Ownership Versus Employee a Battle of Two Mindsets

"Owners and employees might have diametrically opposed ways of thinking, but they can be bridged through a few changes. Mark Dickinson of DONE! Hospitality Training Solutions tells us how".

I recently visited a high-end restaurant in the GCC where the investment was north of USD 5 million and the average dining spend around USD 300 per person. As we approached the bar, the bartender greeted us and said, “Good evening, it’s happy hour this evening so drinks are half price.” I was shocked; this was the first customer interaction in such an exclusive place! We then discovered there was a second bar, so asked to relocate, but were required to pay the bill first. Once we’d moved, we found a bartender talking to another customer with no welcome, hands in his pockets. Only when we’d finished our drinks and started to leave did he ask, “Would you like another drink guys?” We left. We had just been served by an employee! Processed. When the owner of that restaurant started out, he had passion and ambition and now his restaurant lies virtually empty. Employees are saying that it is due to the current situation. It is not – it is due to the employees. We had gone there to dine for USD 1,000 and we left paying just USD 60.

The employees did not understand the impact of their behavior. The problem is the thinking. Here’s why:

If I am the Owner 

Owning my business is a wonderful experience. I am cash flow positive, sales are rising and costs are sinking. Profit is on the cards. My business is debt free; I have won the lottery. My ownership challenges: • Are my people the right people? • Are the deals I am getting the best deals we can get? • Is my team using my money wisely to grow my business? • Are we really striving to give the best service possible? • Why are my people not giving 100 percent? • Why do they always want more benefits? • Why is there always an uncomfortable silence when we talk about things that infringe on their ‘rights’? At the end of the day, I made the company. What are these ‘rights’? It is as though we live in two different worlds. I want to please my customers. They want to secure their lives. And so I begin to go slightly nuts. My meetings with my team always seem to go well, so what’s the problem?

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If I am the Employee

I work in a great company. It recently made a profit and it is starting to look like we are going to do better than the budget. My boss is decent and seems to like what I do. I work hard and was giving 100 percent until recently, when I had an idea that would save money but no one listened to me. Now I just keep my ideas to myself and even go home early. I’m an employee; if the company doesn’t make money it still has to pay me by law, so why should I worry?

Owners Love Customers: Employees Serve Customers

Owners understand that all the money they make comes from serving their customers. We recently surveyed 250 employees in a large firm and asked them the meaning of selling. Unbelievably, most of them thought that sales were something to do with profit and expenses. We also asked those same employees who paid their salary? And you’ve guessed it, they said, ‘the company’.* The challenge for owners is to get their employees to understand that the company is owned by everyone and that the salaries are solely paid for by the customers. When you share with your employees the challenges of growing your business try a new approach. Create a program that shares with each employee the important knowledge that the value of the business is only proportionate to the service that they provide customers. Engage employees in the process of making money and give them the chance to earn money from the income. The more tied employees are to the true business process, understanding revenue, expense management and profit generation, the more power you will have. Get them to buy in and you will have a more successful business because you’re giving them a reason to care: ownership. Share the win and the win will grow.

*250 employees in the food service industry in Qatar, surveyed in September 2019.

SMART GOALS - "OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW!"

"It may come as a surprise to some to hear that SMART goals were originally created in 1981, well before the emergence of the internet, laptops and smartphones, at a time when the vast resources that are today available at your fingertips were mostly only found in libraries. Mark Dickinson of DONE! Hospitality Training Solutions reinvents this well-known acronym."

SMART goals were defined as goals that "were Specific, Measurable,Achievable, Realistic and Timely. A global industry was subsequently born and consultants, businesses and individuals were ushered into a new world of performance and measurement. Managers could now set objectives and hold people accountable for getting things done in a fixed time; very useful and highly effective. What started off as a valuable tool has largely remained the same over the past 30" "years or so, with the idea of changing this tradition anathema to most, sentiment being: why fix it if it's not broken?

What's not SMART

The problem with SMART goals is that they lack something very important - the ability to inspire. Managers work on their goals and get rewarded according to their ability to deliver results; however, they just don't quite achieve it. The excitement of working towards these types of systematic goals is not the prime motivator. Today we live in a world that is fullof choice. We have more choices than ever and we have information in abundance. Traditional SMART goals Slowly Make Average Results Typical.

People play safe. They work to their comfort zones, dumbing down the goals to ensure that they are achievable in order to get their reward. SMART goals are often tied to financial rewards, so building into their goals the guarantee of achievement ensures that these goals are going to be on the safe side. Why would you work on a goal that you are definitely not going" "to reach? The default of the mind: play safe! Make goals that you are sure you willachieve, thus ensuring you'll get the reward. Build-in margins for failure that" allow for rewards for partial success has become part of our modern psyche. Today "we need something better; something that encourages our spirit to rise to the challenge, something that for the want" "of a better word, 'motivates' us to greater" achievements. If SMART goals are going "to truly be smart they must elevate us to a higher plane, stimulate our powerful selves and create desires that activate our internal reward system. SMART goals must become smart. It is time to reinvent the SMART goal and make it work for us:

SEXY - MASSIVE ACTION - RADICAL - TRIUMPHANT

Sexy

If we love something, it must be attractive and generally interesting. We were created to procreate, and sexy things attract us like nothing else. Sex appeal draws our attention and lures us in. Advertising is perhaps the greatest example, using allure and suggestion to attract us to a product. When we set goals, they must be sexy. They must tantalize us, create that sense of unfulfilled excitement that may await if we get what we desire. When creating goals, they must be sexy. They must appeal to the imagination and cause an elevation in heartbeat, a proposition in the mind that if fulfilled, will flush our  brains with serotonin and dopamine,the same neurotransmitters released by sexual activity. Goals must get us fired up. Excited.

"While you are working on this kind of goal, those watching will say you are crazy to try; they will try to dissuade you from doing it because it is so unrealistic!"

Massive Action

Goals must cause us to jump. Move. Act. Do things that we have never done before. Rise to a higher level. They must cause us to become the best version of ourselves. We are not stimulated by number -related goals. The theory of motivation is topped by self -actualization, not by money. By achievements. Athletes do not compete to be number two, teams do not play to lose, movies tell stories of heroes doing the unimaginable. Massive Action is critical to outstanding performance. If a goal does not demand Massive Action, then anyone can do it. Our goals must create a powerful inner force that generates movement at a higher level than we have ever previously attained. We must be focused on doing better than ever  before,do more than we have ever done before, fight for 100 percent and nothing less.

Radical

Radical means to affect the fundamental nature of something; far-reaching or thorough. The goal must put us on the edge of greatness, it must be seen as crazy. As Steve Jobs said, in his Apple relaunch way back in 1997, ""The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do."" You see, for you to have an impact on this world you have to have goals that are radical, game­ changing, magical.

Triumphant

When setting a SMART goal you must dream, you must have a sense of wonder, a small nagging doubt that you have to 'go all in to get it and evoke the feeling that you may not be able to achieve it unless you give it everything you've got. Only then will the goal inspire you to play all out. To take
"Massive Action, to be the greatest version of you and to deliver something that the world will look back on and say, ""Wow! However were you able to do that?"" And the secret wrapped in that answer will be that your goal was  unreasonable. While you are working on this kind of goal, those watching will say you are crazy to try; they will try to dissuade you from doing it because it is so unrealistic! The exact opposite of the old SMART goals! These new SMART goals make you stay up all night working to make them happen, driven on by the dream of Triumph. Change the world by changing your goals. Dump those old SMART goals in the trash and start working for things that make you feel alive, excited and challenged,and which, when attained, will leave everyone else scratching their heads and asking, "However were you able to do that?"

7 Cost-Cutting Solutions

"Revenue is down, the market is challenged and we have to make something happen quickly. What should we do? Mark Dickinson of DONE! Hospitality Training Solutions says cut costs, but carefully."

This is a harsh reality for many as markets change and geo-politics influence business, but where should we make the changes that will have a positive impact on cash flow and where should we focus our attention? Products and services, payroll, cost of goods, location rents, training costs, marketing costs, maintenance costs, replacement costs. Any cost seems like a good place to start.

1. Products And Services

We can reduce our products and services, but this will have a direct impact on our customers. The question is how many customers will be affected? What will be the impact and what will be the outcome? Products and services are the core of what started the business. If a major rethink of the products and services is required, then it should be entered into with full commitment, but if we are facing a short-term cost challenge in a market downturn, and our products and services have been good and loved by customers, then this is probably not the best place to begin the exercise of cutting costs.

2. Payroll

Typically, the first focus is to reduce the payroll, which may seem logical as it is a big variable expense that can be quickly influenced. Many operators immediately reduce the number of front line employees to the bare minimum. But what is the possible impact on customers? Let’s evaluate together:

Effects: It’s a fact that if you disturb someone’s life situation, they are compelled to talk to someone else about it; it’s a pressure release, a natural way for people to react when managing the trauma of what they have just experienced. For those who remain employed, they will constantly ask themselves the question: “What about me? Am I next?” and so the cost-cutting exercise builds up negative energy in the business, and that negativity overflows. Where do your employees spend the vast majority of their time? Serving customers. Employees have to release their stress, so where do they do it? You got it, they are talking with customers about what they have been traumatized by and customers are listening. What are the consequences of payroll cutting? Negative talk with customers. Should we do this as our first line of defense? Probably not.

3. Cost of Goods

Cutting on the cost of goods is often another line of saving. Here you are playing with fire. Customers are very sensitive to the products that they are used to having. Cut the cost of the cheese in a pizza and your customers know. You may think they will not notice, but they do. You have customers who come to your store for each dish on the menu. What is critical is to know which dishes sell the most and have the most followers, and which are inconsequential menu fillers.

Changing the menu items is a better line of thinking than changing the ingredients in the items that you sell. Once you lose your reputation it is insanely difficult to get it back. Guard it and protect your menu items. Cut costs that are unseen; wasted electricity, turn off lights, turn off ACs, reduce wasted water, fix leaking taps, control the number of garbage bags, get into the smallest costs and make detailed reductions, cleaning contracts, external auditing – bring it in-house. Renegotiate prices with existing suppliers.

Should we reduce the cost of goods by substituting products in existing menu items for lower cost ones? Probably not. Avoid negative impact on customers’ food experience. Focus in detail on all other back-of-house costs.

4. Location Rents

Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate! Most locations would rather renegotiate with you than endure the burden of not having a tenant for a while or having to take the risks that come with new tenants. Losing your location will massively impact your customers unless you are moving to an even better one or it is perceived by customers as better.

"Investing in sales training always has a return and if done well, the return on investment (ROI) will surpass the investment".

5. Training Investment

So often one of the first costs to be cut. But is training a cost or an investment? It’s hard to say. When cash is tight, invest in sales training and focus on building up sales. Put every effort into building up the sales abilities of your team and hold off on other training expenses until times are better. Investing in sales training always has a return and if done well, the return on investment (ROI) will surpass the investment. Investing in sales training will improve the customer experience and help grow the business, while cutting on theoretical training and development will slow things down in the long term, but not immediately impact the customer experience. Reduce the investment in training? Yes, everything but sales training.

6. Marketing Spend

Marketing spend seems like an instant win in the cost-saving world. Frequently the marketing budget covers the branding agency, advertising and social media spend. This expense presents a particularly difficult area. Should we reduce the marketing expense and how?

Costs that directly influence customers to return to the restaurant are a must. Rebranding is an expensive exercise and for restaurants that have been around for a while, this can be postponed. Most of the deadlines around rebranding are self-imposed and have little to no impact on customers. Once they know your logo and your design and your services, they come back to you for what they have experienced the first time. Keep focused on delivering that and deliver it well. Build up your cash, then invest in branding. Branding is rarely the problem.

Getting your message out to more customers can be achieved with smart thinking. Hold the branding agency, hold the social media agency and engage your team in doing it. Get existing team members to post and set up guidelines and give them access. Stop trying to control every second of your social media; anyway, almost nothing in the restaurant social media world lasts longer than a day or so.

Create in-house events that attract more of the people who already come to your place. Avoid discounts and concentrate on adding value and keeping cash in-house. Use influencers rather than advertising and focus exclusively on things that the customers experience and that will encourage them to return. Zero negative impact on customers.

7. Maintenance and Replacement Costs

In many cases it is smarter to maintain equipment and premises than it is to replace them. However, in the cost-cutting mode, take the zero-cost approach. Justify why we should do this or that, or don’t do it. If it is desirable, then put it on hold. If it is essential, get it done. The challenge is in determining the difference. Essential means absolutely necessary, extremely important; in other words, we can’t do business and serve customers without it. Everything else can wait.

There are some cases where machinery reaches the end of its life and it is better to replace than to repair. Even though the initial cost of buying the new machine will be higher than fixing the old one, the benefits of efficiency, reduced energy consumption and ease of use will have a positive impact on business, therefore replace. Impact on customers must always be zero. Maintain your place for the safety of every customer. Always.

A powerful positive outlook in times of crisis will encourage you to see more positive solutions rather than focus on the negativity of the situation. Profitability can be achieved in many ways.

Reassess your Attitude toward Mental Health

Mark Dickinson of DONE! Hospitality Training Solutions tackles a touchy subject within the industry

Pain is something that every employee is familiar with. Pain that is not treated becomes suffering and leads to death. Death means a separation of the employee from the organization, irrespective of whether they are still present in the company or leave. This death creates a bad smell. The odor of dissatisfaction, anger, frustration and broken dreams is all too familiar in organizations, but frequently unaddressed. Poor communication from up to down is the killer. It is always the responsibility of the top of the pyramid to solve this issue: management must own their business environment, but instead frequently blame the employees.

Employees in pain at any level create destruction and this evidences itself in myriad ways. The World Health Organization states that between 40 and 70 percent of mental health issues never get addressed. In this profit-oriented world, expenses are often a prime target when it comes to making cuts in order to increase the bottom line result, while dealing with mental health is considered a luxury. Management mindset: “Employees should feel grateful that they have a job and they should contribute to the business objectives with all their hearts.” But what if that employee is struggling with their manager and cannot express how they feel? What if an employee is being bullied? What if an employee is unable to manage their finances? Where do they turn? Companies rarely provide services for these issues.

A famous edict in the hospitality industry is, ‘Leave your personal problems at the door.’ In today’s world, however, this has to change. Organizations are compelled to recognize that employees suffer from mental health disorders and are required to assume responsibility for their welfare. Plausible deniability is no longer an option.

Organizations must provide support for their people. The cost of mental health in lost performance and unresolved personal issues of employees can reach as much as 4 percent of GNP. To solve the problem properly, we must first recognize that it exists and that the organization is responsible for the mental, financial and social wellness of employees. In other words, the company must participate in the lives of the people who deliver their products and ensure the holistic wellbeing of their personnel.

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Steps to creating a sound mental health solution for every employee:

1. Listen to employees – get an outside resource for polling employee mental health, asking questions such as how they feel, whether they think they’re appreciated and what problems they’re facing. Ask them:

a. Do you feel listened to?
b. Do you feel your pay is fair for the work that you do?
c. Do you feel that you have job security?
d. Do you feel appreciated for what you do?
e. Do you think that there is favoritism in your workplace?
f. Do you feel that your managers care about you?
g. Do you feel that your managers are capable of managing you?
h. Do you feel that you have the freedom to get on and do your job?

2. Provide employee resources for neuropsychiatric disorders, a professional expert or service that can support employees and help them get the assistance and treatment they deserve.

3. Ensure that the company mission, identity and beliefs are the top priority of management and are frequently revisited in meaningful ways, and communicated to team members.

4. Treat those with mental health challenges as important team members for whom you are responsible and accountable, and eliminate workplace issues that cause or contribute to mental stress.

5. Allocate individuals and funds within the organization to create solutions for employees struggling with mental health challenges. Recognize and acknowledge that mental health is important and that mental suffering is a real sickness.

6. Invest in frequent motivational events that inspire, encourage and bond employees together. As Spencer Johnson famously said in The One Minute Manager, “People who feel good about themselves, produce good results.”

Companies that take mental health seriously and provide support for employees, engaging them in the spiritual side of the business, are more likely to grow and succeed and spend less resources on solving employee unhappiness.