Dealing With Problem Staff Members in Your Restaurant

Dealing With Problem Staff Members in Your Restaurant

It doesn’t matter how thoroughly you vet potential employees prior to hiring. In the end, every manager or owner has to deal with the one employee who can’t understand the process. It’s a sad fact that a lot of times, the issues simply aren’t fixable (or the employee isn’t willing to make changes), which means the worker is to be dismissed. But, there are methods you can use to get your troublesome employee to change the way they behave before making the decision to terminate.

Re-Station

If the employee who is in trouble is working in a position that involves interaction with customers, such as wait staff or greeters, the first step is to change their job to one that is not as visible. As you work to address the issues that cause the employees difficulty performing their position within the establishment, it’s ideal for keeping them from engaging with customers.

Relocating them in the kitchen or an additional position can lessen the chance of triggering an argument with a customer. This could give you some breathing space to tackle problems with the employee. An area of customer service could cause them to be in a position that could lead you to dismiss them.

Discuss the need

Discuss the issue with your employee who is having trouble. Make it a one-on-one conversation without interacting with any customers or employees. The employee who is in trouble is likely to already be defensive, and publically corrections to him, or her can only cause more problems. Discipline in public has its role; however, not in this case.

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Discuss with the staff member regarding their needs or what they believe is essential to fulfilling the job without conflict or disagreement. When the staff member is reacting in a way that is not appropriate to an issue that is legitimate, Address and rectify the problem and talk about strategies for responding to the incident more effectively at a later time. If the concern of the employee isn’t legitimate or rectifiable, or the employee is simply not suitable for the position, it is possible to make the shift permanent. If this is not an appropriate solution, you might need to think about dismissal.

Confirmedly Correct

If it appears that shifting the employee into a new job could eliminate the cause of tension and discontent, then you should focus on addressing the behavior that is not compatible with the business and creating a healthy work setting. Recognize the problem behavior and explain your concerns to the employee clearly and succinctly, ensuring they know exactly what behaviors develop issues. Find ways employees can alter these behaviors and address the problems in a constructive a respectful manner.

When the behavior has been dealt with, it is crucial to follow up with the employee who is at fault closely. Be sure to be consistently correcting the issue behavior when it arises. When dealing with employees, corrections must always be courteous however and firm. If an employee shows an unwillingness or inability to modify the problematic behavior, then firing them could be the only option of decision.