How to Hire the Best Restaurant and Bar Staff

Detailed Adverts

There’s nothing more frustrating than interviewing a candidate who is either not qualified for the job position they applied for, or who assumed their job duties were totally different. To avoid such misunderstandings, make sure your job advert is very specific. Make sure to include working hours, the restaurant culture and expectations, any specific dress attire, what background skills are required, the starting date of the job, etc. Leave nothing out and do not give candidates room to assume anything. The more specific your advert is, the more chance you have of finding the perfect match quickly. 

Standardize Interviews

There’s no point having a different interview style and structure for every candidate because there will be no way to objectively compare them to one another. A base set of questions should always be asked so that you can easily tell which candidate answers these important questions to your satisfaction.

Attitude Matters

Be wary of candidates that show up late for interviews. Chances are that candidates who don’t care to show up early for their interview likely won’t show up early or on time for work. Even if the candidate is skilled, it’s often more useful in the long run to train someone who cares about your business than someone who has a poor attitude. 

Multiple Interviewers

Why take the risk of missing out on a great candidate? Make sure the people in the interview are the ones who know most about the position that is being hired for. So, if you’re hiring kitchen staff, make sure at least one person from the kitchen team is present. By having multiple interviewers, you can ensure that biases are left behind. Furthermore, one interviewer may pick up on something that the other doesn’t, so it is a good insurance policy to have at least two present. 

Follow Through on References

All candidates should provide references for their interviews. Whether anything looks fishy or not, it is always best to check through each reference and follow through. These days, it’s so easy to forge documents and make up fake aliases, that it’s worth making a simple phone call to ensure that candidates really are who they claim to be. 

Be Alert

Take note of candidate mannerisms before the interview begins. If a candidate appears nervous, is scowling or is showing any strange behaviour patterns, this may be a sign of their true personality. Given the service nature of F&B it’s best to have someone that is amicable and easy to work with rather than someone who appears pleasant in their interview but turns out to be completely different on the job. If you feel you might forget something important about a candidate, take notes and write it down.