The Right Staff: Finding the right finger food catering staff in the Melbourne catering industry

Finding the right finger food catering staff in the Melbourne catering industry

How do we find, motivate and retain good catering staff in Melbourne? While our experience comes from Catering in Melbourne, the Melbourne catering scene is no different to any other area of the country: let’s face it, good staff is hard to find. Here we identify good staff and address how to attract, motivate and retain key members of your team.

Versatility and the ability to adapt to new locations is a key quality in good catering staff: skill in fingerprint-free presentation at fingerfood catering events, calmly attentive at corporate catering events and swiftly responsive at function venue catering events – these are ideal character traits in quality staff, but they can be difficult to find.

Like any well-planned catering function, success relies on detail of presentation and your staff looking and acting happy to be there – are we asking for too much of our staff? Are we really looking for perfection? It comes down to your team’s positive personality and flair, presented in a way that enhances every event, and complements the menu and bar. Working with staff of such high calibre, you know that any catered event – from a demanding wedding function to huge corporate party – will be taken in hand with confidence and aplomb.

After years of interviewing and selecting staff, we’ve discovered that finding good catering staff in Melbourne relies on the following:

1. Personal Cleanliness – we cannot tell you how many candidates we’ve seen sporting dirty fingernails.
2. Personality – charming and attentive is what we’re after. People usually wear their personality.
3. Time Management – being on time for the interview is usually a good sign.
4. Enthusiasm to learn – we usually ask a question about catering we know they can’t answer. A response to find out more indicates their willingness to learn.
5. Team players – we find out if they play a team sport or are involved in an existing team environment.
6. Bearing – the way they hold themselves and engage you; the old-fashioned word is deportment. We look for good posture, no slouching.
7. Professionalism – if they do not have any previous experience, it doesn’t mean they can’t do the job. If we can train them our way, they will meet our standards.
8. Confidence – knowing when to be seen and when to be part of the background.
9. Attentiveness – are all the glasses filled? Role playing is a good way to see a recruit in action.
10. Trustworthiness – you’re can’t be sure of this until they’re working for you, but always check references carefully.

As a caterer who lives and works by these principles, Peter Hayton of ACC Advanced Catering Concepts spends the year staging major catering events – his client résumé includes the Rolling Stones, Cirque de Soleil and England’s Barmy Army. With an exclusive selection of extraordinary Melbourne venues, Peter and his team are able to create and manage any size event you desire.

Peter is based in Cheltenham, Melbourne, Australia, and can be contacted on: 03 9555 4000