Avoiding Warm Body Syndrome
It’s that time of year. The time of year when your business is busier than ever, you have full dining rooms, abundant parties and events, and a team of tired and overworked managers. So when a decent candidate comes along, you jump and hire him or her on the spot. At this point your desire for a highly trained manager with a wealth of experience has evaporated; you’ve discovered that your ideal candidate simply doesn’t exist right now. So you’ve lowered your expectations. Restaurant experience? Check. Management experience? Some. Food and beverage knowledge? Well, we can train that. Communication skills? She interviewed well. In short you have just hired a warm body…someone who is willing and able but who simply has little relative experience to bring to the job at hand.
They start with the best of intentions and then little by little they begin to crumble. Maybe because you couldn’t afford the time needed to train them thoroughly in the policies, procedures and values of your business. Maybe because they haven’t served this type of cuisine before and are unknowledgeable about the ingredients you use in your food and the regions from where you get your wine. Maybe because they have brought some outdated skills with them that don’t quite support your style of service or leadership; losing their temper in front of the team, or comping too regularly instead of creating thoughtful service remedies. Here you are together, at a standstill. Your new manager: who is doing his or her best and whose enthusiasm is starting to wane and confidence has begun to drop. And your existing team: they feel unsupported by this new person and are frustrated with you for taking this manager on. And let’s not forget you: you know this is not a fit but you need someone in the dining room or on the line or in the office who can simply help alleviate the pressure you’re feeling right now at this very moment.
So you have a choice: refrain from hiring the first person who comes your way or choosing not to hire someone who isn’t equipped to uphold the standards of your business. And if you do what Danny Meyer advises and hire for hospitality and teach the skills then, by Jove, you must make time to train that person well. Otherwise they will always be at a deficit, draining you of precious payroll funds, draining your team of patience, and draining you of self respect. So, what to do? What if that almost-there candidate comes in and you’re desperate? Here’s a few ways to realistically make that hire while keeping your standards intact:
Hire them into a “junior manager” position: this position assumes that they are not at the same level as your experienced managers and you can task them with duties that take the burden off the stronger mangers. Don’t have them handle tough guests, or tough employee situations but use them to move the service forward. This allows them to observe the service and start to absorb how your business works.
Hire them as a “manager trainee” with a 3-6 month window for training. Create a plan so that their growth is outlined clearly and includes time learning the policies and procedures, product knowledge, operations and team management. Pair them with experienced managers to help them learn the ropes and assist while in service. Give them projects and tasks that help out the management team but that are achievable and have a low barrier of entry (ie: doing the Staples order, printing menus, running pre-service meetings).
Hire them as a “shift supervisor” who has a role on the floor. Give them opening or closing duties which can help the management team out and give them tasks that are adjacent to the jobs they had before. (If they were a bartender give them inventory duties; if they were a server, give them duties around managing to-go orders and packing bags.)
Setting clear expectations is key. And during this busy time, in this era of labor shortages, you should be able to hire someone who can help you and your team deliver a fantastic service experience for your guests. While they start at a lower level they are learning and growing their knowledge in your brand and product which can help them position themselves as the next manager in line once they have absorbed more skills down the line. Turning them from merely a “warm body” into an able-bodied manager.
