Hiring servers for an event or restaurant can either make or break the success of your service. It does not matter whether it is a corporate event, wedding, or busy restaurant; hiring the right servers ensures that operations are smooth and guests enjoy their experiences. This hiring guide provides a clear, step-by-step process to guide you in effectively selecting professional, skilled, and suitable servers for your needs.
Step 1: Identify Your Needs
Before that, let's define exactly what you need in your servers. This may depend on the kind of event or business. For the most part, events or businesses using servers have certain requirements, such as the minimum experience a server should have had, how skillful they must be in dealing with difficult customers, and so on. Are you hosting an elegant fine dining event where wine knowledge and gourmet food knowledge are going to be the keystone, or maybe it is this casual buffet event, where it is about a speedy thing? Consider the following: Service or event type: This will give you an idea of the amount of experience your servers require.
Number of guests: The more guests you have for the event, the more experienced the servers have to be, or it can also mean an increased number of staff per guest. Special needs: Is the server going to have to serve alcohol? Are there any dietary restrictions or cultural practices that the server must adhere to? Knowing your requirements will help you narrow the search for a server that fits your expectations.
Step 2: Temporary or Permanent Servers
When hiring the servers, you first have to decide whether the case is one where it requires temporary staff for a one-time or constant supply of permanent staff, which will be on standby all the time. Most events require hiring from staffing agencies because usually, hiring temporary servers for the occasion is less of a hassle. Agencies normally hire experienced professionals for such events and conduct all the background checks for the individual interested. Permanent servers are useful in building stability and creating and building relationships with regular customers for restaurants and other long-term businesses. Each one has its pros and cons, so you have to match your selection with your needs.
Step 3: Create a Job Description in Detail
A detailed job description is necessary to get the right candidate. It should include the following:
Job tasks and responsibilities: State what the servers will do, that is, placing tables, ordering food, drinks, or anything else as requested by customers.
Skills and qualifications: Mention what level of experience you need, whether they know high dining or practice having managed major events.
Availability and flexibility: Add the work hours, whether you insist on working on weekends, evenings, or holidays.
Salary and Benefits: The fact that the remuneration is made known promotes more qualified applicants. On top of this, the clear expectations from the word go also clearly define what to expect from the start.
A job description that is comprehensive and satisfies your needs ensures only the right candidates apply. This thus saves you a lot of legwork and time during the hiring process.
Step 4: Advertise the Position
Now that you have your job description prepared, it's time to advertise. To hire servers effectively, you will want to look at platforms where professionals are actively looking for work. Here are a few places to consider:
Staffing agencies: For the quick and sure opportunity of hiring qualified servers, staffing agencies are a good source. They usually have groups of candidates primed to go to work.
Job boards: Sites like Indeed, LinkedIn, and local job boards are great options to post any open position. They can post permanent as well as temporary positions on such portals.
Social media: Facebook and Instagram can be used to reach out to a wider audience for local events or restaurants.
Industry-specific websites: Specific job boards or websites for catering and hospitality can help you find experienced candidates from your area.
The more mediums you use, the more likely you are to find the best candidates with the least amount of time spent finding them.
Step 5: Screen Resumes and Applications
Now that you have started getting in some applications, it is going to be essential to do some thorough screening of resumes to narrow down your shortlist to only those who would answer your prayers. Seek experience that will correlate with the job description. The experience could be:
Relevant work history: Has the candidate worked at events or in restaurants similar to yours? Do they have the necessary experience?
Skills/Completions: Based on the post, servers may require specializing, such as TIPS certification for alcohol sales or knowledge of cuisines.
References: Confirm that the applicants included references from previous employers who can attest to their ability and work ethics.
Resume screening effectively narrows down the applicant pool and ensures that you are looking at the best applicants.
Step 6: Interviews
Interviewing the Server: The interview process is a hiring step which, regardless of whether you are hiring for a one-time, short-term event, or permanent servers for your restaurant, gives you a chance to assess their professionalism, communication skills, and more importantly adaptability. Here are some questions to ask:
Can you give me an example of a challenging service situation and how you handled it?
What's your experience with different types of service (for example, a buffet, fine dining, etc.)?
What is your response to stress at events, such as overcrowding, or a tough customer?
These questions will show you how the candidate will approach different service situations. You will also be able to pick up on some cues in their body language and attitude during the interview, which are indicators of someone fitting in within your team.
Step 7: Personality and Soft Skills Evaluation
Although technical skills are vital, personality and soft skills are crucial for selecting a good server. They will be face-to-face with guests all the time. So they need to be affable, patient, and attentive. General criteria include:
Teamwork: Servers often rely on each other when it's busy in a service environment. Assess whether the candidate is a team player.
Customer Service Orientation: A good server will have an innate desire to deliver excellent service and fix customers' concerns professionally.
Assessing these soft skills in the interview or even through reference checks will ensure that you bring on board servers who will portray your event or business in the very best light possible.
Step 8: Training
Even veteran servers could use a refresher to get comfortable with your specific needs. Provide them with a brief overview of the basic information about your event or venue, expectations, and specifically the procedures and rules of engagement. More in-depth training would be necessary when you hire at the restaurant level, making servers as comfortable as possible with your menu, kind of service, and clientele. Training is an investment in your success, and good staff learn to do their best.
Step 9: Offer Competitive Pay and Benefits
To get good servers, you have to compete with other restaurants on wages and perks. A savvy server knows his or her worth, and paying a competitive wage shows them that you respect their service. Offer transportation reimbursement, meal tickets, or bonuses for really good service to temporary employees. For regular staff, health insurance paid time off, and professional development will bring quality people on board and keep them engaged.
Step 10: Develop Long-Term Relationship
Once you have found good servers, you should ensure to keep them friendly and good for as long as they are providing their services for you over a long period. Regular feedback, a friendly working environment, and being awarded for their effort can keep them loyal so that they continue performing great in the future. With event servers, developing a rollover of dependable professionals you can draw upon for future events can save you time and effort.
Conclusion
Hiring servers is not an easy task and involves much careful planning, defining needs to proper training. Through such a process, you can hire some highly professional, skilled, and right-fit servers for your event or business. If you need to recruit dependable servers for your upcoming event, look at the option of hiring staffing experts who can assure you that you are getting top-of-the-line service professionals like Runway Waiters.
