Restaurant Business Success Series | Blog #11
Lessons from Nearly 20 Years of Opening and Operating Restaurants in Greater Vancouver.
Introduction
(How to Hire the Right Restaurant Employees)
There is a saying in the restaurant industry:
“Great employees make great restaurants.”
Restaurant owners establish the vision and standards, but employees bring that vision to life every day. Customers may never meet the owner, yet they interact with employees throughout their visit. How your staff welcomes guests, handles problems, and provides service ultimately shapes your restaurant’s reputation.
A great location and a strong menu may attract first-time customers, but great employees are often the reason those customers return.
After nearly 20 years of opening and operating restaurants in Greater Vancouver, I have learned one important lesson:
Hiring the right people is one of the best investments a restaurant owner can make.
The Best Employee Is Not Always the Right Employee
Every restaurant owner hopes to hire the industry’s best employees.
In reality, however, the most experienced chefs and service staff often command salaries that are difficult for small independent restaurants or new businesses to sustain.
More importantly, an impressive résumé does not automatically mean someone is the right fit for your restaurant.
Instead of asking, “Who has the strongest résumé?” ask:
“Who will help build the kind of restaurant we want to create?”
A successful restaurant is built by people who share its values, support one another, and grow together.
A Résumé Is Only the Beginning
A résumé is a useful reference, but it never tells the whole story.
Some applicants naturally present their experience in the best possible light. That is why interviews and practical evaluations are just as important as written qualifications.
For kitchen positions, I often ask applicants to demonstrate basic knife skills or complete a simple cooking task. Within minutes, their practical ability usually becomes clear.
For front-of-house positions, I pay closer attention to attitude than experience. The way an applicant communicates, listens, smiles, and treats others often tells me far more than a list of previous jobs.
Technical skills can be tested.
Character is revealed through everyday behavior.
Look Beyond Employment History
Employment history also deserves careful attention.
Changing jobs is not always a warning sign, as people may leave for legitimate personal or professional reasons.
However, applicants who have changed restaurants repeatedly over a short period deserve additional discussion during the interview.
Hiring and training employees requires considerable time and effort. For small restaurants, frequent turnover can be expensive and disruptive.
Whenever possible, I prefer candidates who demonstrate stability, responsibility, and a genuine interest in growing with the business.
Hire for Character, Train for Skill
Perhaps the most important lesson I have learned is this:
Hire for character. Train for skill.
Of course, the ideal employee has both excellent skills and outstanding character.
But if I must choose, I will almost always hire someone with a positive attitude, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to learn over someone with superior technical skills but a poor attitude.
Restaurants depend on teamwork.
Employees who are respectful, honest, dependable, and eager to improve usually become the people who strengthen both the team and the customer experience.
Technical skills can improve through training and experience.
Character becomes the foundation for long-term success.
Character Is Revealed Through Actions
During interviews, applicants naturally try to present their best qualities. However, true character is revealed through everyday actions, not just words.
A positive attitude, respect for others, responsibility, and a willingness to learn cannot always be measured on a résumé. Yet these qualities often determine whether someone becomes a valuable long-term employee.
That is why I always look beyond technical skills when making hiring decisions.
A Hiring Success Story
One employee I hired did not have the strongest résumé or the most experience.
What stood out was the person’s attitude. The applicant smiled naturally, listened carefully, spoke respectfully, and showed a genuine desire to learn.
Although additional training was needed, the employee learned quickly and became one of the most dependable members of our team. More importantly, the employee earned the trust of both coworkers and customers.
That experience reinforced my belief that people with the right attitude often achieve far more than their résumé suggests.
A Hiring Mistake
I also experienced the opposite.
I once hired an employee with impressive experience and excellent technical skills. On paper, the decision seemed obvious.
However, the employee struggled with teamwork and had difficulty accepting feedback. Over time, the negative impact on the team outweighed the value of the person’s technical ability.
That experience taught me an unforgettable lesson:
Hiring the wrong person can cost far more than taking extra time to find the right one.
What I Look for When Hiring
After many years in the restaurant business, I have found four qualities that matter most.
A Positive Attitude
Employees who stay positive under pressure help create a better workplace and a better customer experience.
Respect and Communication
People who listen well, communicate politely, and respect both customers and coworkers usually become trusted team members.
A Willingness to Learn
Every restaurant has its own systems and standards. Employees who are eager to learn improve much faster than those who believe they already know everything.
Reliability
A dependable employee who arrives on time, accepts responsibility, and supports the team is one of the greatest assets a restaurant can have.
Final Thoughts
Looking back on nearly 20 years of opening and operating restaurants in Greater Vancouver, I have learned that successful hiring is not about finding perfect employees.
It is about finding the right people.
Experience is valuable.
Skills are important.
But character is the foundation.
Restaurants can teach recipes, systems, and service techniques. Honesty, respect, responsibility, and a positive attitude are much more difficult to teach.
When you hire people with strong character, you are not simply filling a position.
You are building the future of your restaurant.
In the restaurant business, recipes can be copied, menus can be changed, and locations can be replaced. But the right people are the foundation of every truly successful restaurant.
Looking Ahead
Hiring the right employees is only the beginning.
Keeping great employees motivated, loyal, and committed is an even greater challenge.
In the next article, I will share what I have learned about how to retain great restaurant employees and build a team that grows together for years rather than months.
About the Author
The author has spent nearly 20 years opening and operating independent restaurants in Greater Vancouver, Canada. Rather than sharing theory, this blog series is based on real-world experience—successful openings, costly mistakes, operational improvements, and practical systems that help small restaurants achieve long-term success. My goal is to help future restaurant owners avoid costly mistakes and make better decisions before investing their time, money, and energy.
Beyond Canada
Although the examples in this article come from my experience opening and operating restaurants in Greater Vancouver, the principles themselves are not limited to Canada.
- Understanding your customers.
- Choosing the right location.
- Making decisions based on research instead of emotion.
- Preparing for unexpected costs.
- These principles apply to restaurant businesses almost anywhere in the world.
- Markets may differ.
- Cultures may differ.
- Customers may differ.
- But successful restaurants are still built on the same fundamentals.
Internal Links
You can naturally connect this article to the following posts: