The holiday season is a busy time for restaurants, with many people dining out to celebrate with friends and family. It is a beautiful time when guests want to have an amazing dining experience. However, this increased business flow can also lead to increased restaurant staff stress. There are more people going out to celebrate in the restaurant and the staff has to adjust to a higher customer influx. Longer hours, increased workload, and difficult customers can all take a toll on employees, leading to burnout and decreased productivity. According to the article the restaurant industry staff is considered to be amongst the most stressful occupations. Holidays contribute to even more stress too your staff, which can negatively impact your restaurant business. There are many tips and tricks on how to reduce restaurant staff stress during the holiday season and the booking software can play a huge role.
To help reduce stress for your restaurant staff during this busy time, here are 7 tips to keep in mind:
1. Team size
One of the biggest causes of stress for restaurant staff is being understaffed. This can lead to long hours, a heavy workload, and difficulty providing good customer service. To avoid this, make sure to properly staff your restaurant during the holiday season. This might mean hiring temporary employees or increasing the hours of your current staff.
2. Positive attitude
A positive attitude can be contagious, and it can help staff members stay focused and motivated during a busy time. Encourage staff to stay positive and to focus on excellent customer service, rather than getting overwhelmed by the rush. Team building activities can improve team spirit which is always good for business, remember your staff is the heart of the venue.
3. Plan ahead
One of the best ways to reduce stress is to plan ahead. This means creating a detailed schedule for the holiday season, including staff shifts and responsibilities. This will help ensure that everyone knows what is expected of them and can better manage their time and workload. This refers also to planning customer load. The booking software is a great tool to manage guest flow. In your resOS account, you can set up how many bookings or guests you can handle during the day or at intervals. Read about this feature here.
It is also good to be prepared to meet guests, use resOS Custom Fields feature to ask your guests if they have allergies or they are going to celebrate with kids. This will ease a work and save a lot of time for your team. Read more about how to start use Custom Fields feature right here.
4. Flexibility
Be prepared for last-minute changes and unexpected challenges. Being flexible and willing to adapt to changing circumstances, and encouraging staff members to do the same. The waitlist feature offered by resOS is a great way to fill the tables when something changes in your guest plans. Read about the Waitlist here. Your guest can also reach out directly to you and ask for some changes or specific requests, resOS has a great communication system that all your team can be up to date and see the whole conversation right in the booking. Want to know how you can directly communicate with your guests? Read more about it here.
5. Employee breaks
It’s important for restaurant staff to take breaks during their shifts, to avoid burnout and maintain their health and well-being. Make sure that your employees have access to a comfortable break area, and encourage them to take regular breaks throughout their shifts. Additionally, you can plan breaks ahead and manage seating according to the staff’s availability. You can know more about managing seatings in resOS booking system here.
6. Show appreciation
Remember to show appreciation for your staff members’ hard work and dedication during the holiday season. For instance, this can include thanking them for their efforts, providing bonuses or rewards, and recognizing their contributions.There are many researches done that proves that reward have a strong positive impact on employees performance.You can show your appreciation for your staff members’ hard work and dedication by providing them with extra incentives such as bonus or reward, extra vacation days, gift cards, or even a simple thank you note. It is important to recognize the hard work each employee has put in throughout the year so that they know their efforts have been valued and appreciated.
Additionally, you could host a holiday party to show your gratitude and appreciation for your staff members. This will help build a sense of camaraderie and further motivate your employees to work hard.
7. Delegate tasks
Don’t try to do everything yourself. Delegate tasks to other staff members, and trust them to handle their responsibilities. This can help reduce workload and prevent burnout. Be clear what each team member has for responsibilities. The booking software can also take over many tasks that used to be done manually. With resOS guests can create bookings online instead of reaching out to your venue by phone. Another feature that could ease a day routine is Reminders. With resOS you can set up automatically send out reminders to your guests. Read more about reminders and how to start sending out them here.
Less staff stress and more happy guests
Following these 7 tips you can ensure that your staff can create a festive mood to all your restaurant guests. Reducing staff stress by following our tips will definitely improve mental health of your team and contribute to the whole business by doing great work. Restaurant staff member experience more stress during holidays, so the online booking software can help reduce the stress of managing large numbers of diners and reservations.
Online booking software allows customers to make reservations quickly and easily, while providing restaurant staff with the ability to manage reservations, seating, and wait times. It also gives staff the ability to manage customer information, such as contact details, dietary requirements, and payment information. By automating the reservation process, restaurant staff can spend more time focusing on other aspects of running their businesses, such as customer service and improving the overall dining experience, which is the most important for guests who trust your venue and comes to enjoy the meal during holidays.
Interested in trying out resOS?
Try now resOS and you can get one month trial for any chosen paid plan. So, if you are interested in giving it a try, this could be a good starting point. Start by creating a profile here and if you need help or have any questions, you can always reach us at [email protected]
