Managing a bar is about more than being able to make a few drinks – it requires discipline, organization, efficiency, respect and making sure your bar team runs like a well-oiled machine. And from high up on the management chain, employers have a bird’s eye view of what bar managers should and shouldn’t be doing down below.
How to Successfully Manage Your Bartenders, According to Employers
Here are the core tips for successfully managing your bar team, according to the employers who’ve been doing it for years:
Train your people.
Training is important no matter what position you’re in, but it’s absolutely vital in the early stages of your career. By properly training your bartenders and bar backs, you’ll not only be able to mold them into what the bar or venue needs, but if done correctly, you’ll also create a bar team of individuals who are confident, efficient and knowledgeable, and get off to a good start.
Give real feedback… often.
Want your bar managed successfully? Tell your staff what they’re doing right and what they need to do better. Giving feedback in an encouraging manner, even if it’s negative feedback, is a cornerstone of effective management.
Be transparent with your team.
How do you gain your employees’ trust? By giving them a reason to trust you! Be transparent with your team and set the example that they can be open with their concerns and praises. According to the experts, transparency does a number of things: it creates an intentional work environment, helps employees understand why certain decisions are made, makes it easier to solve problems and opens dialogue between bartenders and bar managers.
Respect your employees – they’re individuals, not a service.
If you want your staff to respect you, you have to respect them as well. As a manager of anything, respect in the work place is essential when it comes to getting your employees to “go the extra mile” on the job.
Be a role model.
Above all, be a real team leader, and make sure all other employees in positions of management are team leaders, too. Nothing dissuades a staff more than looking up to a boss or employer they can’t respect. Along the same lines, you want to ensure all employees in positions of power are setting a good example for the rest of the team – remember the phrase “follow the leader?” It exists for a reason.
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