Looking after your staff is talked about as being vitally important and yet how many managers and owners really have the time to devote to nurturing staff as much as you would like? We often take our staff for granted and forget to check in with them as to how they are going in the job, whether they are experiencing particular challenges or if they have ideas for improvement.
Allowing your staff to chat informally and confidentially with an objective party can be a very valuable tool in assessing your business health.
Often excellent young chefs are promoted to a head chef position with little or no induction or education about kitchen management and end up learning the hard way how to run a kitchen and treat their staff. Mentoring can provide an invaluable resource for your young chef. He or she can talk about challenges being faced in the kitchen, from staffing and costing to administration and systems issues, and receive helpful and practical ideas about how to handle these situations. Being excellent with food does not always mean being an excellent manager—these skills can be learned.
Alternatively, you might be the owner-manager of your own operation and benefit from talking about all aspects of your business with someone who has extensive industry experience, combined with business and counselling qualifications.
