Managing Online Reviews for Restaurants

£11k to £25k. That’s how much it costs to replace an employee in the UK. Still relying on exit interviews? You’re already paying the price. By the time someone hands in their notice, the damage is done. And it’s costing you more than you think. High turnover is a talent problem, and a financial one. The best way to retain your people? Act before the resignation letter lands on your desk. At Plumm, I’ve seen firsthand how a proactive feedback culture transforms teams. It’s about listening before it’s too late, fostering trust, and showing employees they matter. Why proactive feedback matters? - Catch problems early Regular check-ins help spot issues before they escalate into costly resignations. - Foster growth People stay where they feel valued. Feedback should drive development, not just reviews. - Build trust Open conversations strengthen relationships, increasing retention. How to get it right? ↳ Make one-on-ones count Go beyond projects. Talk about goals, challenges, and aspirations. ↳ Open up feedback channels Surveys, digital tools, or just creating space to speak up. ↳ Celebrate wins Consistent recognition boosts morale and retention. ↳ Encourage two-way conversations Ask for feedback on leadership. It builds mutual respect. ↳ Act on feedback Nothing kills trust faster than ignored input. Show employees their voice matters. Exit interviews explain why someone left. Proactive feedback helps you keep them. High turnover is expensive. A feedback culture protects your bottom line and keeps your best people. PS: How are you making sure your employees feel heard?

I've helped teams build stronger communication cultures. (sharing my proven framework today) Building open communication isn't complex. But it requires dedication. Daily actions. Consistent follow-through. Here's my exact process for fostering feedback culture: 1. Start with weekly 30-min team check-ins → No agenda, just open dialogue → Everyone speaks, no exceptions → Celebrate small wins first 2. Implement "feedback Fridays" → 15-min 1:1 sessions → Both positive and constructive feedback → Action items for next week 3. Create anonymous feedback channels → Digital suggestion box → Monthly pulse surveys → Clear response timeline 4. Lead by example (non-negotiable) → Share your own mistakes → Ask for feedback publicly → Show how you implement changes 5. Set clear expectations → Document feedback guidelines → Train on giving/receiving feedback → Regular reminders and updates 6. Follow up consistently → Track feedback implementation → Share progress updates → Celebrate improvements 7. Make it safe (absolutely crucial) → Zero tolerance for retaliation → Protect confidentiality → Reward honest feedback Remember: Culture change takes time. Start small. Build trust. Stay consistent. I've seen teams transform in weeks using these steps. But you must commit fully. Hope this helps you build stronger team communication. (Share if you found value) P.S. Which step resonates most with you? Drop a number below. #team #communication #workplace #employees

How many times have you avoided giving feedback to the person who really needed it? It’s a bit like being served food that isn’t right in a restaurant. Do you politely send it back, or do you push it around your plate and later leave a bad review on Trip Advisor? At work, we often do the same thing. We avoid giving feedback directly and instead vent/rant to a colleague, our boss, or even to someone at home. But that silence doesn’t solve anything at all it, simply erodes trust and compounds the issue since nothing changes. Adam Grant puts it beautifully in “Hidden Potential”: “Being polite is withholding feedback to make someone feel good today. Being kind is being candid about how they can get better tomorrow.” Feedback isn’t about being critical it’s about being clear, constructive and sometimes celebratory. Not giving it is choosing silence over honesty. Here are 5 practical approaches you can open to make it easier: 💡 Ask permission first. Begin with “Is it okay if I share something I’ve noticed?” 💡 Use the SBI model (Situation, Behaviour, Impact). Be clear, specific and leave no grey areas. 💡 Own your perspective and say “I noticed…” rather than “A few people have told me…” and avoid generalising and saying “You always…” 💡 Offer a way forward by pairing critique with a suggestion or invite their ideas about how they might do something differently. 💡 Follow up at a later date. Check-in, show you care about progress not just pointing out something that needed to change. So my questions are: 👉 When feedback is tough, do you bottle it up until later? What holds you back? 👉 When it’s positive, how do you make sure you share it in the moment? #Feedback #HR #Leadership #Growth [📸 Image is an illustration of “Types of Feedback” as depicted by biscuits. Credit to Liz Fosslien.]

If feedback feels like just another session, you’re doing it wrong. Sound familiar? Too often, feedback is treated as a scheduled task. An annual performance review, a quarterly check-in, or a one-time ‘constructive’ conversation. But meaningful growth doesn’t happen in isolated moments. It happens in a culture where feedback is ongoing, safe, and supportive. High-performing teams don’t just give feedback; they create an environment where it flows naturally: Without fear. Without defensiveness. Without waiting for the ‘right time.’ So how do we make feedback a natural part of daily conversations? 1/ Make it effortless: Feedback should feel like a natural dialogue, not a formal event. Embed it in everyday interactions. 2/ Make it two-way: Leaders, ask for feedback as much as you give it. Trust grows when feedback flows in all directions. 3/ Turn criticism into coaching: Feedback should encourage growth, not fear or self-doubt. Focus on learning and improvement. 4/ Catch people doing things right: Reinforce strengths, not just gaps. Positive feedback is just as powerful as constructive feedback. 5/ Lead by example: When leaders openly give and receive feedback, they set the tone for a culture of continuous improvement. When feedback becomes a habit, growth becomes unstoppable. P.S. What’s one way your organization makes feedback a daily practice? Let’s share and learn!

PEOPLE MANAGEMENT: COACH, DON’T POLICE  A 30-30-40 feedback playbook that works in GCC restaurants We promote supervisors at 25 and then wonder why they “boss” instead of lead. Most have never been shown how to coach, only how to correct. In a region where kitchen brigades can hold six nationalities and three languages on a single line, good coaching isn’t soft, it’s operational horsepower.    THE 30-30-40 FRAMEWORK  30 % Celebrate what’s right   30 % Coach what’s fixable   40 % Ask open questions: “How can I help you win?” Why it resonates here:  • High-context cultures value face-saving. Praise up front opens ears for critique.   • Visa anxiety makes staff read every word for job-security signals; questions show genuine care.   • Generational mix (Gen Z baristas + Gen X sous-chefs) demands dialogue, not monologue. 5 GCC-SPECIFIC BEST PRACTICES 1️⃣ Bilingual Feedback Cards   – One side is Arabic, and the other is English.     – Supervisors tick behaviours (“on time,” “perfect portion”) and add one handwritten note.     – The card goes home; families pin it on the fridge. 2️⃣ Thursday “Majlis” Circles   – Once a month, managers ditch the clipboard and sit in a circle, with coffee, dates, and an open floor.     – Staff nominate peers for kudos; managers listen more than they talk.     – Outcome: ideas surface that never fit the time-pressed pre-shift. 3️⃣ Heat-Map Coaching   – We plot feedback topics across stores on a simple red-amber-green sheet.     – If three outlets go red on “food wastage,” we deploy a travelling trainer the same week.     – Visual data keeps emotion out of escalation calls. 4️⃣ Boss-for-a-Shift   – High-potential line cooks shadow the GM for one peak service.     – They return to the station, seeing the “why,” not just the “what.”     – Promotion pipeline fills itself; turnover drops. 5️⃣ 30-Second Voice Notes   – Instead of end-of-day emails that nobody reads, managers fire a WhatsApp voice note:      “Ahmed, the way you handled that gluten-free request was class! Tomorrow, let’s shave 10 sec off plating.”     – Instant, human, no translation lag. REAL RESULTS  • Staff NPS ↑ 21 points when we shifted from fault-finding to coaching language.   • Guest Google ratings ↑ 0.5 stars; diners feel the morale.   • Food-cost variance ↓ 0.6 pts, because coached teams portioned better than policed teams. Coach the person, not the problem, your P&L will thank you. #Leadership #RestaurantOps #MiddleEastFandB #PeopleManagement #CoachingCulture

Hospitality leaders, stop lying to yourselves. You keep saying culture matters, but when your employees walk into work, it is the same story every day. Burnout, no recognition, zero communication, high turnover, and then you blame it on a talent shortage. That is not a shortage, it is your culture pushing people out. People are leaving you because you are not giving them a reason to stay. And here is the reality you need to hear: if you do not change how you lead, you will lose your team, your reputation, and eventually your business. So how do you fix it? Not with slogans on the wall or HR-approved buzzwords, but with action. 1. Transparency every single day. Employees are not stupid. They know when you are hiding things. Share numbers, share goals, share challenges. If the hotel is struggling, tell them. If the cruise line is breaking records, celebrate it. When people feel trusted with information, they feel valued. 2. Stop with the fake recognition. A once-a-year plaque means nothing. Recognition has to be real time and personal. When a server handles a tough guest, acknowledge it in the moment. When a housekeeper goes above and beyond, make sure everyone knows. Public recognition creates pride, and pride builds culture. 3. Invest in growth. If you are not giving employees a path forward, they will find it elsewhere. Training should not be a one-off workshop. It should be consistent, measurable, and tied to promotions. People want to see a future. If you cannot show them one, they are gone. 4. Listen with intent. Most leaders do not actually listen. They nod their head, wait for their turn to speak, then dismiss ideas because they came from the front line. The best ideas in hospitality do not come from boardrooms, they come from people who face guests every single day. Create channels where employees can share ideas without fear of being ignored. 5. Lead by example. You cannot preach kindness and then blow up at staff behind closed doors. You cannot talk about teamwork while making decisions in isolation. Culture is not what you say, it is what you do. If you are late, disrespectful, or inconsistent, that spreads. If you are visible, humble, and fair, that spreads too. 6. Pay what the role deserves. Stop pretending culture can fix everything if you are not paying fairly. People will not feel valued if they cannot pay their bills. Payroll is not a cost to cut, it is an investment in retention. You lose more money rehiring and retraining than you ever save by underpaying. Here is the punchline. Culture is not soft. You can spend millions on marketing campaigns, but if your employees hate working for you, guests will feel it instantly. On the other hand, when your staff loves showing up every day, the energy is contagious. Guests notice, reviews reflect it, and revenue follows. Treat your people like they matter. Because in the end, they are the only thing standing between your brand and irrelevance.

What a Restaurant CEO Learned by Reading His 1-Star Reviews Out Loud to His Team A restaurant group CEO told us about the meeting that changed his culture overnight. Every Monday morning, he reads one 1-star review out loud to the entire staff. Not to punish anyone. Not to find blame. To listen — together. The first time he did it, the room was tense. By the third week, something shifted: • Servers started owning mistakes before they became reviews • The kitchen stopped blaming front-of-house (and vice versa) • Staff started flagging problems in real time instead of hoping nobody noticed • Two line cooks proposed fixes that reduced ticket times by 4 minutes The rule: nobody defends. Everybody listens. Then one question: "What would we do differently next time?" He told us: "We used to hide from bad reviews. Now we start the week with them. It's not comfortable. But my team trusts each other more because we stopped pretending we're perfect." The teams that get better fastest aren't the ones that avoid criticism. They're the ones that read it out loud.

“Did I speak kindly to you today?” That’s what I once heard executive chef Michael Diaz de Leon quietly ask each member of his staff at Bruto in Denver. My husband and I were sitting at the counter overlooking his small kitchen on a date night, and it floored us. It was simple. Specific. And my story was that it was brave. It modeled exactly the kind of feedback culture most leaders say they want. He was not just giving feedback, but asking for it in real time and with precision. The best leaders I work with in tech do this too. They don’t just 'hope' for feedback, they ask for it. Often and specifically. It’s a lot easier to respond to a pointed question than to “Any feedback for me?”. Plus, it signals some level of self-awareness. Asking for and giving feedback is like building a muscle - it requires practice. And for some people (like me), it may also require building up a bit of tolerance on the receiving end. Try starting with a simple daily goal, such as asking for it in your next 1:1, at the end of a team meeting, with your partner, or even with a friend. I liked questions like these that supported growth edges I was working on as a leader: - Did you feel like I really listened to you today? - Did I interrupt or talk over you at any point? - Did I sign us up for too much, or does the workload feel right? - What’s one thing I could do differently next time that would make this meeting even better for you? Small questions like these not only make you better, they can shift an entire culture.

The Art of Giving Feedback — Across All Levels In hospitality, feedback is everything. We live in a business where the little things—a smile, a clean room, a warm greeting and a fond farewell—define the guest experience. Nevertheless, the same is true behind the scenes. Feedback helps teams grow, leaders improve and takes service from good to great. One of the most important lessons I've learned is that feedback should flow in all directions: ✅ To those who work for you ✅ To those who work alongside you ✅ And yes, even to those you report to * For those who work under you, feedback is more than correction — it's coaching. It's recognizing wins, guiding through mistakes, and helping people see their potential. In hospitality, this is how we grow our next supervisors, managers, and GMs. * For those who are your peers, feedback builds trust. It's easy to avoid tough conversations with coworkers — but when we give each other honest, respectful feedback with the best intentions in mind, we strengthen the team and hold each other accountable to the standard our guests expect. * For those above you, feedback is about courage and respect. Hospitality leaders aren't perfect — and sometimes they need to hear what frontline teams are facing or how decisions are impacting operations. Giving feedback "up" is how we help the whole organization improve. The key? Delivering feedback with humility, care, and a shared goal of excellence. Because at the end of the day, hospitality is about people — and helping people be their best is what makes great service possible. #HospitalityLeadership #FeedbackCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #Teamwork #HospitalityExcellence

Performance isn’t a surprise. So why do we still wait a year (or six months) to talk about it? Feedback should be part of everyday work. Short. Clear. Actionable. Regular. Teams grow faster when feedback is not an event — it’s a culture. Try this: → Replace “Let’s talk about it later” with “Let’s tackle this now.” The sooner, the better. Feedback becomes real-time learning. → Don’t just tell. Ask for examples: "Can you show me a moment where you applied this?" This brings the conversation to life and avoids vague discussions. → Get rid of one-sided feedback. Make your team the co-architects of improvement by encouraging peer-to-peer feedback. → Set up feedback rituals: Daily huddles, weekly reflections, or even virtual suggestion boxes. These allow feedback to flow seamlessly into work routines. → Create a feedback playlist — ask each person how they prefer to receive feedback (e.g., quick check-ins, written summaries, or open discussions). Tailor the experience! What would change if your team treated feedback like water, not medicine? #PeopleDevelopment #FeedbackCulture #HRTrends #Leadership #HRBP #HRBusinessPartner #LeadershipTips