November 6th, 2020

Real-Life Lessons on Employee Engagement

If you’ve been in the hospitality business for any length of time, then you know how crucial your team is to your success. I want to share a concept that will help you build the foundation for solid team relationships.

We call it “deposits and withdrawals.”

When you get this right, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to get what you need from your team. The basic concept is that you need to make deposits before you can make withdrawals from your people.

What’s a deposit?

A deposit is how you instil goodwill. It can be as simple as a high five. It can be a question, like, “How is your day?” It can be something as simple as a smile, or acknowledgement of a job well done. It’s all the positives that you recognise about your team.

The key here is that you communicate those positives.

If a customer tells you that they thought a team member was really lovely, let that team member know. Pump them up with the knowledge that they’re doing a great job… And you appreciate them for it.

When you make deposits, you’re filling your people with pride in the work that they do. Just as importantly, you’re showing them that you care about them and respect them.

And all of this will come back to benefit you when you need to make a withdrawal.

A withdrawal is when you ask one of one of your people to do something out of the ordinary. For example, you may ask a staff member to stay late because somebody called in sick. A withdrawal might also be any change that you make to the business that could cause uncertainty.

Basically, you make a withdrawal when you ask someone for something.

You can’t do that when you haven’t made any deposits. It’s like a bank account. If you don’t deposit regularly, you won’t have any money when you go to make a withdrawal.

Think about how you can make more deposits with your staff today. And then act on it. 

If you make this change, you’ll be well on your way to a team full of engaged people who are willing to go above and beyond.

Put in your deposit now so you can make withdrawals later. You’ll thank yourself for it.

Tim Kummerfeld

The most valuable & practical blog for hospitality venue owners on the web

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