10 Summer Restaurant Hiring Tips

1). If you don't yet have an on-staff trainer ( usually one of your best servers who can communicate) and a training manual chose a staff member and write a brief training manual. This is not an employee manual but more of an expanded job description in outline form.

2). Develop a training outline with your trainers. Make sure they sign off on the points in the manual and agree it has the important points of training.

3). Do not put a "Help Wanted" sign in the window.

4). Ask your best servers if they know of any relatives or friends that are interested in becoming a summer server.

5). Advertise for your open positions on local job sites and on newspaper classified sites, and also ask your favorite baristas and servers at other restaurants and cafes if they are interested in picking up some extra hours. They may also know of people looking for jobs.

6). Policy is king. Make sure you have a policy manual and that all of your new hires read it and sign in to acknowledge they understand it.

7). Let your staff know you are not replacing anyone -- you are just gearing up for a busier summer, for catering and longer shifts. Make sure you hire a few more people than you need. You will lose some of them.

8) Use your email list to let customers know you are looking for summer servers. Many probably have children and relatives returning from college looking for summer jobs.

9). Don't think of your new hires as temporary summer help. Invest in them and look at them as your future summer help solutions.

10). Make sure you adequately train your new employees, otherwise they will disappoint you and it will be your fault. Also, discuss when they will leave to return to school. If they are not going to work the entire summer hire someone else. It is impossible to hire someone in August.