Ah, Christmas. For most households, it’s a time of joy, vibrant decors and indulgence.
But for businesses, specifically those just starting out, Christmas is a hectic period of the year. Most staff tend to book their holidays during the festive season, leaving the company to deal with increased demand by themselves. For the hospitality sector, especially, Christmas is synonymous with seasonal workers. You can’t make it through December without hiring extra support to help you during the holiday.
However, as a new restaurant owner, you can’t afford to take risks, particularly with temporary staff. You have to prepare your restaurant to make sure that the business can stay afloat with new and potentially less experienced helpers.
Does your seasonal team need equipment?
Fast-food restaurants, takeaways and other small kitchens are keen to stay on top of their orders during the festive season. Indeed, as people are more likely to stay at home with the family, you can experience a peak in online and phone orders during December. After all, nobody wants to cook during the holiday – apart from the traditional Christmas dinner. That’s where it’s essential to hire a seasonal team; you’re equipped to tackle the demand. New staff doesn’t require a lot of training to learn the technique, which maintains your delivery pace. However, you need to provide for additional equipment, such as safety shoes and protective clothing for the kitchen. Frying oil burns and falls on a slippery surface are frequent accidents according to workplace injury solicitors. Failure to provide the protection your temps need goes against H&S regulations.
How are you training new staff?
From high-end restaurants to a convivial gastropub, all restaurant staff needs training. While it might feel counterproductive to invest in the preparation of a temporary employee, you can turn it into an opportunity to build your permanent team in the long term. Your seasonal employees need to learn more than the necessary gestures. They will have to convey the values of your restaurant. Consequently, someone who is in a public-facing position needs to understand and carry your core principles.
Should you let customers know?
More restaurant owners don’t want their patrons to feel any difference in quality between seasonal and permanent staff. However, even with the best of wills, some customers might notice that their waiter is more hesitant or less confident — or might even get the order wrong. The choice is entirely yours, but professionals recommend a personalised badge for staff in training, as this encourages your patrons to be more patient. It’s also an excellent trick to gather patrons’ feedback afterwards!
Don’t forget the basics
Last, but not least, you need to make sure your restaurant is equipped to tackle the Christmas rush. Your seasonal team can only help you so much. If you don’t have an updated and effective website that can tackle a high volume of visitors, your restaurants might fail to attract the attention of seasonal eaters. You also need to maintain your hygiene standards throughout the busy holiday: your patrons expect excellent service at all time, even when you’re full!
The bottom line about managing seasonal challenges is to put the Christmas holiday at the heart of your strategy, not in terms of finding the most delicious Christmas recipes for your patrons, but in terms of organising your seasonal resources in the best possible way.
Have you recently launched a restaurant and are currently worried about the holiday period? Let us know what you are doing to minimise disruption.
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