The College Student Employee

August will soon be upon us, and for many restaurant owners and managers that means that they are probably going to lose a good chuck of their college aged employees.  They will be returning to school and that presents the hassle of having to hire some new college students to take their place.

There are many difficulties when it comes to hiring college students, as many of you restaurant owners out there probably already know.  One of the major difficulties is having to work around their schedules during the fall and holidays.  Your goal should always be to work with them the best that you can, but you can’t make everybody happy.  You’ll have to give and take a lot and maintain a line of open communication with them so that you always have a up to date schedule for them. Not only will it make your life easier, but it will also help your employee to feel respected.  Thus, getting a better work performance from them while they are working at your restaurant.

College students are also typically the employees that use their cell phone a lot while working and love to get a free meal by grazing in the kitchen.  While it is okay to be give warnings about these behaviors, you still need to set the standard of behavior for them and challenge them to adhere to it.  Help them to understand why it is bad for business for them to behave in that way.  Let them know, in a respectful way, that they are not above adhering to the restaurant business standards.  This will enable them to be a successful college aged employee for you.

Tags: cell phones, college, employees, food, managers, restaurant owners, schedule, students