongingness◦ Life Situations

Summing Up

Employee Motivation In Restaurants

Business

Transcript of Employee Motivation In Restaurants