This article is written from the perspective of Ivan, the CEO and Founder of Hathaway.
When the iCHEF team visited Hathaway on their grand opening last month, we were impressed with the number of staff it had and the smooth efficiency of operations despite it being their first official day. So we began an interesting conversation with Ivan, about how he started the brand and built up his team of strong employees.
A little back story: Before Hathaway was born, Ivan started a cafe while he was studying at Singapore University of Technology & Design (SUTD) as he wanted to give back to his school.
The idea of opening a cafe piqued his interest in baking bread from scratch, and he managed to do this without any prior knowledge of baking bread. He very quickly mastered the techniques of baking bread through cookbooks, watching YouTube videos, and lots of practice of course! His breads were a success and won the hearts of his family, friends and his customers! Soon after, his family joined the business and started helping out at the cafe, which is now known as the well-loved Bread Yard.
Eventually, Bread Yard moved out of SUTD to Fusionopolis and the company went on to open a factory at Mandai a few years later, supplying bread to other F&B outlets. Fast forward to 10 years later, Ivan chanced upon a space at Dempsey Hill and opened a second cafe - Hathaway, that incorporated his handmade bread into his dishes.
Before we dive into his story, let’s find out…
A starting team refers to the people with whom you start your F&B business from the beginning. These team members have a say in the decision-making process (E.g., If your restaurant business has been open for a month, and you hire waiters or baristas to work as service staff, these new hires would not be considered as your starting team.)
A strong starting team should have the same vision and also help to set the tone for your business. Without having people with similar mindsets, it might cause unexpected problems to arise and put off your initial intentions of starting a business.
Coming back to Ivan’s story!
When we visited Hathaway, the first thing we noticed was that they were very well-staffed. Ivan shared that they had managed to put together a strong team of staff with 7 chefs in the kitchen, 6 service staff, and 1 dishwasher.
Through our conversation with Ivan, we learned more about his hiring process and how he built up his team. He mentioned that he used the Government portal MyCareerFuture.sg to post job openings. With that, Hathaway received tons of applicants for each position, and his starting team consists of Head Chefs from W Hotel, a Service Manager, leaders from Bread Yard, and also a Menu Consultant from Melbourne.
As we all know, due to Covid-19, several F&B businesses in Singapore have been facing issues such as difficulty in paying their staff and retrenching of staff. Interestingly, it was quite the opposite for Hathaway! While other companies were undergoing retrenchment, Ivan seized the opportunity and place alot of jobs on job portals. This worked and he was able to put together a large pool of applicants for Hathaway. The hiring process took approximately 2 months and they secured a strong team of 8 kitchen staff and 6 service staff for their start.
Hiring your starting team is vital and it cannot be thought of lightly as F&B is a fast-moving industry. The nature of work can run high so the people who get hired must have the same mindset, passion, perseverance, and goal that the business has, or else there might be problems surfacing after a period of time of them working.
One of the noteworthy things that Ivan shared with us was that having soft skills such as ‘people skills’, social etiquette, likable personality, and core values took precedence for him. He felt that having an employee with only hard skills such as cooking techniques is not as important as soft skills as hard skills can be taught and learned over time. We at iCHEF absolutely agree.
Here are some of the few soft skills that Ivan looked for when hiring his team:
Fit the culture of the job
Look for candidates that exude a positive attitude! People that exhibit positivity are more inclined to work their way through problems as they can objectively evaluate the issue and think of creative ways to solve it. Furthermore, they could strengthen relationships at work which can result in a lower turnover rate. However, Candidates with poor and bad attitudes may struggle to interact with their co-workers and or even possibly offend customers. The last thing that any F&B owner wants to see is customers leaving their restaurant in displeasure and leaving a negative review online. If you find a candidate with a positive attitude, and discipline, keep them, as these skills cannot be taught in books!When the candidate’s values align with the company’s values, he/she would be driven to complete the task as they believe they are aware that their contribution will bring a positive impact to the business. When candidates are inspired to perform their duties, it is often that teamwork, productivity, and commitment towards the business will increase.
Show Leadership qualities
A strong leader is someone who can empower people, make great decisions, build relationships, drive employee productivity, create a positive environment for their co-workers and communicate effectively with their team. Without a strong leader, there would not be a clear direction for co-workers to perform their duties.During the interview process, you may spot a good leader by his listening skills. People who have strong listening skills tend to react after internalizing and then ask great questions. In addition, a good leader can manage conflicts in the workplace and negotiate with the other party without creating more tension.
Able to withstand pressure and work in teams
With regards to testing whether an employee is able to handle the pressures of a restaurant workplace, Ivan shared with us that it isn't easy to measure or quantify how well his staff performs based on a test. According to him, performance judgement in the F&B industry requires observing staff on their job from day one.Being able to work in a team is important as effective teamwork helps to ensure that the F&B operations run smoothly. A lack of teamwork in a restaurant results in slower service, increasing mistakes, rude staff and these contribute to bringing a lousy dining experience for the customer.
Great Communication
This is the most important tip you have to remember when hiring a starting team member! You have to ensure that the hire understands the importance of great communication as it is a building block for creating good service. The person you hire must be able to provide staff with direction (E.g., Who is performing food duties, collecting used dishes, how to work together seamlessly during chaotic shifts.) Besides that, they must be able to be in control of the situation to understand and fulfill your customer needs.
Ivan mentioned that communication is a double-edged sword as he felt that excessive communication would result in the rise of internal conflict, whereas the lack of communication may result in staff feeling that there are insufficient directions to follow.
It is important to remember that if you are being too controlling, your staff will shun you as micromanaging staff at work would end up backfiring your initial plans. Providing balance was one of the key factors that Ivan mentioned and he emphasized that it is an important factor that employers always need to remember.
Giving too much free rein might allow employees to climb over your head and not respect you as their superior, or they might feel that you are not providing direction and guidance to him/her. In contrast, micromanaging might cause your employees to feel suffocated or even feel that they are not respected.
In Ivan’s case, he gave freedom and space for his starting team to grow and make mistakes. He allowed his head chefs from W hotel and his menu consultant from Melbourne to be involved in the decision making and design processes and gave them the outlet to be creative when developing the menu for Hathaway. His service manager was tasked with brainstorming ways to improve the service at the café. When employees get to make decisions and see the direct impact of their ideas, their morale is lifted significantly and this reduces turnover and also streamlines the working processes of each staff member.
In order to manage his starting team, Ivan does regular team meetings with his team. Discussions are open for his team to talk about the business and how to improve it. By having open discussions, it allows his team to voice out their thoughts, possess high self confidence and also be committed to their responsibility.
“Your Hand Fits In Mine Like It’s Made Just For Me”
To sum up our learnings with Ivan, it’s all about how to find the right person on the team. You have to ensure that your starting team fits the culture, has the leadership and communication skills so that he/she can be a source of direction for their fellow team members. There is no doubt that finding a great starting team takes lots of planning and responsibility but all this will be worth it once everything runs smoothly as you have anticipated! Don’t give up hope if you are unable to find one yet because there will be suitable candidates out there with the right attitude and values that fits just right for your business!
Caroline Yap is the editor and intern at iCHEF Singapore. She manages iCHEF Club, a growing community of F&B owners in Singapore – organizing events, an online newsletter, and the F&B Entrepreneur Bootcamp, the only regular workshop on opening a new restaurant in the country. In her spare time, she loves drawing, painting, and creating new visuals. Her love for Korean food runs deep such that you can spot her at any famous Korean Restaurant in Singapore.
