The festival season in India is not only a time for cultural festivities; it is also the most active and rewarding time in hospitality. Restaurants across the country welcome a significant increase in guests from Diwali to Christmas and New Year’s, as well as Eid and regional festivals. For restaurant owners, experiencing this unprecedented traffic is both an excellent chance and an organisational hurdle. 

For all types of restaurants to be staffed to meet the growing customer expectations, serve unique menus, and move tables to ensure maximum turnover times, it is very important to hire smartly ahead of the restaurant festival rush. Too many businesses will lose out on the potential profits of this festival season simply because they did not invest in hiring staff to help run the operations for the restaurant business... 

If you can plan for increased sales from your restaurant and are looking to expand on the operation, here are the 5 most helpful hospitality positions that a restaurant should hire before the festival season. 

1. Chefs and Kitchen Specialists

The kitchen is the pulse of hospitality, particularly for restaurants. Restaurants experience a dramatic increase in demand for equipment and festive menus during festival seasons. This is why hiring Chefs in India is your most important investment.

Why this position includes:

• Festival Menus: Customers will expect creative platters, themed buffets, and featured desserts based on a festival. If you want your food menu to stand out, consider hiring experienced chefs.
• Quality Control: Many aspects of the hospitality industry bring pressure during peak dining periods. Chefs bring experience to industrial kitchens and reassure patrons on taste, cleanliness, and presentation.
• Speed & Efficiency: All culinary competitions have a clock. Trained chefs and sous chefs know how to prepare menu items, including garnishes, efficiently and quickly.

A Few Tips For Hiring Aspects:

Always hire chefs with restaurant experience handling large orders when working with festivals or wedding events, and you might consider hiring temporary pastry chefs and mixologists if bringing new festive items to the menu.

In short, we can advertise and promote our restaurant/classroom and build a ton of exposure, but the bottom line is that it comes down to food; therefore, chefs are the number one hire.

2. Service Staff (Waiters and Hostesses)

Your restaurant may boast the most exceptional culinary fare in your region, but without a courteous staff delivering great service, diners will leave feeling unsatisfied with their experience. Diners visit during festivals not only to eat but also to enjoy hospitality, making service staff a highly engaged role for hospitality operations.

Why was this engaged role prioritised:

• Customer Experience: Waiters and hostesses provide the litmus test for hospitality. The manner in which a server greets patrons, provides timely service, and acceptance of customers in any issues to make them happy is vital for excellent hospitality service.
• Customer Service During Peak Times: Regardless of the scale of business, busy periods with long queues will occur. Service staff must facilitate table turnover to ensure customer service is conscientious and their orders are managed.
• Add-On Sales Opportunities: Engaged service staff can suggest premium items, festive bundles, drink specials, and especially unlimited soft drinks that generate additional revenue.

Hiring Recommendation:

You should consider hiring waiters and hostesses who have an outgoing personality and excellent communication skills. If your restaurant is located in a town or a metro city, you should consider hiring someone who speaks more than one language to accommodate an area that has many cultural influences.

During the festive season, your service staff becomes the visible representation of your restaurant and will establish an impression that is lasting for a patron as their 'first impression'.

3. Restaurant Managers and Supervisors

A robust restaurant management team is the backbone of every successful restaurant. Just think that on those busy holiday weekends, restaurants can see their foot traffic double or even triple! So having a dedicated restaurant manager is vital to managing a hectic environment.

In this role, the restaurant manager plays a significant role by:

• Operational Oversight: Managers ensure that kitchen staff interacts well with service staff, and service staff interacts well with housekeeping.
• Customer Resolution: If there is a customer complaint, a manager will quickly resolve the problem, mitigating the risk of getting a negative review during the busiest time of the year.
• Scheduling: The festival rush and holiday time often require long hours and extra shifts. Managers are tasked with making schedules, ensuring that no one is overwhelmed.
• Revenue Monitoring: Oftentimes, higher volume sales managers closely monitor inventory, billing, and cash flow.

Hiring tip:

When hiring a manager, I suggest looking for a manager who has proven experience in high-stress hospitality environments. An effective manager’s leadership and conflict resolution will be as important (if not more) than their operationally specific work experience.

Having a strong manager cannot only make the difference between chaos and customer service during a peak season or vacation week, but also have a more long-term effect on the restaurant if they buy-in and support the staff and ensure customer loyalty through quality customer engagement (not about findings in the reviews).

4. Cleaning & Sanitation Staff

In a post-pandemic context, hygiene and cleanliness are now necessary rather than optional. Customers in India are vigilant about health and safety protocols now more than ever. Accordingly, cleaning and sanitation staff will be among the top hospitality positions you should prioritise before the festival season.

Why is this role so important?

• First Impressions: A clean entrance, polished tables and chairs, and spotless restrooms reassure customers immediately.
• Regulatory Compliance & Safety: All restaurants are subject to health inspections, and their business can be put at risk due to an unsatisfactory hygiene score that may result in a fine or worse.
• Loyalty: Cleanliness literally builds trust, and a customer is now more inclined to return if they feel hygiene standards were met.

Hiring suggestion:

If your hiring is for the festival season, keep in mind you may need temporary staff for cleaning to help control and execute any increased cleaning. Train them on proper sanitation standards and waste disposal as part of your hiring.

5. Delivery and Takeaway Staff

With the popularity of platforms like Swiggy and Zomato for online ordering and delivery, the delivery function is no longer an additional service of restaurants, but rather a major component of operations. Family gatherings in homes often feature takeaway and/or online orders at a higher rate than usual around Festivals or holidays. Hiring dedicated staff for delivery during festival time will help ensure you are able to capture that revenue.

Why are these roles important?

• Faster Turnaround: Additional delivery staff ensures that food is delivered promptly, and customers are satisfied.
• Catering and Large Orders: Many families will often prefer to order meals in larger quantities for the holiday meals. Having a dedicated team of delivery staff ensures everything arrives in an organised manner.
• Managing Reputation: Loss of ratings and reviews on delivery or the wrong food delivered (or delays) can impact your restaurant’s reputation on most online platforms during the holidays and festivals.

Hiring Tips:

Ideally, you would want delivery staff who are familiar with your local area and can work on a demanding schedule. If possible, you may want to provide training in customer etiquette so that your delivery staff is warm and welcoming while delivering food to customers.

Ready to scale your team for the festive rush?

Connect with Foodism for expert restaurant hiring in India today!