A lot of effort, time, and money goes into building a business. Some would say it also takes blood, sweat, and tears. Without question, the sacrifices you've made are undoubtedly an investment you want to protect. Keeping your staff happy, loyal, and productive is the first step toward improving profitability and long-term success for your business.

Did You Know Staff Satisfaction Leads to Increased Profitability for Your Business?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the food service and accommodation sector's quit rate (5.1%) is higher than any other industry. If that wasn’t bad enough, turnover is expensive, with the replacement of an employee costing a restaurant around $5,864 to train and get up to speed.

Happy employees tend to show up and stick around.

When your employees are happy, they are more likely to stick around longer. Your workforce consistency improves because satisfied employees are less likely to call in sick or leave the job. Better staff retention ensures you have a steady and reliable team in place.

Reducing turnover leads to fewer talent gaps and knowledge loss.

Experienced teams are also more efficient, require less supervision, and make fewer mistakes. And you can spend less time and resources on training new hires when you reduce employee turnover. A good reputation as an employer also helps attract high-quality candidates, enhancing your business operations further and making it easier to stay fully staffed.

Happier employees are more motivated and driven.

Happy employees are naturally more focused and want to do their job well. A satisfied staff is often more engaged and productive. Plus, if your employees respect your business model, they will be more motivated to build and protect your brand’s reputation. 

Happier employees lead to happier customers.

Because they want to see their workplace thrive, satisfied employees tend to have fewer errors in order preparation and provide services that go above and beyond what's typically expected. Positive interactions from happy employees increase the likelihood of repeat business and also encourage customers to spread positive word-of-mouth referrals.

How Can I Make My Kitchen Staff Happy?

Since satisfied and engaged employees directly impact the productivity of your business and the happiness of your customers, you should make an effort to create a positive work environment. Here are a few quick ways to help your employees feel supported during their shift and appreciated at your workplace.

Offer Competitive Wages: Pay may not be everything, but it’s the primary reason people go to work. Ensure that your staff is paid fairly for their hard work so they feel valued and appreciated.

Provide Training and Development: Help your kitchen staff feel confident in their abilities and knowledge right from the start so they don’t feel too overwhelmed. Invest in ongoing training to help your staff improve their skills and advance in their careers.

Implement a KDS: The right tools help keep your kitchen organized and foster better teamwork. A kitchen display system (KDS) helps reduce stress by streamlining order management and ensuring that staff always know what to prepare next.

Create a Positive Work Environment: Make your business somewhere people want to spend their time. Foster a culture of respect and teamwork, where every staff member feels supported and valued.

Ensure Adequate Staffing Levels: Being short-handed causes long wait times for your customers and makes everyone feel more on edge. Avoid overworking your team by scheduling enough staff to handle busy periods without excessive stress.

Recognize and Reward Efforts: Your kitchen staff should know how much you appreciate them and you should especially highlight your top performers. Regularly acknowledge hard work and achievements with praise, awards, or bonuses to keep morale high.

Maintain Open Communication: Continual improvement ensures your team knows you are working to do better and better all the time. Keep lines of communication open for feedback, suggestions, and concerns, making staff feel heard and involved in decision-making.

Encourage Work-Life Balance: Everyone has a life and it’s important to understand work isn’t going to be the top priority. Be mindful of scheduling to allow your staff to have time for their personal lives, preventing burnout and maintaining job satisfaction.

10 Best Practices for Reducing Kitchen Stress

Reducing stress in the kitchen is a solid place to start improving your employee’s experience and boosting staff retention. Here are ten best practices to follow:

1. Plan and Prep for Busy Times

Watch the patterns in your customer flow and prepare for the rush hours. Ensure thorough preparation before things get busy. Have ingredients prepped, stations organized, and tools readily available. Use a Kitchen Display System (KDS) to organize and display orders clearly to reduce confusion and errors.

2. Maintain Clear Communication

Use strategically positioned KDS screens throughout your kitchen to keep everyone in the loop. Consider how your screen communication could help clarify progress by marking items complete for all to see or bumping an order from one station to the next. Conduct brief meetings before rushes to ensure everyone knows their role and responsibilities.

3. Keep Your Kitchen Organized

Paper tickets flying around or messy workspaces can add to the chaos of a busy kitchen. Maintain a clean and organized workspace to minimize the time spent looking for ingredients or order chits. Use color-coded digital displays to help your team quickly identify items and view order details at a glance.

4. Provide Customer Updates

When you provide automatic updates to your customers, your staff spends less time fielding questions. You can reduce stress in the kitchen by helping customers know exactly when their order is being prepared and when they can pick it up. Using Fresh KDS, you can set up automated order status text alerts and a customer-facing order update screen by the pickup counter.

5. Staff Appropriately

Don’t leave your team in a lurch. Schedule enough kitchen staff to handle the rush. This helps avoid bottlenecks in your cook lines. Cross-train employees so they can assist in multiple areas if needed.

6. Foster Teamwork

There is less stress in the kitchen when employees are able to communicate clearly and work together. Foster a collaborative environment where team members can and want to support each other. Promote a culture of helping out when someone is overwhelmed and show order status in real-time on display screens to help your team know what’s in progress.

7. Stay Calm and Positive

Nothing increases stress like a chaotic kitchen with frazzled employees. Lead by example by staying calm and positive, even during the busiest times. Encourage staff to take deep breaths and maintain a steady pace. Help your team keep perspective — you are providing a valuable service and most situations are not emergencies.

8. Provide Adequate Breaks

An overworked kitchen staff is going to be more susceptible to acute stress, burnout, mistakes, and being snappy with teammates or customers.  Ensure that staff have breaks to rest and recharge before the rush hour begins. Rotate duties to prevent fatigue and maintain efficiency.

9. Offer Snacks and Drinks

The best workplaces encourage you to try their menu and reward your hard work with something delicious. A perk beyond salary is being able to eat or drink after each shift. You can set limits on the amount of free food and when it can be consumed to help regulate expectations for your team. Encourage staff to stay hydrated and provide healthy snacks to keep energy levels up during longer shifts.

10. Monitor and Adjust Your Processes

Don’t think of this as a set-it-and-forget-it process — reducing stress and improving operations requires ongoing attention and effort. Continuously monitor the workflow and make adjustments as needed. Hold debrief sessions monthly or quarterly with your team to discuss what has been going well and areas for improvement.

What Are the Benefits of Fresh KDS for a Commercial Kitchen?

Fresh KDS offers numerous benefits for a commercial kitchen. At the highest level, we streamline your operations and enhance overall efficiency. A few features that could be game-changers for your business might include:

• Screen Layout Options, which allows you to set your screens up according to your process
• Take Out Management Mode to support smooth handling of to-go orders in one place
• Custom Pickup Time Thresholds to tailor order firing and timing to your business needs
• Custom Order Alert Sounds that help maintain an organized workflow and informed kitchen staff
• The Custom Order Type Colors to provide visual clarity in the kitchen
• Station Pausing and Manual Hold and Release of Orders offer flexibility during peak times
• Bump Bar Support if your team prefers not to touch the screens‍
• Order Reports help you regularly assess and optimize your business

Watch Fresh KDS in Action

Ready to support your team, improve staff retention, and reduce stress in the kitchen with Fresh KDS? Watch the demo to explore more features and see why Fresh is the best KDS on the market.