3 Ways to Engage Employees with Your Pre-Service Meeting

January 31, 2022

As a food & beverage leader, one of the most effective and efficient communication tools in your toolbelt is the pre-service meeting. Used by hospitality organizations across the country, the preservice meeting can be highly engaging if conducted regularly and consistently. While there are many things that can and should be communicated during this 5-8 minute stand-up meeting, using it to engage your employees is a must for continued success. Below are 3 ways to utilize it for engaging your employees.

Introduce Peer to Peer Shoutouts

Everyone wants to be recognized for their hard work, but it brings extra meaning when it comes from one of your peers. Taking 45-60 seconds to allow one of your employees to do a shout-out to another co-worker can go a long way to creating a tighter camaraderie amongst your team. It will become contagious the more you do it, and will make your employees feel a more essential part of the team.

Recognize Achievements Outside of Work

Did you have a server that made the dean’s list? Or a cook that just became a grandparent? Recognizing these milestones that happen outside of life help to create a more inclusive, family feel to the workplace. We have to remember that our employees are people outside of the workplace, so recognizing those achievements and milestones can help make an employee feel more connected to the team and the organization.

Make Pre-Service Meetings Employee Led

It can get monotonous for employees to always hear the same things coming from the same people. Mix it up and make leading pre-service a highlight and reward. Letting employees run the meeting will let them begin to take more ownership in the overall operation. It is also a great way to identify the next potential leader in the group, as you can see how the team responds to them, and how they present themselves and the plan for the day. It’s always gratifying to be singled out for good performance, and employee-led pre-service meetings can help the team become more engaged with your daily goals.

Let us know how the team at Trestle Hospitality Concepts can help your senior living food & beverage teams set your table for success by implementing ideas like these and more.