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5 ways to celebrate Employee Appreciation Day at your restaurant

From Sous Chef to Waiter, Celebrating your Restaurant Workers is Key

It takes a team to run a restaurant efficiently and effectively. Whether you are a chef, line cook, server, expediter, bartender, host, or busser, showing appreciation for one another improves work morale and productivity. As a restaurant general manager, there is no better time to show your employees love than now. Friday, March 1, 2019 is Employee Appreciation Day. Here are five ways on how to practice your gratitude towards your staff and the work they do.

Food, Food, Food

Do not show up to work empty handed. Treat your employees to donuts at breakfast or pizza at lunch. As they say, “food is the way to the heart”. If you would like to prolong the appreciation in this aspect, you can make it a weekly or monthly occurrence.

Thank You Cards

It is not necessary to break the bank when showing gratefulness for your employees. A personalized thank you can go along way and resonate with an employee in the long run. Show each individual employee that you pay attention to each of them and their personal performance. This will make each employee feel as if they are being recognized and that their work isn’t going unnoticed.

Company Outing

Show appreciation and also promote team bonding by hosting a team outing. It can be anything from picking up the tab for after work drinks or hosting a late night bowling activity. Taking employees out of the work environment helps to leverage relationships and interactions between staff. It also shows that you want to show your appreciation beyond work hours and dedicate your own time to them.

Broadcast Your Appreciation

Spread awareness of your employee appreciation by using your restaurant’s social media. Post a photo of the staff to your restaurant’s page on Employee Appreciation Day. If you want to continue the appreciation throughout the year, post an employee of the week/ month as an ongoing campaign.

 

Introduce a New Employee Benefit

Statistics show 80% of workers would keep a job with benefits over a job that offers more money and no benefits (American Institute of CPA). If you would like to introduce a new benefit for employed workers, use Employee Appreciation Day to do so. Common and loved employee benefits include discounted or paid for gym memberships and free classes to improve their skill set.

Employee appreciation should be exercised everyday, but March 1, 2019 is a day to guarantee that your gratitude for all their work never goes unnoticed. It is highly looked upon to take notice on this day because your restaurant wouldn’t be what it is without your team. Unilever recognizes this in their #FairKitchens movement. They have included five values in The Code; talk openly, excite passion, act as one, make time, and say ‘Good Job’. Fair Kitchens is looking to combat the problems people in the restaurant industry have been facing for years such as lack of sleep, nutrition and recognition. Be part of the change and receive your free starter kit at https://www.fairkitchens.com/en/join-us.html.

Check out a few other Dining Alliance programs to treat your employees.

Discounted work shoes:

Training Courses:

New Uniforms: