Non- verbal Communication

Another way to communicate: Non- verbal Communication

Non- verbal communication includes the following:
Gesture: express meanings. Include movements of the hands, arms, body, head, and eyes. A wave hello is a form of gesture. Gestures can be accepted or not within different cultures. Be careful with your gestures, they can be misunderstood by your co- workers and employers.
Touch: include handshakes, hugging, kissing, holding hands, and others. It is important to respect other’s personal space. For some it is acceptable a hug, or kiss when saying hello. However, for others can be inappropriate. The employer should always respect employee’s differences.
Posture: determines the degree of involvement and attention. Body movement can indicate the degree of involvement or not in an activity.
Eye contact: can direct interest, involvement, and attention. The amount of attention can be measured with eye contact when looking while talking, looking while listening, and with patterns of fixation.
Facial expression: can transmit feelings that are interpreted by others. By facial expression you can tell when somebody is happy, sad, angry, and worry.

Non- verbal communication is very important because express emotions, attitudes, self- presentation of one’s personality, greetings, and manages cues of interaction between speakers and listeners. Employers should have the right posture, eye contact, gesture, facial expression, and touch regarding in communicating non- verbally with employees. Employers and employees should always use non- verbal communication effectively or they can be interpreted in the wrong way.

Professional Writing Overview for Restaurant Owners.

Communicating During an Interview

Job interviews are a good example of when a restaurant owner will need to communicate effectively with someone that they may have never met before. Many times managers will conduct the interviews so the owner may not have to participate. However, when opening up a new restaurant, both managers and owners will generally conduct the interviews. Verbal communication should always be used on these occasions. This allows employers to “feel out” the applicant and assess their personality and social skills as well as how badly they want the position. Additionally this form of communication results in a rather quick exchange so employers can screen many applicants in a short amount of time to find the best suited.
Employers must be careful while addressing the applicants during the interview because verbal communication expresses tonality and intention. For this reason the interviewer can usually lead the conversation in a particular direction as they see fit. Both parties in the interview should be sure of their intentions and careful with their speech to ensure that they do not come across the wrong way. Employers should be cheerful and polite while maintaining a professional tone. They should also try to not seem too busy or rushed for the interview in order to provide all applicants with the same fair chance to stand out.
The interview process is one of the most important parts of running a restaurant. It is an opportunity to build up a strong team, with any characteristics the owner wants, that will work efficiently and effectively together.

Improving Communication Skills in the Workplace

As a child you learned the saying, “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me”, but more than likely, as an adult, you realized differently. Words are very powerful. They can motivate and heal people. They can tear down and build up, yet we take them for granted. When was the last time you really thought about what came out of your mouth and the impact it would have? When used responsibly and intentionally, words can revolutionize the workplace.

Establish companywide agreements as to when and how employees will handle communication. Be clear about how you will communicate with employees and when your communication style might be different and why. For example, routine communication may take place in once-a-week staff meetings in a give-and-take way with a lot of employee input. In a crisis situation, however, communication may be much more top-down and direct.

For more informal dialogue, an open door policy may well end up being more disruptive than productive. Come to a consensus as to how interruptions are to be handled. All staff should feel comfortable expressing that they are not available at all times. It may be because they are they are having a bad day or are busy doing other things and shouldn’t be involved in certain kinds of conversations.

If you have an important message to convey, choose words that you can use consistently and frequently. In order for information to be registered in long-term memory, it must be rehearsed. The more often a person hears information, the more likely the words will stick.

Here are some practice tips:

• Know your employees. If you want to be successful in communicating, you must know who your employees are and be able to draw upon their strong values, myths and symbols. Different people can say the same thing and carry completely different levels of impact. Stylistic differences, inconsistent messages, body language or a lack of integrity are all influences that impact how what you say is absorbed.
• Dialogue, not debate. We are conditioned in our society to debate, not converse. It’s much like a game in which we score points to determine winners and losers. This is competition, not communication.
• Stay focused. Put down the drinks and stop running food if someone wants to talk with you. If you’ve set the ground rules for communication, you can assume the information about to be presented is important to the speaker. You should be aware of how your actions and words convey meaning to the person in your presence. By staying aware of both non-verbal and verbal dynamics, the impact of your words and theirs will not be overshadowed by less important issues.
  

Through the power of words, carefully chosen and thoughtfully used, you can build trust and create the kind of workplace to which people want to contribute their very best.

Writing Reprimanding or Confrontational Emails to Employees or Suppliers

When dealing with a lot of employees in a stressful situation such as running a restaurant, there is bound to be issues that arrive with employees or suppliers.

If an employee has had a poor work ethic, or has received complaints, it is important to deal with the issues quickly and in a straightforward manner. When writing an email or letter to reprimand an employee, it is important to maintain a professional tone, but also keep in mind the person to whom you are writing. After your introduction a full explanation of the situation and your reasoning for the reprimand. Be sure to end the letter with an uplifting note, and assure the employee that once the situation is confronted, it will be resolved, and better for the company.

If a supplier has not been faithful or has been charging your company for services not provided, a letter or email confronting the issue will be beneficial. As with the employee email it is important to remain professional, and to state the issue directly and all the mitigating factors. Also make sure the keep a positive air, but to be sure to leave the email with a request for a solution.

Progressive Discipline System

Having to let an employee go is a very difficult task for employers. Situations that lead to firing an employee are stressful to the manager, the rest of the staff, and sometimes the customers. Most of us usually try to avoid any kind of confrontation . However, a well designed progressive discipline system can decrease the chances of firing an employee. If you do not communicate with your employees about their performance, they won’t know they need to improve. Some methods of progression communication system are:
· Verbal warning/ written friendly warning
Is usually given for the first infraction. Writing a verbal warning in a simple form, like a friendly reminder. Always make sure to be clear about the reason for that warning, and offer ways on how the employee can correct that and avoid further problems.
· Written disciplinary notice
The written disciplinary notice is used after the verbal warning, or when something more drastic happens. This disciplinary notes explains the cause for that notice and the action to be taken. Employees must read it and sign the written notice.
Suspension or termination should be the last option. If those methods are used, employers can reduce those situations. Always make sure to communicate anything that is relevant to your employee, using simple and clear communication you will avoid stressful situations.

Restaurant Communication Comic

by kpgeoghe | Create your own Cartoon at www.toondoo.com

Servers Communicating With The Customers

Meetings and Emails- Effective ways of Communication

To keep the flow in the restaurant between restaurant managers and employees, it is essential to maintain effective communication. On a recent interview with manager Paulo Diaz, at Ferdo’s Grill in Fort Lauderdale, he explained to me why is so important to communicate with employees, and how they communicate.

The best way Mr. Diaz communicates with his employees is through meetings once a week. Every Friday morning, the employees get to participate in a little meeting to talk about any issues or anything that happened in the previous week in the restaurant. This method is effective because everyone gets to participate, and make sure that everything is running smooth. However, when there is any problems between employees, or employees with the manager, he will request a private “ meeting” only with those involved. Sometimes there is something private to be said, or not everyone needs to be involved on others employees issues. Mr. Diaz always tries to communicate individually with everyone, so that they do not have to expose something that they do not want others to know.

Another way they communicate is through email. This method is also effective, because some people think is easier to express something in email, rather than face to face communication or by telephone. Changes in schedules, any problems, announcements are also sent through email. Text messages are also used, especially when the manager is unable to reach any of the employees at that moment.

The employee’s that are currently working at Ferdo’s Grill are happy with the way the manger communicates fairly with everyone. According to the employees and the manager, effective communication is the key to the success of any restaurant.

Customer Negotiation Form of Communication

I was recently lucky enough, to get hired at a new restaurant that just opened up, called Johnny Malloy’s. The timing could not have been better because of this project we are all working on. I spoke with my manager/ part owner of the restaurant, Tim, about some of the plans he had for the restaurant in the near future; and in this conversation I picked up on a prime example of exactly how important it is for restaurant owners to be able to communicate effectively with their customers.

Tim planned on adding a very large patio with a bar to the back of the restaurant; however, he ran into some issues with the residents. Stoneybrook, the location of the restaurant, is a golf community, and this patio bar would slightly obstruct their course view. Tim is still pretty much set on putting in the bar but now he has to convince all of the residents that it would be to their benefit. He lets them know what he wants and at the same time he works very hard to impress them with great food and a 10% discount for residents. I believe the patio project is going through as a result of Tim’s effective communicating. Letting the customers know what you want, offering something they want from you, and providing an adequate compensation that makes everyone happy.

Tim’s method is basically a form of negation, but this is very common in all restaurants. Many owners try to entice their customers through discounts like this, which is an effective form of communication.

Writing Positive Messages to Your Employees

When running a business it is important to keep a good relationships with your employees.
Positive reinforcements for a job well done is very beneficial to the workplace. If an employee receives a good review from a customer, after encouraging them in person, it would be good to write them a positive message.
Make sure that your message is heartfelt, but still professional and to the point. When putting statements in writing, it becomes more real to the person you are communicating with. Writing positive messages will help your employees feel good about a job well done, and help your business increase in efficiency.

Inner and Outer Communication Through a Restaurant

For my post this week I decided to interview Scot, who is my Proprietor at Outback Steakhouse. His number one way of how he likes to communicate is face to face. If communicating that way is not available then he chooses to communicate through telephone and through e-mails.

When Scot communicate with his boss, they are mostly through e-mails and phone calls. With his boss living in a different area and having to take care of other Outback's in the area, it is a little bit difficult for them to always meet one on one. They usually meet either once a month or once every two months. When his boss has to give him information about a new item that we will be featuring he will send him e-mails; stating when he needs to order a certain item, when he needs to send his kitchen manager to a meeting so that they may learn how to make and present that item, and the date when that item needs to come out. Important information like that one is more useful when it is presented through an e-mail, so that Scot will be able to go back and re-read that information. They will communicate through telephone when Scot's boss just needs to remind him that his invoice is due or something else that doesn't involve too much detail.

When Scot deals with his purveyors he prefers to sit down one on one with them when they come to his restaurant once a month. For example, today there was a purveyor from the Budweiser Company, who came to the restaurant. When Scot was in the office with this gentleman, he had asked Scot if he was ready to get rid of Sam Adams Boston Lager on draft and replace it with Shock Top. However, the other day when Scot was going over his draft beer numbers for last month; our highest selling draft beer was Sam Adams at 262 and with Bud Light coming in at 200 drafts sold for the month. Even though Sam Adams is our most expensive draft beer, it is the top seller draft beer. After sitting down with the gentleman and explaining to him the numbers; he agreed with Scot and how we should not get rid of Sam Adams, well at least for now.

Finally, last but not least, is how Scot communicates with his employees. When asking Scot how he feels how he communicates with his employees, he states, how he feels that he is like their parent and mentor. Scot lets all of his employees know that they can come and talk to him about anything. When his employees want to talk to him, he usually likes to do it at the end of the shift, because he then will have nothing to do and he can give that employee his undying attention. Scot likes to make all of his employees feel good about working at Outback, if Scot takes care of his employees, then his employees will take pride in doing their work. When being at work Scot knows how to talk to his employees and let them know when they are doing something wrong and when they are doing something right, he will reward us when he feels as if we deserve it, and he will let him employees move up in the work area.

Over the years from working with different managers to being a manager to becoming a proprietor and owning his own store. Scot has been able to see what works and what doesn't work. Scot loves to talk to people and meet new people and by doing that he loves to communicate face to face. Out of all of the ways to communicate, Scot chooses face to face because to him it is the most accurate and most productive way of communicating.

Communication affects employees, customers and yourself

Being able to communicate is critical to your professional growth and to the growth and expansion of organizations. Your ability to communicate can affects three groups.
These include:

• Employees. Your ability to communicate with employess influences the
  work environment, the relationship and impact you have on
  the team.
• Customers. The way you communicate with customers influences profits and organizational growth.
• Yourself. Your ability to communicate influences how well you can
  reach your professional goals. If you cannot communicate effectively it will affect your business, consequently yourself.

Employees have expectations of their managers, since a manager is the primary source of information for them. A manager communicates many things, including simple updates, changes in procedures,feedback on employee performance, and organizational changes in goals and missions. The consistency, and way of delivery these messages affect the work environment. Good communication builds trust, and also raises productivity. Bad communication will do the opposite.Managers who communicate on a regular basis are able to help employess to feel more connected with the organization. A manager’s credibility with employees is also enhenced with effective communication.Customer interaction is also vital to the success of the organization. Without happy customers business will not succeed. It is important to welcome all guests with a warm and hospitable greeting. The manager's communication skills will give the customer's a perception of the establishment. A manager who communicate effectively and also has relationship-building skills during a guest’s dining experience, will ensure high guest satisfaction.
It is very important to communicate well with employees and guests. However, you must also consider your own professional development. Take time to explore ways to improve your communication skills. To grow professionally, it is essential for a manager to become a confident speaker.

Effective Methods of Communication within an Organization

There are several effective methods of communicating within an organization. First however, several things must be considered when selecting the appropriate medium. You must consider the context, audience, and purpose of your communication. Listed below are various acceptable modes of communication and a brief description of their applications.
Letters
Letters are appropriate for official business communications outside an organization and first contacts with new associates or customers. Letters with a printed letterhead and a handwritten signature represents formality, respect, and authority. This ensures that the information is accurate and that the sender will honor it.

Memos
Memos are appropriate for internal communications among members of an organization. This applies even if the offices are geographically separated. These will usually be printed on company stationery or attached to an email and will usually be standardized within the organization. Memos are convenient for a wider variety of functions than letters: announcements; short reports; etc.

E-mail
E-mail is used to send info, maintain professional relationships, elicit discussions, collect opinions, and transmit many other kinds of messages. E-mail is less formal than both letters and memos. One great advantage is that the same info can be sent simultaneously at great speed to many people. However, they should always be written with care and reviewed for accuracy before being sent since recipients can easily be printed out or forwarded to others.

Faxes
Faxes are most appropriate when speed is essential or information must be viewed in its original form. They are also useful when the recipient does not have email access or when graphic material has not yet been converted in to electronic form. Faxes are even acceptable in legal correspondence in most cases. Faxed letters should always be sent with a cover sheet or a commercially prepared fax stick-on label.

Phone Calls
Telephone calls are most useful in resolving misunderstanding or clarifying information since participants can interpret tone of voice. Phone calls are considered informal and no official record is taken. Participants should therefore be sure to take notes for their own information.

Emailing your suppliers.

When emailing your suppliers you need to make sure that you are clear in your writing and maintain a professional tone. Make sure that you have informational headings, and state your objective concisely. It may help to list things needed using bullets, instead of in a paragraph, in order to make it easier to read. It would also be beneficial to keep your paragraphs short. Make sure that you use an easy to read font, and a bold, or different font for your subject lines. Keep in mind that maintaining good relations with suppliers will keep your restaurant business running smoothly.

7 Ways on How Managers Should Communicate With Their Employees

Managers need to be able to communicate well with their employees. By communicating properly you will be running a successful business, where customers are going to want to come and eat at your restaurant. The number one reason as why employees leave their job, is because of "poor supervisory behavior". Here are seven ways on how managers should communicate with their employees:

• Being a better listener. Pay attention to your employees. Hear what they have to say, sometimes they will tell you an idea that could help your business out in the long run.
• Making time for employees. Have a one-on-one meeting with them. Let them know that you care about them. Talk to them about their careers and if they see themselves staying with the job.
• Putting out the consistent message about your values. Knowing who you are and making the right decisions, will help your employees be able to make their own decisions.
• Getting the word out to those affected as efficiency as possible. Have a message board at work letting them know about different changes in the restaurant.
• Giving regular feedback, avoid surprises. If their is something you feel that employee is doing wrong, let them know right away what it is. Don't let them find out from another employee or at a meeting and it comes up. That employee might not know what he or she is doing wrong.
• Hiding behind e-mails. Their are some situations that need to be done in person.
• Being effective in speaking to groups. If you can't speak well to your employees at a meeting then you happen to lose credibility as a manager. Learn how to speak well in front of groups, by doing it in front of a mirror, to your family and friends, or taking a class.

Managers by following these steps you will be able to run a successful business, just by learning how to communicate with your employees. If your employees are excited to come to work everyday, then they will be doing their job correctly, and everyone will be able to communicate properly. Just remember, the key to a successful business is for everyone to communicate to each other.

Managers Communicating With Employees

One thing that I found to be useful from a past job experience that definately helped my managers communicate with the employees was through a shift meeting. Before each shift the managers would get all of the servers together either in the BOH (back of house) or outside the restaurant to tell us about any changes to the menu or daily specials that we should know about. They also incorporated positive reinforcement to make the shift meeting kind of like a pep talk. They also would encourage us to have a great shift. So that might be an idea.
As far as owners promoting their business to companies we could have business cards made up which we could hand out to companies inviting them to come eat at our restaurant, however, actually having meetings will only cost servers and the restaurant time and money. What we could do is allow those companies to have call ahead seating or reservations unlike other guests. Basically we have to have some sort of incentive for them to want to come to this restaurant.

by Kyle

Tips for the Success

Running a successful restaurant business is not an easy task. Here are some tips for the success of your business:

• One tip for a successful restaurant is the location in which you restaurant will be situated. It is important to be accessible.
• Another tip is to have friendly employees at your restaurant. Happy staff will lead to happy customers. People want to have a good experience when visiting a restaurant. It is important to have fun while working, making sure to attend all the customers needs. Remember keep on a happy face!
• There must be consistency in serving the customers. A customer who returns to your restaurant would be expecting the same kind of service he had during a previous visit. It is mandatory for business to flow in the righ direction providing an outstanding service every time. This will keep customers coming back. It is easier to retain existing customers than getting new ones, and in order to get new customers, a good reputation is key for new customers to visit your restaurant.
• Serving good quality food every time is essential for success in the restaurant business. If you are serving poor quality food, you can't expect the customer to come back. Differentiation is also important. You want to have in your restaurant what other places don't. " That restaurant has the best pizza I ever had". There is something unique on your food that makes people prefer your restaurant.

Remeber: people go to restaurants for good quality food, but the overall experience at the environment it is essential for business success.

Writing Professionally as a Restaurant Owner

Managing a restaurant is a big undertaking, which is why effective communication is so important. Whether is be communication with employees, suppliers, prospective businesses, or designing your menu, it is important to get your point across effectively. When writing professionally it is important to know your audience what information they already have, or what information you need to give them. Also, the level of familiarity that you have with them is important to monitor. For example, you may be able to have a slightly less formal writing tone when communicating with your employees than you would with a supplier. Knowing your audience will help you to effectively communicate your ideas.

You are a Restaurant Owner, Not a Superhero!
A Day in the Life of a Restaurant Owner
By Lorri Mealey, About.com

I think one of the biggest reasons so many restaurants fail within the first three years is because owners do too little (see Five Restaurant Myths for more on this) or they do too much. It is easy as a restaurant owner to want to do everything yourself, from the cooking, to the marketing to the bookkeeping to repairs and maintenance. However, trying to do everything, whether out of financial concern or simply because you don’t think anyone can do it “right” will quickly run you and possibly your business into the ground. Remember, you are a restaurant owner, not a superhero. You can’t do everything and be everywhere at the same time.
Day In The Life Of A Restaurant Owner
Here is a common scenario on any given weekday at any given restaurant:
The owner is prepping for lunch (to save labor cost, of course). He gets called out of the kitchen for a phone call by one of the wait-staff. It is a telemarketer. He waste five minutes on the phone explaining that he does not need a deluxe emersion blender at the moment.
The bookkeeper spies the owner out of the kitchen and calls him into the back office. She has a question about last night’s paperwork. The owner spends fifteen minutes trying to sort out tips that don’t match their credit card receipts (even though the wait staff should not have been allowed to go home with mismatched paperwork).
Finally the restaurant owner starts back to the kitchen when a local fundraising group arrives, seeking a donation. Who can say no to the Girl Scouts/ Boy Scouts/ Jimmy Fund/ Make a Wish Foundation/ Middle School Track Team? Or any of the other various groups that ask for donations on an almost daily basis. So he takes another ten minutes making out a check and getting a tax deduction form and returning it to the office to the bookkeeper, who has another question about last weeks liquor order.
Meanwhile….Customers are now starting to trickle in for lunch. Because the owner has been dealing with every single item thrown at him, he has not prepped for lunch. Which means when things get busy in the dining room, the kitchen will get backed up and customers will leave unhappy. Get the picture?
As a restaurant owner it is imperative that you learn to JUST SAY NO! No, I can’t help you with that at this moment. No, I can’t take a call right now. No, you will have to wait a few minutes.
Take Steps To Avoid Common Restaurant Owner Pitfalls
So, how could this restaurant owner keep his customers happy and still manage his business? With these simple steps:
1. Learn to delegate tasks to others (like the staff he hired). 2. Learn to prioritize tasks. 3. Have clear guidelines that all staff is expected to follow.
Let’s take a look at that scenario one more time, avoiding the pitfalls of the other day.
In the kitchen the Prep Cook is doing the lunch prep. Of course this means the restaurant owner is paying the cook. But sometimes is more cost efficient to pay someone else then try to do it yourself. All the prep cook has to do is prep and get ready for lunch. He won’t be dashing in and out of the kitchen for phone calls and impromptu meetings. Lunch will be ready to go when customers arrive.
Telemarketers continue to call, almost hourly during the workday. But the restaurant owner doesn’t have to deal with them, because of the policy that wait staff should just take a message.
The restaurant owner reviewed the paperwork policy with the staff, including the night manager and bartender, who collect the server’s money and credit card receipts at the end of the night. No one is to be dismissed until their paperwork matches 100%. Now the restaurant owner doesn’t have to pay his bookkeeper to try and figure out the paperwork, nor does he have to waste time doing it as well. And all the other questions the bookkeeper has? She knows that the restaurant owner will meet with her each day at 2:00 pm (after the lunch rush) to go over them. Now she can also be more productive, since she won’t be chasing her boss all over the place.
Remember the fundraising group? Thanks to a new policy, there is a standard amount for the first ten groups who ask for a donation every month. Each group gets $20.00. Once the $200 mark is met, that is it for that month. Groups are asked to return the next month, if they would like a donation. The wait staff can track any donations and receipts right in a handy binder next to the cash register or POS system.
So there you have it. Simple steps to becoming a more productive restaurant owner. Hang up your cape and learn to delegate, prioritize and organize instead.

Trying to Figure This Out

Hello everyone I am trying to figure this blog thing out. I am new to blogger.com and am trying to figure out how everything works.

Brittany