Some times this is the same time. Another reason that I want the freedom to run my own bar is because over the years I have seen so many people give up on the Industry due to bad Management, Corporate Politics and/or my least favourite thing ever, the Power Move.
Side note, I'm becoming more aware of the fact that "The Industry" is usually more of a reference to forms of entertainment but I'd like to think we should be included in that category anyway. Or are we just the Service Side for the Entertainment Industry?
Either they have been poached due to better progression or have moved away from the industry due to their frustrations. Which yes, both things sucked for me. However, the worst thing that could happen was for them to stay within the team when they had clearly surpassed where they were and this bitterness becoming a toxin with in the workforce. Literally staff that I had backed for almost a year, trained as much as I could, developed and built with relationships with becoming bitter and toxic due to their stagnation. To the point where I could no longer back them.
I believe this intersectionality works both ways and is another point where EQ and Self Awareness are very important. EQ to see it in others and Self Awareness to see it in yourself.
There comes a time where the individual outgrows the business, or the business outgrows the individual, don't get me wrong, this can be anywhere between 1 year and 50 years, dependant on many factors but most commonly you are looking at the 1-4year mark. In my experience anyway. I will look into Hospitality turnover figures.
As I explained in my Duty Management post, I believe people will slot into where they most want to be. This is something that I've mainly seen in potential Supervisors but that's due to the amount of Staff I've worked with, opposed to the amount of Managers. What I'm referring to is that ultimately Supervisors will tend to automatically slot onto the role when needed through some form of natural selection, incredibly rarely by assertion into the role themselves. Yes some staff will have more humility and underestimate themselves while going as unsung heroes but more often than not, staff will begin to go to certain other members of staff to ask for assistance or guidance. This should not go unnoticed and definitely should not be taken advantage of. If a member of staff has slotted themselves into an official Supervisor role because the team needed someone to take point and you, as a Manager, weren't able to then you either take the step back and start looking to promote them or take a step back in and remove that Vacuum of power. That's obviously if it's caught early on. I don't believe any Manager should neglect their staff but the truth is, either you need them to step up and become a supervisor, or you don't. If you don't then the Vacuum won't be there and you have nothing to worry about.
I do not believe in promoting people because you need to fill a role. I believe in hiring/ promoting people into the role they deserve to be in. Be pro-active, not re-active. The best way to be on top of this Equilibrium is through Management Presence, Engaging with Staff on the Floor and official/ un-official 1-2-1s.
If a member of staff believes they are ready to progress and you don't agree. You owe it to everyone to tell them why and to help develop them but I can tell you right now, I've worked with plenty of staff who wanted to be Supervisors that I knew I was never going to promote. Their progression did not align with the timeframe in which they wanted to be promoted so I knew that their would be diminishing returns on their progression for me, due to the anger and the bitterness they feel from not progressing in their timeline. Any position of power, no matter how big or small is such an important aspect of your Business that is should never be disrespected.
Those things are important to sense and sadly, no-one has yet proved me wrong.
I will say that a big mindshift for me in terms of letting people go, and being let go myself, is that sometimes it is literally the best move you can make. From Personal Experience and not quite understanding the feelings within myself but then being let go and thinking "Yeah, you're probably right, F**k um". As well as, I have let staff go who have got jobs in other bars and done exceptionally better than they would have done with me if I hadn't fired them. Some people just aren't the right fit and that has to be accepted.
For me, I'm going to be all-in on my Business so I will be as selective and pro-active as I can be with my Team but I know that;
A. I will definitely mistakes and hire a few Bellends
B. People change, especially within the general age range at which we hire.
C. There will not necessarily be as many positions available as their are staff that fit them.
None of that bothers me because all I need in order to let somebody go is a clean conscious, that is gained by always putting more into your team than you get out of them and calling out bullshit. I will give some shining examples of that later.
Some people won't show their true selves until 3 months in. That is why that general probation period is there but once again it is such an underutilised tool in the industry. 12 Weeks in, Probation Meeting, "Sorry, this isn't working out because of A., B., and C., which we've repeatedly discussed so I'm afraid you've failed your probation, best of luck in the future."
I will definitely go back and update this as I feel it got away from me a bit and should probably have a better structure to it.
Let me what you think.
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