[Restaurant Community]

What tools do you use to find cooks and servers? It seems like several restaurants use craigslist and seem to have good results. I’ve even been told to hire people you know. Any good ideas?

[Robert44]

Hiring people you know that are looking for work can work out great sometimes, but I suggest you treat them just as you would a stranger: check references if possible, know why they are out of work, know their work history, and train them properly.

[mattm]

With any employee hire, it's really important to think about the skills and profile you need for the job you're trying to fill.

Wait staff employees are a great example. They need to have good communications skills so they can communicate with your customers and kitchen staff. They need to be accurate at taking orders. And, they need to be good sales people! It may be easy to find an employee that can have good communications skills that are accurate, but it is much more difficult to find a good sales person.

If you start thinking about hiring sales people instead of hiring waitresses, and then train them to know what you want them to focus their sales on; then you'll find that your average ticket price will increase and your wait staff will receive larger tips and stay with you longer.

Work on interview questions and even roll play situations to see if the candidate will be a good sales person for you.