by Frankie Di Iorio
Upselling extra menu items creates a larger check and therefore a larger tip for the server. Making more tips seems like it would be enough motivation to get servers to upsell as much as possible. However, adding incentives to the mix has proven to increase sales and employee satisfaction. Both employees and employers can achieve greater benefits from extra motivational incentives.
Incentives can be beneficial in several ways. The most obvious benefit is that incentives almost always boosts sales. Employees will always be happier when they get their own piece of the pie as prizes or other rewards in addition to their paycheck. Employees that work hard will be rewarded and recognized as they feel they should be for their work. Rewards make employees feel valued and boost morale in the workplace.
There are many different kinds of incentives that can be used to motivate sales: simple recognition rewards like “employee of the month” can give employees pride in their work. However, incentives with cash or gift rewards tend to be more effective. Rewards can be given out daily, weekly or monthly and can range from cash bonuses to tickets to a game or show, or even free meals from the restaurant. Another way to motivate sales is a group incentive. Group activities can be effective because coworkers do not want to let each other down. For example, reward the entire team with a pizza party for meeting a sales quota within a specific time constraint. Employers can set up contests or reward each employee for meeting individualized goals. There are many ways to create incentives in the workplace, and they all have the potential to better the business while creating a more fun and rewarding work environment for the employees. Even though additional training may be necessary to soften the dreaded “hard sell” environment, introducing incentives into the workplace just makes sense.
