Ideas To Boost Morale etc...

[jclara1]

hi all,
am sous in a private CC that has a small membership and staff. the club has enourmous resources that are available to the staff but unfortunaltey our GM doesn't feel the need to take advantage of them very often. literally, we have an employee christmas party once a year and thats it. i am wondering about new creative ideas and what you guys are doing to boost morale and bring the staff together as a team...?

[Derek Cooks]

Have fun and educate at the same time. Go visit the best local butcher you can find. Farmer's markets. Farmers. Take them out to the best resaurant you can. Eat and discuss the food. What could you be doing at your place?

Bring purveyor specialists in - your suppliers have and/or can get these people. Bring in "guest chefs" for a night.

If you couch this in training terms, the GM will think you are the smartest person on the planet.

But keep it fun and VERY participative - no "lectures" or Powerpoint dry presentations. Hands-on, eating, drinking (can you say wine tasting/pairings?) moments that are done as a team/unit, and encourage them to apply what they've learned at the club.

That's my 3 cents...

[chefelle]

That's an awesome idea, Derek. You are a genius!!!

[cheztom]

Some would say an evil genius.

[Derek Cooks]

"Some", or "Tom-some"??? Huh? Fess up there...

[cheftoddf]

another idead that might work is instead of inviting in guest chefs... see if there are reciprocal clubs in the area (or overseas if you are more daring) and see if they would let you or your staff go there and work with the chef to see what else is out there as far as club food goes. i am the sous chef at a club in boston and as we all know, some people are members of many clubs...sometimes it is fun to see how many will "follow" you from club to club on special wine dinner nighs or theater parties. good luck, T

[jonesg]

What club in Boston do you work in, I used to work at the federal club which became the bay tower....which became the colony? 33 or 60 state street.

I'd agree, make things interesting by changing things around, get some guests in, new faces in the kitchen with new approaches to keep it fresh. Private clubs can be stodgy.

[cheftoddf]

the Somerset club, 42 beacon st.
one of the oldest clubs around. i think they just celebrated 150 y/o in '02.

[jclara1]

just wanted to say thanks to everyone for the ideas to boost morale. i just took a new job as sous in meridian, ms and will be attempting to use all of your great ideas and more to bring my crew closer together...thanks again.

[bohica]

Nothing brings people together like a good challenge, complete with competition.

In my Marriott days, The GM used to pit the sales department against the kitchen once a month for some games.

My fondest memory was building gingerbread houses in a competition. It was fun to watch the people do their "thing." In the end we'd always get together for a group photo with our creations each month. It was always gratifying to see and talk to the other employees, away from their usual responsibilities.

So many times, especially in larger accounts, employees will work for years without knowing anybody in the other departments, and this is a way to bring the various teams together.

[JJManz]

As a private club where tipping is not allowed, we solicit a holiday fund for the staff from the members. There are always people who send in money after the deadline. While the majority of the cash is distributed to the staff, anything that comes in after the deadline is used to boost moral during our busy summer season. For example, happy hour at a local watering hole for all the staff, dinner for a particular department another time, tickets for a sporting event. And now we are planning to close the club one night for a summer BBQ. The staff doesn't need to know where the money came from . Just that the club is doing something for them.

[Chefde]

Check your local ACF chapter for competitions against other local chefs.

This will build confidence, increase knowledge and improve your club's reputation in the community.

It's a great way to build moral!

Chefde

[jclara1]

more great ideas...these are really helping and even though funding for this type of thing isn't great at the club im at now your ideas spark inspiration and i feel like my crew is really coming together as a team to achieve the same objectives. i love the idea of competitions amongst the kitchen staff...