How to create and use a restaurant employee evaluation form

It's not always easy to tell an employee that they're doing a poor job or objectively decide which employees deserve a promotion. But, as a restaurant owner or manager, you have to regularly do tasks just like those for your restaurant to succeed. And a good restaurant employee evaluation form can help you simplify the process! 

But if you don’t already have a go-to employee evaluation form or know how to use one, we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll be showing you:

• The benefits of an evaluation form for you and your employees 
• How to effectively use a restaurant employee performance evaluation form 
• Next steps and common scenarios following performance reviews 
• How to create a template restaurant employee evaluation form

But let’s begin by briefly discussing… 

What is a restaurant employee evaluation form?

A restaurant employee evaluation form is a restaurant management tool used to assess an employee’s work performance. It’s a document that can help restaurant managers identify employees’ strengths and areas for improvement.

The form consists of different sections to evaluate important employee attributes, such as communication skills and work ethic. And it’s usually used during performance reviews to give you and your employees an opportunity to reflect on their past performance.

Why use an employee evaluation form?

Restaurant employees are always on the go during business hours. So, it can be challenging to track their performance without proper documentation.

A well-structured restaurant employee performance evaluation form (like the one we’ll show you how to create in just a moment) will help you quantify and measure your employee’s performance and progress over time. More importantly, it simplifies your restaurant employee management processes by making it easier to do the following three things. 

Ensure employees are on the same page

An evaluation form can help align expectations between supervisors and staff. Because the form lays out the employee’s performance objectively, it allows you to discuss problem areas without the employee feeling like they are being called out. 

Provide an objective record of an employee’s performance 

Often, unintentional bias and prejudice affect our decision-making. This is normal and happens to everyone. And a standard evaluation form can help us make objective decisions on things like whether an employee gets promoted or laid off. 

Keep employees engaged

An employee evaluation form also allows employees to reflect on their past performance and identify ways they believe they can improve. They can also use the evaluation form as a tool to develop a personalized career plan and keep record of their progress at work. 

How to conduct a performance review using an employee evaluation form 

Now that you know how an evaluation form can help you and your employees, here are some tips on how to use one effectively before, during and after performance reviews.

Introduce the form

Introduce the form to your employees early, preferably during the onboarding process when they are hired. Give them a blank evaluation form and explain how it works in your employee performance review process. This will help them become familiar with your workplace success factors.

Explain the importance

Tell the employees why your restaurant uses employee evaluation forms. Emphasize that it’s not to criticize or punish them, but to track progress, give recommendations for improvement, and make impartial decisions for things like promotions and raises.

Schedule performance reviews

Given how busy running a restaurant can be, it’s best to schedule performance reviews with your employees at least two weeks in advance. This will give everyone time to reflect on performance, progress and goals before the review. 

Ask employees for self-evaluation

Ask your employee to fill in the employee section of the form before the performance review. That way, they can share their thoughts during the meeting as well. Employees that do self-evaluation are more likely to hold themselves accountable for past issues and develop realistic plans to improve. 

Evaluate employee performance

Next, it’s your turn as the restaurant owner or manager to evaluate your staff. Keep the evaluation objective and support it with quantifiable metrics. When possible, also try to include examples and advice to help the employee grow professionally. 

Share the evaluation form

Once the form is ready, share it with the employee. Do this before the performance review to give them some time to read through comments and process the information. 

Review employee evaluation forms

Now it’s time to discuss everything on the form with your employees. During the meeting, explain the reasoning behind your scores and feedback. Be ready to answer questions so you can clear up any doubts and resolve potential issues. 

Encourage individual professional development plans

Lastly, outline next steps with the employee. Help them develop a personalized professional development plan. And identify steps the employee can take to learn new skills and achieve relevant goals in the coming quarter or year. 

What to do after the performance review

After performance reviews are over, use the information you and your employees have documented on the forms to make important decisions or set new expectations. Here are some examples of best and worst case scenarios. 

Best case scenarios

• Promotion and raise. If an employee did an exceptionally good job, consider rewarding them with a promotion or raise to encourage them to keep up the good work. 
• Encourage improvement. If an employee sets improvement goals during the performance review and you later see them making progress on those goals, recognize and praise them for their effort. 
• Fix recurring issues. If several employees mention the same workplace issues during performance reviews, look into those problems and try to resolve them. 

Worst case scenarios

• Constructive feedback. If your employee is consistently performing poorly, provide clear, constructive feedback on what they can do differently and set milestones to track progress. 
• Termination. If you notice continuous problems that aren’t improving after several performance reviews, you may need to fire the employee.
• Resignation. If an employee indicates indifference or extreme frustration during the performance review, it might be a sign they’re thinking about quitting.  

Restaurant employee evaluation form template

Now that you know how to conduct a performance review using an employee review form, it’s time to create one for your restaurant. 

Here’s all of the information you’ll want to include on your restaurant employee evaluation template.

Employee information

To start, the form should include basic employee information, such as:

• Name
• Date of hire
• Current position
• Evaluator’s name
• Performance review date

Evaluation categories

There are many different metrics you can use to evaluate restaurant employees’ work performance. And the metrics you use to evaluate a server won’t be the same as your head chef. 

But some evaluation categories apply to all restaurant staff, such as:

• General work habits
• Teamwork skills 
• Communication skills 
• Professional development 

Grading system

A consistent and transparent grading system will help you objectively evaluate your employees’ performance. You can use letter grades (A-F) or a number scale (1-5). 

The definition of each letter or number should be clearly explained in the form and before the evaluation so your employees understand where they stand. For example, the letter “A” or the number “5” usually means “exceptional work” in a particular evaluation category.

Remember to provide space for employees to also evaluate their performance using the same grading system and metrics. 

Review previous goals and feedback

Include a section where you can refer to evaluation scores from previous performance reviews. You can also choose to just attach the previous forms. Either way, previous evaluation scores will be useful to compare and determine how much an employee has improved since the last performance review. 

Evidence

The evaluation should be just and objective. Backing up your score and feedback with proof will make your evaluation and recommendations more convincing. For example, you may reference attendance sheets, POS reports and/or customer reviews.

Signature

Last but not least, both the supervisor and employee should sign the evaluation form to indicate that they’ve reviewed it together.

Final thoughts 

The restaurant industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world. And, to truly succeed, you need restaurant employees that are committed to growing with you!

Use the employee evaluation form template that we’ve shared today to track your employees’ progress, make objective restaurant management decisions and ensure employees know how to best contribute to your restaurant goals.  

And, if you’re looking for more tips like these, be sure to check out our blog where we discuss important hiring topics like how to make job postings stand out!