Hospitality - How a "Military Mentality" can help your business

At first glance you could think - the military? What could a fighting force, streamlined and evolved over hundreds of years, teach a humble restaurant, hotel or catering operation?

Quite a lot actually!

Hospitality and the Military (whether it be Army, Navy or Air force is a moot point) have a trait in common that few other industries or organisations have.

The bulk of their workforce/recruits, come in untrained, completely unequipped for the rigours of the profession. Most industries, from lawyers to doctors to construction workers to tradesman, come with associated training, be it degrees, apprenticeships or certifications.

Sometimes in hospitality, we do get the wonder of having skilled workers come through the door, but the reality is, if they are proficient and experienced (or if they are career hospitality types) then unless they don’t want responsibility, they may be looking for more senior roles or higher levels of pay.

But when young people in their teens are looking for their first job, they inevitably turn towards hospitality, because they believe (quite incorrectly) that it is an easy job that anyone can do.

The parallels with the military are there.

New recruits do not have combat training and are unprepared for the realities of what their specific duties may be. The big difference is that luckily for the military, they are a government funded entity with huge resources, and part and parcel of their set up is fundamental training.

This is a luxury most hospitality organisations do not have.

While this is largely due to lack of financial and time based resources, another big difference is the fact that a military trainee is not going to up and leave at the conclusion of basic training. The military protects their investment by ensuring that recruits are signed for a period of time.

If only we could do the same in hospitality!

But even from here, the lessons that one can take from the military are obvious. So how can we translate a well oiled series of processes from a war machine and translate it to hospitality?

TRAINING

Even if you can’t send new front or back of house staff to a training college for six to eight weeks like the military, still make sure that the basics are drilled into the new team.

While one may be concerned with inevitable turnover, an often forgotten fact is that team are more likely to remain at an establishment if you put the time into them.

BRIEFINGS

No war or battle is undertaken without a thorough plan of attack and briefing. Hospitality should be the same, for the shift (or the beginning of the function), the week and the month.

Treat these sessions as an empowering of team with information. You are giving them the tools and data to perform their roles to the best of their ability.

SUPPORT

We have all heard the terms “air support, naval support” etc. Few land based armies go to battle without having another division of the military arm backing them up.

While it may not be so grand within a shift, make sure the elements of support are always there. Sometimes, it can be with the basic or junior servers supporting the full table waiters, by running their food or clearing the tables. It can be drinks runners or cellar team supporting the bar staff.

Most importantly, make sure the General (restaurant or venue manager) and the Captains (shift leaders or supervisors) are aware of what is happening with their ground troops (the floor staff) and can step in for guidance and help when necessary.

THE SUPPLY CHAIN

When the military is thinking of action in an area, whether it be invading or attacking something, or moving en mass to a new destination, the very first step are the logistics and setting up of a supply chain.

In hospitality, this extends to the initial supply, and the “field supply”.

The initial is the basic levels and maintenance of stock day to day. It sounds very simple, but often people forget to order the fundamentals, and the establishment/shift/customers suffer as a consequence. When planning a shift/function or week, one of the first things to do is ensure that your supply chain is maintained and you have enough stock on hand.

The field supply is on the day/night. Make sure that all basic elements have been covered to ensure consistent service. A fine example of what not to do is to put no priority into the washing of plates, cutlery and glasses throughout the evening. Unless you have enough to last an entire shift, these things need to be controlled throughout the night.

THE START, DURING, AND END

Most military operations are planned in three stages - how to kick it off, what the actual mission is, and then how to pull out at the end.

Don’t ever run a shift or business thinking about the fact that you just have to serve 100 customers – for if tomorrow you have to serve the same number, then you need a flowing process to ensure that there is no blind panic.

Even as a shift begins, a good team will already have in their heads what needs to be done to conclude a busy day/night. Always think ahead and be prepared.

THE MISSION PARAMETERS

Every battle or war has a point (or it should do!).

Make sure it is the same with a good service. It could be to sell a certain number of dishes. It might be to make a certain sale per head. It could just be to run an evening without any wrong orders.

A basic fundamental of achievement and success is that you have something to work towards. Make sure that there is always something for a team to achieve, it will take the mundane out of the job and always ensure that there is a feeling of “something”.