Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/139019
W hen Maureen Fogel opened Low Arts Tea Haven in gest asset when seeking quality team members. "Because we're Collierville, Tenn., last summer, she had one press- trying to do something different here, our brand attracts people ing worry: finding reliable staff members who would who want to know more about coffee," he says. embrace her customer service mindset. "The fear was certainly Here are some other things to keep in mind while seeking that if I wasn't around that the quality of the service would potential hires: suffer," says Fogel. Consider customers. While Fogel found some of her early Among café operators, Fogel is not alone. Finding quality staff members at a local trade fair shortly before she opened Low staff—and then keeping them—remains a pressing challenge for Arts, others were customers before hitting the payroll. Some operators across the country, particularly given the high turn- asked about a job, while Fogel approached others. over that plagues the entire foodservice industry and the fact The advantage to recruiting from the customer ranks is twothat, for many staff, the café is a temporary stopover rather fold: First, those customers enjoy the product and shop enough than a final destination. Not only to invest their own dollars in it, do most staff members directly and second, they have an existing service guests, but their involvefamiliarity with the shop's level ment in other areas—prep work, of customer service and culture. inventory management, clean"The common thread is that these ing and more—frees an operator people saw what we were about to attend to other critical tasks, and wanted to be a part of it," such as purchasing and marketFogel says. "They bought into this ing. "Unless you're going to be a as a culture versus an hourly job." one-man shop, you're going to Lean on employees. The sayhave to rely on employees and, to ing goes, "Birds of a feather flock a large extent, your success is tied together." When seeking new to hiring good people," says Ed talent to join the team, operaArvidson, who runs Oregon-based tors should turn to their best E&C; Consulting. employees for potential leads. Taking the importance of staff Responsible and motivated selfa step further, Charlie Chacos, starters typically associate with the owner of Bonfire Coffee in others of a similar ilk. "The menCarbondale, Colo., calls employtality of a quality worker typiees "the lifeblood of the busically extends to friends who have ness." "They're the ones who get the same mode of operation," up in the morning, get things Chacos says. AT M OS PH E R E rolling and satisfy guests," says Try targeted ads. Fogel ran A R EC R C U IT I N G A N B E Chacos, a child of the restaurant an ad in a local newspaper specifiTO O L business who struck out on his cally calling for an individual who own with Bonfire. "If you don't knew the tea market and could have good people in these roles, help in the shop's baking departthen you won't stay around long." ment. She received no response. So how does an operator recruit, hire and retain high-quality This isn't, of course, to suggest all newspaper ads are incapable of talent? Here are some tips that café operators and consultants producing results, but operators should consider the content of have learned first-hand: their ad, who the newspaper reaches and how the paper's audience matches the store's demographic. Many operators tout Craigslist as a more effective option than FINDING TALENT newspapers, largely because it better reaches the coffee world's The most effective recruiting tool for a shop is often a pleas- plugged-in crowd. Arvidson of E&C; Consulting suggests operators ant atmosphere. At O'Henry's, a three-store chain based in be descriptive in their ads, clearly defining the characteristics they Birmingham, Ala., owner Randy Adamy says that his stores' com- are seeking, such as "personable" or "thrives under pressure." He fortable, inviting feel encourages job seekers to inquire. "We can also recommends operators provide specific directions for how sell our business as much as we want on the Web, but most have candidates should apply, perhaps requesting calls during a specific experienced our store firsthand by being inside it," Adamy says. day and time. "This is an efficient way to receive inquiries and do "That's the surest way to generate employment interest." Chacos a preliminary screening, but also allows you to see if a person can of Bonfire agrees, calling a lively, spirited store an operator's big- follow directions," he says. continued on page 42 freshcup.com July 2013 41