Staffing is always complicated. The most difficult and troublesome part of running any business these days is the people. It’s easy enough to hire someone to fill an open position. But how do you (the employer) get them to stay? How do you get them to show up consistently? How do you get them to buy in, be engaged, want to be there, add value, work hard, and do well? These are the questions on every owner’s and manager’s mind. In the restaurant world, there are numerous concerns that keep you on your toes; finding bright, lovely folks to work with you is always top of mind. An entire industry around human resources is constantly tuning their attention to the problem. Companies large and small have tried every angle to improve morale and retention. Nobody wants pizza parties as pseudo compensation any more. (Just kidding, pizza forever). And while there are nearly countless facets, variables, root causes, concerns, theories, and potential solutions to the question, they are beyond the scope of what this writer can cover today. What employees want is what we all want as humans, to be treated with dignity and respect, to be seen, valued, and paid for our labor.
Employees want to be paid fairly for their time and effort. When a person applies for a job, sends a query, dresses up for an interview, sits down to talk about the job, they bring their resume. A resume contains one's pertinent professional information - the experiences, the education, the responsibilities, the verbs of the job, a lifetime of one’s workplace accomplishments presented together on an 8 x 11 piece of paper. If you are filling out an application you must consider where you worked and for how long, why you left, who there will speak generously on your behalf, your title, whether you got promoted, quit, or were fired. The expectation in the field of hospitality is that the candidate in question will have had many jobs before arriving at this moment in time. Or that the job-seeker is young, a student, a recent graduate, someone looking for a new skillset or simply a summertime revenue stream. Our crew ranges in age from high school dishwashers to their grandparents, who want to keep a hand in the workforce. We ensure our team is well cared for in part with a kitchen appreciation fee, tacked on to the guest bill.
Employees want gratifying work. If food service is your chosen industry, there must be something about it you enjoy. You (the restaurant employee) must derive some pleasure from cooking, eating, and drinking. Maybe you liked chemistry in school. Maybe you’re a people person. Maybe you like to think on your feet, and work with your hands. Maybe you like the late hours. Maybe you’re a night owl, or a parent, or have a day job. There are other places you could take a skillset of customer service and an artistic bent. But nowhere like the restaurant. A restaurant is a performance, and servers must have a flair for the dramatic. When you are a server you are a salesperson, actor, and butler. You wait on a table, on a guest. You are also a go between. You must face the music in the kitchen and be outgoing enough and loud to shout back in the frenetic atmosphere in back of the house. It is not an easy job. It is messy. People on both sides get upset. You must console, cajole, assuage, process and move fast!
While the industry is notorious for churn and burn, disgruntled employees, and quitting that isn’t always quiet, here at The Causeway Restaurant, we pride ourselves on our staff and how we care for them. They are knowledgeable professionals who like what they do, are good at their job, and are well compensated for their efforts. We are, like so many Maine businesses, seasonal. The population is greatly reduced in winter, and our low season requires an adjustment. Summers are constantly, rigorously busy, with big sales figures and big tourist tips. We know that after October, the numbers drop, and so does the money. We reduce our hours and offer promotions and discounts for our guests as incentive during our slow season. And in this way, by starting a club for the appreciation of fine spirits, for example, or by hosting monthly pairing dinners featuring international cuisine and Maine made or curated beer, wine, and spirits, by doing special menus for holidays, and running discounts for our local crowd, we are able to stay open, to keep our crew gainfully employed all winter, and maintain our momentum until the summer crowd returns. Hanging with the locals is also good fun!
Staying open through the cold months itself is a significant feat. Maine innkeepers Lauren and Greg Soutiea have made it their mission to create a warm and safe atmosphere for all employees. Being like a family isn’t an empty adage here. Some of the staff live on site at the inn, others live in housing managed by the Soutieas. We offer the camaraderie of restaurant life, positive group dynamics and healthy communication fostered by steady management, along with the fringe benefits, like staff meal, money off your bill when you dine at The Causeway, a discount on the art sold in the Craignair Gallery, treatments at RISE, our massage studio and micro spa, and genuinely kind, caring, and thoughtful leaders. This month, the first of the new year, we are looking back at our early hires, and marveling at the friends we have made along the way. We have two employees who have been with us for nearly five years. This is a big deal! And we want to recognize them all, for joining us on this crazy adventure, for staying through the tough times, and bringing their creativity, their perseverance, and their good nature to the business.
Shannon is our head housekeeper. Shannon is a mother of three, who came to us with housekeeping experience from Rockland’s oceanfront resort hotel. Shannon has grown wonderfully into her role. She assumes responsibility for students every summer, who arrive on J1 visas from foreign countries or are home from college and often require training, translation, and motivation. She keeps those young men and women on track, serves as their trainer on how we do things at The Craignair Inn, which emphasizes green practices and uses eco-friendly products. We are a small bed and breakfast but an award-winning one, and there is a standard of service that must be adhered to. We are a dog friendly inn smack on the ocean, which also means a lot of specialized cleanup up hair, sand, salt, corrosion, and the occasional accident. It’s hard work. But Shannon does it thoroughly and intelligently, with a smile on her face. We are so lucky to have her here!
Angie started almost five years ago as a dishwasher and has also moved up through the ranks steadily. Angie is also a mother, with two children in the local K-8 school. Her degree is in fine art, and she brings a creative eye to her work at the salad station. Color, composition, texture, and freshness are all equally important in this role. Angie is quietly maternal, and is known among the young kitchen staff as a mama bear, who listens and provides advice and hugs, as needed. Susan and Barry are reaching the four year anniversary mark, and they both work in the restaurant's customer facing side. Barry can swing from host to server to jack of all trades; he arrived on our road as a neighbor, a young retiree with energy to burn and the kindest heart. Susan, mother to a teenager, holds a day job as a long term substitute in the community school, and often runs from that gig to this one. Meg, Sophie, Adrian, and Sophie were all hired in 2022, and are respectively, Pastry Chef, Food Prep, Sous Chef, and Head Bartender. Each has evolved in their role and eagerly takes on new responsibilities. We could not do this without any of these hard working people.
Consistent, trained, reliable long-term employees provide a steadying ballast and save a small business massive amounts of time and money, two things often in short supply. Our staff speaks a common language and understands the culture of our brand, our mission and values. They know the menu, the layout, the routine, the ingredients, the workflow, and the walk-in. It makes for a unified and cohesive team, who hit the ground running on every shift. When Lauren and Greg bought the inn and started this business (or businesses) they created a paradigm of kindness, respect, and decency. And while certainly not every person hired has stayed, or been a good fit, we feel that we have been both smart and lucky in creating an environment where people matter, and where they want to work. Since the Covid-19 pandemic the economic landscape has shifted under our feet. It is a job seekers market, while business owners scramble to find good help. Here at The Craignair Inn and Causeway Restaurant in Spruce Head, Maine, we seem to have struck the right formula for success. Staffing isn't magic; it is built with integrity, right intentions, and attention.
Happy employees make for a pleasant and harmonious workplace, which contributes to the overall atmosphere of a restaurant or hotel. Maine inns are supposed to be cozy, romantic, charming, and welcoming, and we think we have created a perfect place for your vacation in summer, fall, winter, or spring. The Craignair Inn by the Sea is a four-season escape from the mundane, far from highways and pollution, a place where everything is beautiful and good. You can restore yourself, try new things, bask in the sunshine or the delicious cold, and enjoy locally sourced food prepared by our Executive Chef and served beautifully in our oceanfront dining room, pretty deck, or art filled gallery. Stay a while in Spruce Head, a true vacationland, the way Maine should be. Discover your room and make a reservation!