Running a bakery seems like an amazing adventure. However, the complicated part is staff management. After all, your bakery’s product and service standards and success depend on it.
While there’s no one-size-fits-all management style, you must follow certain important factors for effective staff management. So, here are the top best practices and tips to make bakery management smoother than ever!
For a new bakery owner, it’s best to buy, an existing bakery and capitalise on its well-trained staff, equipment, and customer base.
With this strategy, you can navigate, the several challenges of establishing and growing your business, such as setting up a shop from square one and training your staff.
So, look up a bakery for sale in Australia from a reputable global business buying and selling marketplace. Use a listing website, that offers significant information, including asking price, location, net profit, and revenue.
You can also find the bakery’s contact information on the site and connect with them directly. Ask them whether they have an experienced staff and make your call!
If you don’t find a bakery with the right staff or don’t want to consider the above tip, your only option is to find the right fit.
List out every position you want to fill, including bakers, baristas, pastry chefs, front-desk staff, and cleaning staff, with respective roles and responsibilities.
Draft an accurate job description for every position. Don’t forget to add any necessary experience using certain equipment or baking methods.
Conduct verbal and practical interviews to ensure you hire only skilled people with ample speed, energy, and passion.
They must also be comfortable with early shifts according to bakery opening hours. The average Australian consumes 75 kg of bread and bakery goods annually. They must be able to keep up with the demands of changing seasons.
Whether you hire new staff or overtake a business with existing staff, training programs are always beneficial.
It’ll ensure every employee has complete clarity of their roles and what’s expected of them, improve efficiency, and reduce mistakes. Ongoing training of existing staff also ensures everyone is updated according to industry standard skills, services, and certifications.
Arrange relevant training programs and skill-building workshops for each staff. Teach bakers, pastry chefs, and baristas standard recipes, baking and decorating processes, and customer service with step-by-step instructions.
Moreover, cross-train staff beyond primary responsibilities. For instance, teach cash register handling duties to baristas and pastry-making duties to bakers. This boosts flexibility and ensures everyone can help each other during peak hours.
Regularly review your staff’s performance with constructive feedback. Make sure you don’t criticise your staff excessively and focus the review more on growth.
Share specific insights on what they must focus on to offer clear expectations. This will prevent misunderstandings and show that you want to help them improve.
Don’t overlook your staff’s achievements. Offer them small rewards, including time off, gift cards, and even a public acknowledgement. This will keep everyone motivated to perform better.
Open communication is an important factor for a well-managed bakery staff. So, hold weekly, biweekly, or monthly meetings.
Discuss new ideas to attract more customers, mention and overcome issues regarding customer satisfaction, and review upcoming events and suitable menus for them.
Whenever you adopt, any change in policies, hours, or suppliers, update all staff. Forward a printed message or an email to keep everyone in the loop. This will help them adapt better.
Consider adding a suggestion box in the shop where the staff can anonymously share their operations or menu ideas.
If anyone has any trouble at the workplace, the staff will feel more comfortable sharing their complaints and appropriate solutions through the suggestion box.
The ultimate bakery staff management method is building a positive and inclusive culture at work. It will minimise turnover chances and boost productivity.
You can do this by celebrating milestones in sales, product launches, and a certain number of positive reviews. For instance, you can offer bonuses or take the team on a dinner outing.
Moreover, work along with your team during peak hours. You’ll also bond with them and build a sense of community.
With these tips and your staff’s suggestions, build a supportive structure with compassion and strategic planning. Stay committed to these steps to make your bakery venture a success!
