5 Ways to Create a Kitchen Culture Around Accountability

Commercial kitchen work can be stressful, causing tempers to flare and staff to disengage. However, with a little effort, restaurant owners can keep their team members engaged and accountable for their actions.

The #1 way to ensure accountability is with a kitchen operations management system. This type of software helps operators keep track of everything from food temperature monitoring to checklist and task management.

1. Set SMART Goals

One of the most important things you can do to hold your kitchen staff accountable is to set SMART goals for them. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-framed. This is a goal-setting strategy that has been used by businesses all over the world and it works!

When setting SMART goals, be sure to break them down into smaller, actionable steps. This will help to make them more manageable and easier to reach. For example, if your goal is to create a signature dish, you could break it down into steps like researching different cuisines, experimenting with flavors and ingredients, and refining your recipe.

You should also share your SMART goals with your kitchen staff so that they are aware of them and can work towards them. This will help to keep everyone on track and ensure that all of your goals are being met. Software is the best way to streamline SMART goal steps, and the most headache-free way to make sure your whole team is on top of the that you have set for them to reach.

Finally, you should monitor and track your progress on a regular basis to see how close you are to reaching your goals. This will help to keep you motivated and on track, and it will also give you a chance to make any necessary adjustments along the way.

In addition to SMART goals, it’s also important to have the right systems in place to help you hold your kitchen staff accountable. For example, you should have key item and waste sheet systems in place to prevent theft and food waste. These simple systems allow you to quickly find a problem and address it before it causes serious issues with your restaurant’s bottom line.

2. Create a Positive Work Atmosphere

Creating a positive work environment is essential to keeping your kitchen staff accountable. A toxic work atmosphere is detrimental to both morale and performance. Kitchen managers need to focus on more than just hiring good people and providing a great benefit package. Kitchen staff also want a work environment that promotes their mental and physical health, as well as a culture that supports them in their career goals.

One way to create a positive work atmosphere is by setting clear expectations and communicating them with your team. Your expectations should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) to ensure that they can be achieved. You should also consider implementing a reward system to motivate your kitchen staff to achieve their goals. This could include tying rewards to restaurant revenue, based on customer feedback and satisfaction ratings.

Another way to create a positive work environment is by being fair and consistent with your restaurant operations, policies, and recipes. For example, if you have policies that state “no substitutions” but allow employees to swap items for similar products with manager approval, you’ll create mistrust in your team and set yourself up for conflict over favoritism.

Additionally, if you’re only rewarding your best performing staff, it can discourage your other employees from being as productive. Instead, try to balance your rewards program by offering them gift cards and spot bonuses for great service or product sales.

Finally, it’s important to have open communication with your staff and listen to their concerns. Be sure to communicate with your restaurant employees regularly, either in person or through electronic platforms like Slack, and address any problems they may have. It’s not only helpful for the morale of your kitchen but for your business as a whole.

3. Encourage Teamwork

When your team isn’t working cohesively, it can cause major issues for your restaurant. From your cooks arguing to your servers not collaborating, the inability to communicate effectively is one of the biggest challenges restaurants face. In fact, when front-of-house and back-of-house teams don’t communicate, it can lead to food costing problems, guest complaints, and ultimately a negative impact on your business.

To avoid this, it’s essential to encourage teamwork within your staff. This can start with simply listening to your employees when they have a problem or concern. It can also include implementing programs that focus on work-life balance. For example, In-n-Out Burger offers flexible scheduling for their kitchen employees and even pays their workers when they take vacations. By doing so, they are able to foster a more supportive environment and ensure that their employees aren’t feeling burnout from the stress of the restaurant industry.

You can also set up daily huddles or post clear guidelines for all your staff members to follow. These will help everyone stay on the same page regarding daily procedures and tasks such as setting up tables, rolling silverware, cleaning, and more. This will keep your chefs accountable by reminding them of what they need to do throughout the day and will allow you to measure their performance over time.

Lastly, you should provide your team with the tools they need to be successful. This may mean providing them with tablets that streamline orders or kitchen tech to monitor food temperature and safety. By giving your team what they need, they will be more invested in their job and will feel like you have their backs. When they feel supported, it is easier to hold them accountable.

4. Create a Reward System

If you want your restaurant staff to be accountable, you need a system in place to reward their hard work. This could be as simple as a verbal thank you from you or your manager, but it can also involve an extra shift, additional hours off, or even dinner for two at a competitor’s restaurant. Personalized rewards can inspire a sense of pride and encourage your team to continue working diligently, especially during busy times like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many restaurants rely on participation trophies and other blanket awards to motivate their employees, but this can create an environment where the best-performing workers do not get the recognition they deserve. Instead, focus on specific tasks and set goals for your restaurant staff. For example, if your servers and bartenders are failing to upsell drink orders, challenge them to increase sales until they reach their goal. Similarly, if your kitchen managers are wasting food, challenge them to reduce waste until they meet their target.

You can even create an employee of the week award that gets passed from one employee to another. Have them add something to the award each time it’s their turn, and at the end of the year, you can give a big prize or gift to whoever has contributed the most to the business.

Other forms of restaurant employee incentives include granting leave requests, offering flexible scheduling alternatives, and promoting a helpful, understanding workplace culture. You can also try out a reward system that is based on ideas, such as giving credit to the person who submits a winning idea or even a bonus for implementing a new strategy that has improved your restaurant’s performance.

5. Set Expectations

A happy kitchen staff is essential to a business’ success. However it can be difficult to strike the right balance between employee motivation and accountability. This balance is especially important when it comes to the kitchen crew. A kitchen manager can’t expect a restaurant staff to perform at its best if they don’t set clear goals and expectations for its members.

Establishing these expectations begins at the hiring stage. During interviews, it’s vital to ask candidates questions that help you understand their goals and how they plan to achieve them. Ask for examples of when they’ve accomplished these goals in their past work and be sure to note how relevant those instances are to your restaurant.

It’s also essential to share your own expectations of your team members and provide them with a document that outlines your restaurant’s policies, processes, recipes, and operating standards. This will ensure that everyone is on the same page and can refer back to the expectations whenever needed. If someone fails to meet your expectations, it’s your responsibility to have clear conversations with them and come up with a game plan for improvement.

It’s also important to create a culture of open communication with your kitchen employees and listen to them whenever possible. They’re a valuable resource and will likely point out issues that you didn’t notice or wouldn’t have thought about on your own. Ultimately, they want to do their best and will work hard to do so if they feel supported.

This All Sounds Like a Lot of Work…

The good news is, there are software solutions that make holding your staff accountable a breeze. Modeeri is the #1 best solution to streamline your entire kitchen operations and make sure that you achieve consistent results, day in and day out.

Modeeri was built by kitchen operators, for kitchen operators. With battle-tested features ranging from checklist management, incident logging & resolution, production planning, kitchen auditing, employee evaluations, document storage, training, onboarding, and much more, your staff gets things done just like when you’re there, even when you’re not. Try Modeeri for free or learn more today!