On The Job dating

“Our philosophy is people, product, profit. It takes great people to produce quality product, which will in turn yield profit.”

So goes the credo of Chicago restaurateur Michael Kornick, chef-owner of mk the restaurant and the recently opened mk north.

But even as Kornick charges his staff with this high-reaching goal, he knows that finding the people to fit the philosophy is easier said than done—especially for an independent restaurateur operating absent the expertise of a corporate human resources department.

In this second article in Restaurants and Institutions’ series charting the opening of mk north, Kornick, partner Caryn Struif and General Manager John Arents share the philosophies and actions through which they accomplished the daunting task of hiring and training more than 50 employees who make up their new team at mk north.

BRINGING IN THE BEST
Ideally, a restaurateur hires key kitchen and management staff first and then proceeds to hourly employees. For mk north, the first round included an executive chef, two sous-chefs, a pastry chef, general manager, three front-of-the-house floor managers and a controller/office manager.

All were in place by Aug. 30, 2001—about a month before opening—except the third floor manager. Kornick, Struif and Arents had interviewed a number of promising applicants, none of whom fully fit the bill: One changed his mind about the position at the last minute; another received two offers for general manager positions; still another wished to work no later than 9:30 p.m.

Luckily, a solution presented itself in-house. A newly hired server who had both the appropriate attitude and experience expressed interest in returning to management and thus, the last top-level post was filled.

Mk north’s high-income neighborhood proved a significant obstacle in attracting the 50 hourly employees needed, including servers, server’s assistants and front-desk staff. Struif, who counts hiring the management and service staff among the most important of her responsibilities, shared this duty at mk north with Arents. Both had a clear idea of the type of employees that would best fit mk north’s refined but attentive service style.

“Experience is definitely something you look for, but more than that is personality,” Arents says. “Michael and Caryn are committed to a superior level of service. They really look for people who want to do something special.”

Part of Kornick’s strategy to attract premium employees is his willingness to consider their long-term goals and assist in career development. He points to Chicago-based multiconcept operator Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises as a model.

“[LEYE] can take someone as an entry-level cook and that person can one day be a managing partner of a restaurant, and they’ve done that many, many times,” Kornick says.

Besides education and advancement, Kornick offers more tangible perks. All employees are eligible for paid vacations, as well as a health-insurance plan under which the company covers 25% of the cost after the first year, 50% after the second, 75% after the third and 100% beyond the fourth year. Additionally, employees with one year’s tenure can take advantage of mk north’s matching 401(k) program.

“I’m doing it to encourage employees to stay so we can have longevity and limit turnover, because we recognize the high cost of placement,” Kornick says, adding that he also makes a point of adapting work schedules to employees’ personal school and family commitments.

CASTING THE NET
Devising an attractive plan to entice employees is a good start in building the right team. But recruiting, interviewing and hiring are more formidable tasks.

Timing is crucial in hiring for a new restaurant, with enough time built in to allow for thorough training.

“Normally we’d want to have a training class of two weeks, so at least two weeks before opening you want to have everybody [hired]. You need to interview a month before that,” Arents says.

Local newspaper ads produced some candidates, but word of mouth proved the most effective method of attracting potential employees. Kornick, Struif and Arents relied on their numerous industry contacts and also spread the word among other restaurants and vendors.

To encourage referrals, Kornick passed out incentive cards to restaurant employees and vendors. “If they recommend or refer somebody who [ultimately] works for us—for any line staff person if they last 90 days—they’ll get $100, and for a manager candidate, $1,000,” he says.

Regarding the somewhat delicate issue of hiring employees away from other operations, he notes that those who are easily lured to other restaurants likely are seeking opportunities or benefits their current jobs do not offer.

“I’m offering someone either a better work environment, better hours, better conditions, better flexibility, better training and development so that next year they’re worth more money,” Kornick explains. “If [the former employer] is out of touch with what the market needs are today, I feel badly for him, but I don’t think we can prevent stealing people in our industry.”

LEARNING THE ROPES
Training for the mk north team began Sept. 10 and included 10 six- and seven-hour-long sessions.

“Definitely have an outline,” advises Struif, who devised mk north’s training schedule with Kornick and also wrote the employee manual and handbook. “Don’t go by the seat of your pants, because you will miss something. It’s crucial.”

The program began by introducing the restaurant and its philosophies and ended with two days of practice lunches and dinners. In between, employees learned every detail of service at mk north, including paperwork, reservations policies, menu tastes and descriptions, table setup, POS and reservation systems, bar protocol, wine tastes and descriptions, and common problems. Written tests served both as learning tools and measures of success.

Mock service also played an important role. Waiters first practiced serving each other and the hosts and then moved on to family, friends and regular mk customers at the practice meals, which Kornick considers a vital test.

“The main thing in the two practice days was not to rewrite the script, but just to get a chance to walk through it,” he says.

Serving free meals to the 260 guests weighed heavily on food costs, but Kornick views the expense as worthwhile. With the meals, staff passed out questionnaires to gain feedback on topics such as service, food quality, menu clarity and portion sizing.

“We have such a strong base of regular customers that I know well enough personally that I know they wouldn’t hold back if something here didn’t taste like it did downtown,” Struif says. “We really read through every single one. It was really, really helpful.”

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