Responsibility of a Manager/Owner/Operator

Every year around the holidays, I often get emotional(I know...hard to believe) and I start to think about my responsbilities to the staffs that have worked so hard for me over the years. These responsiblities are often overshadowed by the day to day operations of the bar/restaurant/nightclub business.

So this year I did a little exercise...

I was in a room with a handful of nightclub managers, and I went around the room and asked each one to name one responsibility they have as a manager. Here are some of the answers I got(all of which are definitely true)....

-Operations
-Labor Costs/Payroll
-Marketing and sales
-State of Store
-Placing orders
-Hiring and Training
-Promotions

All of these things are definitely responsibilities of a bar/nightclub/restaurant manager, BUT they are not what I am talking about. Instead of focusing on these responsibilities ALL the time, take a moment(especially during the holiday season) to focus on the responsiblity that we as operators have to our staffs.... when truly they are the key to our success. Here are some of these responsibilities I am speaking of.

-Making the place fun for the staff
-Showing appreciation for hard work
-Making sure that you are helping them become better people and employees
-Doing whatever it takes to make sure that your staff can make money
-Honor "Request Offs", so that your staff can visit family and friends during the holidays
-Reward staff for extra effort
-Give Incentives
-Treat Staff as equals
-Show that you care
-Communicate clearly
-Do staff outings
-Celebrate small victories

These are just some of the responsibilities that I feel are JUST AS important as those involving operations. I am 100% positive that with these new focuses, the staff will be happier and more willing to give the extra effort that you need, especially during tough economic times.

Happy Holidays,

Randy