Service Scientist - restaurant business

HOW TO MANAGE MILLEMIALS AND Z? Nowadays lazy managers only don’t discuss values of the mentioned generations. And usually managers finish their discussion with 😒 “Oh, young people just don’t want to work! What to do? Where to find waiters on chefs?”

Actually, managers are just mistaken. New generations want to work. They don’t want to plough at work. Travelling and new knowledge become available for them. Youth just send voice request, and Siri or Alice show them how beautiful is the World. So, isn’t it so understandable that Ys and Zs doesn’t want to die at work 6/1, but enjoy their lives as much as they can?

But how employer can manage this challenge? Easy. New generations should be able to get what they value at work. We create for them new working conditions, procedures and rules, and they repay their unreal optimism, cheerfulness and sympathy for the people. Ys and Zs are not the “moodies” from the previous generations who tends to complain at smoking place and to snap customers. Youth will de whatever you ask them (actually, sometimes they are too and over concrete🙈) Finally, I stop “pouring water” and share how we manage young people at our .

1. These guys don’t value money too much. They don’t spend all their life at work for buying new jacket. But if they are on duty, you have no need to force them to work: they try to do their best in order to get the highest tips. They have internal desire to show their best. From here we have a decision #1: we don’t have 6 waiters as before (2 shifts of 3 people). Now we have 10 waiters with free flexible schedule (2-4 subshifts per week, 130-170 hours per month for each). At the end of the day it doesn’t matter. Even better: we always have someone to call in case of emergency or unexpected demand.

2. Ys and Zs value emotions and broadening their horizons. That is why we laugh during the daily line-ups (instead of being chided) and taste fresh desserts. Once per month I present them some modern product, for example, organic and biodynamic wines (and we don’t have this product at the menu and will not implement – not our price segment). Or I teach them how to choose and deal with the cigar (yeah, Cohiba is for dabblers, also smoking is prohibited within the restaurants).

3. Kids live in Internet. They make friends there. They quarrel, reconcile, quarrel again, hugging and drink coffee together online without any single personal meeting! That is why to take away their smartphone at work is bad idea. At our bar they are free to use their gadgets while my customers are more than happy with their service, and the level of cleanliness is uncompromising.

4. Ys and Zs respect themselves. We don’t scream at them, don’t punish and we cancel all the penalties. We nurture them according the Montessori system🤱. We learn Psychology and develop our managerial emotional intellect. New generations will not work in a weird and uncomfortable uniform. They will not eat cheap sausages with overcooked pasta. And you will see them the last time in your life if one day you decide to frisk for a fork.

In short, I formulated my main idea. You see, you can deal with them! And I will repeat: new generations bring incomparable impact in your business, if you just know “how to cook them”. Some managers have long enjoyed working with Millemials nd Zs while the rest still cry that there is no one to work with. But the most effective leaders have already mentioned that the time gap between generations shortens and shortens… You’ve got it? What the most effective leaders do exactly right now?

Employees motivation and restaurant PR? Is possible to combine! At present we discuss the possibility to offer our employees a kind of “social vacation” at . The matter is that there are plenty of volunteer programs where people can restore castles in Czech Republic or help to take care of children in the developing countries. Such kind of activities supposes that volunteer pay for transportation and participation fee around 100-200 USD. The lengths of the program varies from 2 to 4 weeks. Host organization provides accommodation and meals.

So we discuss: what if we send 2 or 3 employees who have such a wish to this social vacation. We will cover the cost of the program and transportation. And our employee will gain new life and work experience, practice foreign language, get new friends and have a rest. From the side of employee we will ask for making stories and other on-line media content about his volunteer experience for our social media resources.

Should it be interesting to our guests and locals to follow his adventure online? Even though, different media resources such as newspapers and TV-news like to make such kind of publications about how local café’s employees spend their social vacation. And this kind of publications no need to sponsor.

What do you think about this instrument? Has it potential to foster our employees at work and to increase guests’ loyalty?

Today I has tasted our mushroom cream-soup before the lunches.
Me: the soup is not smooth. I feel the small pieces of mushrooms. Is that ok?
Cook: no
Me: is it possible to blend it one more time now?
Cook: no, it is hot
Me: then who made it? I will talk to the person to avoid the same situation in the furure
Cook: I don't know. Premix for the soup was done by yesterday shift
Me: but who added a cream today? Who boiled it when it is visible that the soup is not smooth?
Cook: silence
Second cook: Andrew, you've done it, common!
Cook: It looks like I did

The 21st century. No one beats slaves with a stick. Even more - it's not allowed even to raise a voice in subordinates. So why people fear to admit own error? Why they do not go to a dialog?

The question is: do you believe that this is possible to guide the majority of people to the self-managed job of high quality? Don't control them but guide and mentor. Of yes or no - why do you think so?