We’re not going to be around much the last week of the year as we’re busy with the purchase of one restaurant, creating another and that’s just to finish out work from an extremely busy 2011. On top of that, our daughter Jennifer got engaged yesterday so I guess there’s that to plan too! = )

So we wanted to take a moment and thank all of you for your support and work toward a most rewarding and amazing 2011.

Merry Christmas everyone and may your 2012 be even more prosperous.

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

Merry Christmas & A Prosperous New Year

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Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

Customer Service Infographic

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Chef de Cuisine – Casual Fine-Dining. Will be responsible for creating complete menus and leadership for all BOH functions including financial management. Must have extensive experience in classic French Bistro cooking or equivalent. A solid social media presence is also a plus. The position offers a base salary plus bonus.

FOH Manager – Casual Fine-Dining. Will be responsible for creating and managing the complete guest experience in the FOH. Should have considerable wine background, computer skills, social media presence. The ability to speak conversational French is a plus. A solid social media presence is also a plus. The position offers a base salary plus bonus.

Chef de Patisserie – Causal Fine-Dining. Will be responsible for creating complete deserts and baked goods menu for a classical French Bistro. Should have requisite computer and financial management skills as well as successful experience with French cuisine. This position could develop a stand-alone, full-service, bakery and cafe concept that would compliment the Bistro. A solid social media presence is also a plus. The position offers a base salary plus bonus.

Financial Data Entry/Analyst – This hourly position will be responsible for the accumulation and input of sales, labor and financial data for a casual, fine-dining restaurant. Must have experience with Excel spreadsheets, menu & recipe software as well as basic labor and payroll experience. The ability to work in a fast-paced restaurant concept is a must. A solid social media presence is also a plus. The position offers an hourly wage plus bonus.

To be considered for any of these positions, you must submit the following in their entirety by email or you will not be considered:

1. Resume with salary history and requirements.
2. Professional references with complete contact information. “Available Upon Request” is not acceptable.
3. Be prepared to submit to and pass a background check (not credit) and drug screening.

Email all materials to jobs@shginfo.com

We’re looking for people who have successful experience in these positions already. We will not consider people who are looking for a promotion or to “trade-up” from their current position. You need to be able to “hit the ground running” with minimal supervision.

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

Job Openings: Casual Fine-Dining Dallas

Summers Hospitality Group | WorldWide

Bill Schaffler, Chief Operating Officer for People Report/Black Box Intelligence, shares financial, sales and human capital data and insight for November 2011.

See more analysis here.

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

Restaurant Industry Snapshot™, November 2011

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Not ones to shy aware from hot topics in HR, the November HR Roundtable in Cincinnati gathered to discuss “Performance Reviews: Live or Die?”

Everyone came in with their own jaded viewpoint toward their personal experiences regarding performance reviews, so Steve gave them three questions to bring the focus in a bit before hitting the main, decisive question.

1. What makes performance reviews bad?
2. What makes performance reviews good?
3. Should performance reviews live or die?

The energy in the room jumped when the small groups leapt into this topic. They were forewarned not to think about this subject in the “traditional” or “typical” way. This was a chance to really dig in to performance reviews. Their answers reflect that this was more a more critical look at things. Take a look :

What makes performance reviews bad?

• People! – This may seem generic, but the issue that people generally aren’t trained on how to effectively write/give performance reviews, is a fact. It’s also true that employees receiving reviews don’t always know what the parameters are in regards to reviews. The whole topic is all over the board and isn’t even consistent within an organization’s own walls.
• Annual basis – The idea that you get one hour per year to talk about a person’s performance, career aspirations, development, etc. is pathetic! If the “most important asset” only warrants an hour per year in a work year full of 2,080 hours, you can’t make their review good.
• Static vs. Fluid – Most reviews are static snapshots because the system that is used (and developed by HR) is not meant to be fluid. If it was more of an ongoing look at a person’s continuing performance, they may be more effective. The question is cultural in nature though because people have to be willing to spend more time with their people intentionally.
• They focus on what’s wrong – Reviews in general are an annual meeting to discuss what an employee isn’t doing well so goals can be developed to “fix” what’s wrong. This is not a developmental approach, but most organizations feel they’re moving people ahead if they can fix folks. (We’ll cover a different solution later).
• Linked to pay – When performance reviews are linked to directly to compensation, one of two things happen: (1) The employee only focuses on the end result and misses all of the information prior to the increase being communicated; or, (2) Supervisors spend hours writing pages of reviews and force ranking people to end up giving them a percentage of the percentage they’re allowed to give within their budget.
• They contain surprises – There are examples where a supervisor never addressed a real, or perceived, issue with their direct report and they use the performance review as the discipline hammer. It’s not cool to do this and that isn’t the intention of a performance review. If the only hope/outcome is to document and discipline folks, then scrap your review system and start addressing your employees when issues arise in a timely fashion!
• Fear – Gee, this is encouraging! It was noted that many reviews either are fear based, or there is fear of what will happen during the session. Again, how effective is HR if people view your review system this way?
• We think numbers really define our people -- Is a “4” really a “4,” or is it a “2” disguised as a “4” (using a five-point scale)? Numbers and rankings give reviews the necessary “metric” everyone keeps striving for, but too often they tend to be the most inconsistent aspect of reviews. They are usually open to way too much interpretation.
• People aren’t honest – This is true for both supervisors and employees. There is the reality that reviews only go “so far” in conversations and that results in missed opportunities to have genuinely open dialogue that could move both parties forward.

What makes performance reviews good?

• Feedback on specific behaviors – Reviews do provide a forum where people can reflect and discuss specific items that could be either strengths or areas to improve. Having time set aside to have open discussions can lead to improved performance.
• When they truly “review” performance — If the time together is a look over the past and current performance of someone, they can be very effective. This is also taking more of a fluid approach by looking over a period of time. In order to do this, people should be taking notes between review sessions so that things are always front of mind and easy to recall during your meeting.
• If both the supervisor and employee are engaged/involved in the process – This makes great sense. When reviews aren’t seen as only top/down, they have a better chance for success. Employees will see that their performance is important to their supervisor and it should lead to more open interactions and feedback that is two-way.
• Need organizational commitment and ownership – The differentiating factor in this response is “ownership!” Most companies will state they’re committed to a review system, but few consistently own it. When there is participation across all departments, the system has a better chance for success.
• If they’re consistent – Ahh, the magic bullet! If all HR systems were consistent, we’d see a marked change with how effective they truly can be. It is a great position though because consistency allows for anticipation, engagement and participation on a regular basis
• If they’re focused on development – Not to jump to the next section too soon, but reviews focused on truly developing staff are much different than the report card system that most use to justify, pigeon hole, and compensate folks. Having a system that looks at how to improve people and, in turn, move the company forward are the best type of performance reviews out there.

Should performance reviews live or die?

• Hate to say this, but . . . it depends! – When you take the overall pulse from the group, they should die (in their current state). When you get together to “meet with the principal” as the overarching theme or setting of the review, they should die. The key factor in making this happen though is HR. This isn’t someone else’s responsibility. HR needs to be the leader in stepping in to handle this. It really is a great opportunity for us to reconvene and make performance reviews effective.

Others may look at this and determine to stop doing them all together. One thing needs to occur if that is the choice. You need to have effective feedback and development systems. They don’t have to be specifically tied to reviews, but these two components absolutely need to be integral within an organization.

This Roundtable could have gone on for several more hours, but we needed to break. Make sure to check back here in December when we are discussing, “How do you define, and have, effective communication?”

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

PeopleWorx: Should Performance Reviews Live — or Die?

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See the full snapshot here

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

The Restaurant Industry Snapshot – Oct 2011

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Phoebe was the first female head captain at Thomas Keller’s prestigious New York restaurant Per Se. Here she describes the experience of entering the dining-and-hospitality field, then  learning to deliver world-class service to some of the world’s most discerning customers. Her book Service Included also describes her experience at Per Se.

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

RestaurantWorx: Phoebe Damrosch

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UX Week 2011 | Paul Adams | How Our Social Circles Influence What We Do, Where We Go, and How We Decide from Adaptive Path on Vimeo.

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

How Our Social Circles Influence What We Do, Where We Go, and How We Decide

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WSJ’s Mike Spector reports restaurant chains in the U.S. are seeing a significant dropoff in business as a result of teen unemployment, which averages above 20%

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

Teen Unemployment Costing Restaurants Business

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This Veteran’s Day week (November 7-13) the restaurant industry in Texas is giving back to their military communities in the sweetest way possible. The National Restaurant Association, Texas Restaurant Association and Tee it up for the Troops have joined together to launch Freedom is Sweet today in seven cities! Visit http://www.freedom-is-sweet.org for more info.

Email Us: Info at SummersHG.info or for a free consultation, call me at 888-9988-SHG(744).

Freedom Is Sweet 2011

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