Pizza Today - June 2021 - 16

BUILDING BLOCKS

NICK BOGACZ

How to Retain Your Winning Team

reviously, we discussed how to
build a staff of servers, cooks
and drivers with a winning
mindset. The unspoken question is this:
how do you retain them? You're not
alone if you can't find anyone to hire
right now, making it so important to
keep your team together.
Two concepts come to mind when
talking about retention: communication and appreciation.
Communication
A staff likes to feel like they know
what's going on and they have all
the pertinent information to do their
job. No one enjoys chaotic, confusing
workplaces, and most of those are characterized by a lack of communication.
Regularly updating employees on the
latest pizzeria news keeps them in the

know and maintains a team-focused
environment.
At Caliente, we use the GroupMe
messaging app to communicate with
all employees at once. We post updates,
new menu procedures and important
changes. We also host monthly meetings for staff, as well as biweekly meetings for the managers. These meetings
are written in stone on the schedule
and occur no matter what - they are
the lifeblood of our internal communication strategy. Lastly, never underestimate a phone call or talking to a staff
member in person during a trying and
difficult moment.
A well-trained and informed staff
learns to appreciate the workplace
- but that relationship should be
reciprocal.

Appreciation
Once the staff is in the know, they
should feel more entrenched in the
job. But how do you get them to care
even more and stick around awhile?
By showing how much you care about
them, too.
We put significant effort into
employee appreciation, beginning
with two big, all-staff events each year.
One is our annual holiday party, as we
close all stores early and gather at a
nice venue for a catered event with all
expenses paid, including alcohol. At the
event, we give away random door prizes
and then we hand out our " Caliente
Awards " that, of course, include giant
trophies. The other big annual event is
our Summer Picnic, as we invite
employees and their families to an
outdoor party. We host it at a local park
with giant bouncy houses and live
entertainment. These types of events
build camaraderie in a stress-free situation.
Throughout the year, we implement
smaller-scale appreciation efforts, such
as our Employee of the Month program, in which a valued and talented
employee is awarded a gift card and has
their photo placed on the wall. We also
have a Manager of the Month program, which includes a gift card, paid
vacation day and t-shirt celebrating
the achievement. In addition, we give
out years-of-service shirts, in which
employees receive a special t-shirt noting their years of employment on the
sleeve.
Sometimes, nothing is better than
an honest " thank you. " As an owner or
manager, your words carry weight, and
specifically telling employees what they
did well goes a long way. Of course, one
of the most powerful ways that you can
thank an employee is through their pay
and pay increases - and that balancing
act is what we'll tackle next month. ■

NICK BOGACZ is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza
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Pizza Today June 2021

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