MORE
WITH
LESS
HOW CROSS-TRAINING
EMPLOYEES BALANCES RISING LABOR COST By Jillian Henze, APR, and Iain Woessner
Navigating the increase in labor costs won’t take just one adjustment. Consider making a few changes throughout your operations—a holistic approach. Washington hospitality experts recommend experimenting with your team roles. Can a host also bus tables? Can housekeeping assist with laundry? Examine how your staff members spend their time and evaluate how you can do more with less in 2020.
Experiment with cross training in restaurants
With minimum wage being as high as it is, Jeff Morgan, CEO of Hops N Drops, said you must look at what you can do across roles to be more efficient. For Morgan, cross-training staff members in various roles is the answer. “It’s good for us because it helps our team be more productive,” Morgan said. “It’s good for the guest because at busier times, there are [staff members] who have the expertise to jump around in different positions.” He said he talks with employees about how this efficient model is a win for the business as well as employees.
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“It’s a balance—give the guest a great experience, help the team members grow and strive to be an employer of choice—but help the company grow,” he said.
Morgan talked about helping team members find their second job within his restaurants so they don’t have to also work someplace else. Wearing many hats at the restaurant allows team members to earn more money, get more hours and a higher wage rate. Because staff members are cross-trained and earning more money there is greater retention, turnover costs go down and productivity goes up. “It really is all about cross-training—helping people move from the back of the house to front of the house, hourly to salary position,” Morgan said. “For example, with our host, busser and expo positions, we work really hard on making sure those folks go through that progression as quickly as possible. They get to work more hours in more positions. For us, people who are cross-trained helps us do more with less.” In the back of house, as soon as his team members learn one position, they learn the next position. “We have hot side, cold side (like a pantry) and prep,” Morgan said. “Cross training people in those areas is always a development path we encourage people to take.” The ability to cross train doesn’t remain front-of-house and back-of-house at Hops N Drops. Morgan said he offers employees to train and transition from one to the other. It’s about giving the team members the opportunity to grow and develop, he said. And Morgan said you can learn from his past mistakes. He recommended restaurant owners and managers sit down and ask employees how they want to grow and try to figure out how to support that. But, he urges, you must be honest and sincere. Two things to avoid: Don’t try and force somebody to grow and cross train if they don’t want to and don’t make commitments and break them. “We’ll provide the resources and the framework, but they have to drive the development,” Morgan said. “Because they’re driving their development, the manager isn’t getting overwhelmed or overcommitted, they’re just helping along the way.”
