However high the quality of the food provided by your food service company in your corporate cafeteria, should the service skills be average or poor, the overall impression of the experience is vastly reduced.
The Process Begins with The Interview
While most candidates will highlight their food service skills, it is only at the interview stage that you will be able to analyze an individual’s empathy and emotion.
Working from references is very difficult in the modern era as former employers are unlikely to say anything but good about a former employee for fear of being sued through the courts.
The food service company will need to employ candidates that appear to enjoy providing a service for other individuals and can maintain that requirement throughout a long working day.
A good way to encourage candidates to talk is to ask them about the easiest and the most difficult parts of serving customers. Where there is any mention of difficult customers or that dealing with customers is extremely demanding, you should quickly move on to the next candidate.
Asking Great Questions
You can ask questions about making recommendations from the menu. The way that a serving skill is highlighted is by finding out whether the candidate has completed their homework in advance to find out the types of food and beverages that are served in your corporate cafeteria. Do they know about your wellness program or other initiatives?
There will be several high-pressure periods of the working day, and you will need to ask questions that can gauge how an employee will work under pressure during these times. Employees must be served quickly so they can return to work.
One of the most difficult questions to ask potential service employees by the food service company is related to explaining how they will be an excellent addition to the team. Where the individual talks about wanting to serve using their personality to liaise with potential customers, you may be closer to choosing your new employees.