How to step up into hospitality management

Hospitality is a fast-paced industry. Leading a team falls on the manager's shoulders - how can you step up to hospitality leadership?

Managing stress

Hospitality can be a fast-paced, high-pressure industry to work in.

Workers in hospitality are often exposed to long and irregular hours due to the nature of shift work and seasonable ebb and flow. On top of that, employees may have to work at a fast pace for extended periods, or face demands from customers.

High levels of stress contribute to the industry's considerable turnover rate. Consequently, more than half of food service business owners surveyed (by Impos, 2017) say retaining staff is a major concern.

So, how can you soften the pressure for your staff as a manager? The best place to start is with effective leadership. A qualification in restaurant management provides you with the skills you need to create a healthy workplace environment.

Keep your team educated

Hospitality workers can easily feel overwhelmed when things go wrong. With customers growing impatient, a backlog of orders and tables to clear, it can be hard for improperly trained staff to cope. It's therefore crucial to your business that you ensure all staff are trained and capable.

This can start at the hiring process - hiring experienced staff will almost always result in better work flow. However, don't shy away from hiring those without experience - just be ready to train them and provide support in the areas they struggle with.

Professional development and performance reviews are an important part of any manager's job, but often they are overlooked. Regularly checking in on what areas of the job your staff are and aren't performing in allows you to identify necessary development and carry that out before the stresses can pile up.

Create and nurture a team culture

Poor teamwork is another common issue in the day to day operations of a cafe or restaurant. If your staff aren't willing to work together, you end up with a 'too many cooks' scenario, instead of a well-oiled machine.

Team culture is not simply working as a team but involves a deeper commitment amongst coworkers both to each other and to the business.

There are many factors to creating a good team culture - it starts with clear leadership and appreciating your staff. As a manager, you need to know when to lead and when to encourage. You should also highlight staff member's unique strengths and contributions to the team.

Be firm but flexible

When it comes to being strict, you have to do so with the understanding of your team. Ongoing issues such as lateness may be a sign of job dissatisfaction, and you need to discuss that with the offending employee. However, being too lenient with staff out of sympathy can risk disgruntling rule-abiding employees.

If you'd like to step up to hospitality leadership consider a Master of Hospitality Management with Le Cordon Bleu. With a globally recognised name and a network of international connections, Le Cordon Bleu is the best choice to further your management career. Get in touch today to discuss study options.


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