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Vol. 3 No. 3, 2022

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms 
of the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0

1 Vinnytsia National Agrarian University, Ukraine (corresponding author)
E-mail: ruslanaivan@gmail.com
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0663-8307

DOI: https://doi.org/10.30525/2661-5150/2022-3-7

IMPROVING THE METHODS OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT  
OF THE RESTAURANT CHAIN

Ruslana Lopatiuk1

Abstract. The aim of the article is to study the issues that determine the relationship between the management 
function and its instrumental apparatus to improve the efficiency of enterprises in the field of catering.  
Methodology. The management system used and inherent in the network of restaurants in Vinnytsia is investigated 
in order to identify their effectiveness and determine their strengths and weaknesses. The article analyzes the 
relationships in the team, which form the basis of personnel management at restaurant business enterprises, 
because in the conditions of constant socio-economic changes and dynamic development of market relations, the 
need for effective and professional management personnel is growing. Socio-economic approaches to improving 
the efficiency of personnel management in the food industry are considered. According to the results of the  
study, it was found that the implementation of management decisions is influenced by the following factors:  
material and resource base, training and strategy of the company's management, and the key role is played  
by the support of the staff. What is the motivational component and what is the main purpose of motivation, 
psychophysical, personal, professional and material motivators of the behavior of employees of the restaurant 
chain, as well as the main types of motivation and forms of their stimulation are determined. Practical implications. 
The main methods of improving the efficiency of personnel management are proposed, taking into account the 
concepts of corporate culture, leadership development and the use of positive features of the organizational 
structure of the network. It is argued that employees should be given the opportunity to acquire new skills and 
move up the hierarchical structure of the restaurant, along with the implementation of incentive motivation  
policy. This will significantly reduce the outflow of personnel from the enterprise and ensure its effective  
functioning. Value/originality. The essence of the personnel management system, which is inherent in the  
network of restaurants in Vinnytsia "Faini spravy" and has a systemic nature, is substantiated, and it is established 
that the restaurants of this chain need constant improvement of personnel in order to continue to keep pace 
with modern market challenges. The company should also reduce the costs and time spent on the search for  
new personnel. To do this, it is necessary to establish closer ties with colleges and universities in Ukraine.

Key words: personnel, leadership, strategy, management, restaurant business, communications.

JEL Classification: M12, J23, J29

1. Introduction
Effective restaurant management involves several  

basic tasks: public relations, inventory, staff 
responsibility and customer service. In some cases, 
the restaurant owner may act as the manager. In any 
case, a strong manager is an important component of 
a successful restaurant (Kononenko, Polstyana, 2019).

In the conditions of constant socio-economic  
changes and dynamic development of market relations, 
the need for effective and professional manage-
ment personnel is growing. The implementation of 
management decisions is influenced by the following 
factors: material and resource base, training and strategy 

of the company 's management, as well as the key role 
of support from the staff. The recent crisis showed 
that enterprises were not ready for the new challenges 
that emerged. The management system required new 
measures to increase staff motivation, additional 
training for managers and support for employees  
to work effectively (Kozhuhivska, Parubok, 2018).

2. Principles of successful  
personnel management

Successful personnel management in the restaurant 
business largely depends on the quality of personnel 



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selection. The search for personnel in the restaurant 
business market is currently quite difficult. The main 
feature of the selection of professional employees 
is the competitiveness of the institution. The best 
establishments sometimes use the method of 
labor piracy as the main tool for managing human  
resources of the restaurant. As an additional incentive 
for cooperation, establishments use qualified  
motivation for this. It allows saving employees'  
money by providing them with additional incentives 
through tangible and intangible methods of  
motivation. Some scientists also identify a system 
of principles that should ensure the harmonious  
existence of these types of motivation. Researchers  
offer five points:
1) it is necessary to regularly improve the management 
system through motivational incentives. Such steps 
will create a competitive enterprise that will hunt for 
valuable personnel in the labor market;
2) the task of material incentives is to orient the 
management structure in such a way that it is fully 
invested in the final result, combining into a single  
whole the work for themselves, for the benefit of the 
enterprise and the company;
3) it is recommended to invest a certain percentage 
of profits in providing staff with additional payments  
and bonuses that increase in accordance with the 
position held in the hierarchy of the enterprise;
4) it is necessary to give the employee the opportunity 
to implement the acquired experience and relevant  
skills for the purpose of its own realization, which  
is aimed directly at the development of the company;
5) it is necessary to constantly monitor the balance 
between two types of motivation, material and non-
material, in order to maintain a balanced incentive 
system (Selyutin, 2018).

The motivational component is a kind of tasking 
process, the purpose of which is to create such 
a psychological state in an employee that will help 
to control and model his behavior in order to  
purposefully activate it in the interests of the 
enterprise. The main purpose of motivation is to 
get the maximum benefit from the available labor  
potential of the institution and ultimately to make 
a profit. Also, motivation as a component of labor 
potential is divided into certain elementary parts. 
Among them there are subtypes of motivation: labor 
activity; productive employment; competitiveness of 
the employee; choice of workplace; mastering various 
means of production. Unfortunately, the application 
of the entire motivation structure is not always  
traced, but only its individual components. But it 
is worth noting the general rules that should be 
systematically used at the enterprise to motivate the 
staff: equal opportunities; agreed remuneration; 

proper conditions for all employees; opportunities  
for professional growth; atmosphere of trust.

Restaurateurs in the process of carrying out their 
business activities constantly have to solve problems 
related to the management of restaurant personnel,  
as the availability of qualified and well-trained staff  
is the key to the success of the restaurant business. 
Therefore, the creation and application of a viable  
personnel management system in the restaurant  
industry can increase the efficiency of the restaurant 
business several times. Due to the functioning of 
the personnel management system, continuous 
improvement of methods of work with personnel 
is ensured using modern scientific and practical 
developments in this area. In turn, the essence of 
personnel management is to establish economic, 
administrative, organizational, managerial, socio-
psychological, informational, intellectual and legal 
relations between the subject (owner or top manager 
of the restaurant) and objects (restaurant staff ) of 
management. The basis of these relations are methods  
of influencing the motives of behavior, interests and  
labor activity of restaurant workers for their most 
productive use. I. I. Bazhan believes that the personnel  
of the enterprise is defined as a set of permanent 
employees who have undergone the necessary 
professional training and have practical experience 
(Bazhan 2018).

3. Management objects  
in the restaurant industry

That is, personnel management can be understood 
as a purposeful complex influence on individual 
employees or a team in order to provide optimal 
conditions for creative and initiative work to 
achieve the company 's goals. Therefore, personnel  
management in the restaurant business requires 
careful attention from owners and managers, 
which can be carried out qualitatively using a set of  
certain management methods. Under the methods 
of personnel management understand a set of  
techniques and methods of influence on the staff  
of the enterprise to achieve the goals of the organization.

However, any method of personnel management 
is based on the motives that guide the employee in 
the process of his work. In turn, the motive is the  
motivating reason for the actions and deeds of  
the staff. It is the motives that influence the interests, 
behavior, actions and needs of the personnel.  
It should be noted that each category of personnel  
has its own needs, and the methods of influencing  
them may differ. Therefore, it is important to  
distinguish several categories of personnel of  
restaurant business establishments with their unique 
methods of managerial influence and motivation.



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4. Categories of restaurant staff
1. Restaurant administration is the management  

staff, specialists who provide financial and adminis-
trative management of the restaurant (restaurant 
manager, accounting, marketing and advertising 
services, human resources, logistics, etc.) The best 
motivation for top management personnel is the 
possibility of career growth, high income, social  
status, recognition of their importance.

2. Kitchen specialists are qualified workers who 
ensure high quality of cooking, their wide range in 
the restaurant (chef, pastry chef, pizza chef, cooks,  
sushi chefs, etc.). Motivation for this category of 
employees will be recognition of their talents in  
cooking and serving dishes, as well as their  
importance for the restaurant. Social and  
psychological motivation for them can be various 
competitions for the title of "Best in Business".  
An element of economic motivation can be cash 
bonuses for the number of original dishes sold.

3. Service personnel in the hall are skilled and 
unskilled workers who provide direct contact 
with customers and visitors of the restaurant (hall  
managers, cashiers, banquet managers, hall 
administrators, waiters, bartenders, sommeliers, etc.) 
The main economic motivation for them will be  
the amount of tips received from satisfied customers.

4. Employees of auxiliary services are unskilled 
workers who provide the necessary conditions for 
the functioning and work of all other categories of 
restaurant staff (food suppliers, cleaners, dishwashers, 
kitchen auxiliary workers, etc.) They will be  
motivated by a stable and decent salary, a clear range 
of their responsibilities, the possibility of a short rest 
during the working day, respect of the management  
and periodic moral and material incentives. At the 
same time, restaurant staff is characterized by a number 
of specific features: high staff turnover among line 
staff; lack of highly qualified managerial staff; lack of 
HR department or HR manager in many restaurants; 
unprofessionalism of ordinary restaurant workers, 
especially waiters, bartenders and cooks.

Therefore, the competent use by the management 
of the restaurant business establishment of various 
management methods, ways and means of influence, 
tools and types of motivation, taking into account an 
individual approach to each of the above categories 
of restaurant personnel, will be the most important 
condition for the effective functioning of the entire 
restaurant personnel management system, which will 
allow to maintain professional and dedicated staff. 
To do this, it is necessary to take as a basis traditional 
and introduce innovative methods of personnel 
management of restaurant business enterprises. 
A. Ya. Kibanov proposes the following classification of 
personnel management methods (Kibanov, 2020):

1) administrative methods (formation of the 
organizational structure and management bodies, 
approval of administrative rules and regulations, 
creation of orders and instructions, development of 
organizational regulations, performance standards and 
job descriptions, selection and placement of personnel);
2) economic methods (pricing policy; technical and 
economic analysis and justification; tax, accounting 
and financial accounting; planning; material incentives; 
economic rules and regulations);
3) social and psychological methods (social develop-
ment and analysis of the team; social planning; 
participation of personnel in management; psycho-
logical influence on employees; moral stimulation; 
formation of working groups; creation and mainte-
nance of a healthy psychological climate in the team; 
stimulation of creativity, initiative and responsibility).

The effectiveness of the application of certain 
methods of personnel management depends on 
their motivational orientation, consistency and the 
availability of a mechanism for their implementation 
and involves the management work of the  
management of the restaurant business establish- 
ment to find and implement modern and innovative 
methods of personnel management in the general 
complex of methods of personnel management of  
the restaurant business enterprise.

5. Personnel potential  
of hotel and restaurant facilities

The human resources potential of hotel and  
restaurant facilities has quantitative and qualitative 
characteristics. The quantitative side of human  
resources potential is determined, according to most 
economists, by the labor resources available to the 
enterprise in each period, as well as the amount 
of working time. The qualitative characteristics  
of human resources include indicators that can be 
formulated using a set of features: demographic, 
professional qualification, social, moral and other.  
The staffing potential of hotel and restaurant  
facilities is characterized by the following absolute  
and relative indicators: – the registered and  
attendance number of employees of the enterprise 
and its internal structural units, individual categories 
and groups at a certain date; – the average number  
of employees for the specified period; – the growth 
rate of the number of employees for the specified  
period; – the average length of service in the  
specialty; – staff turnover. The concept of "human 
resources" requires a more detailed study and 
a clear separation of the object and subject of human  
resources management. The main element of 
management is people who are both the object and 
the subject of management. The ability of human 
resources to simultaneously act as an object and subject 



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of management is the main specific feature of the 
management of hotel and restaurant facilities.

The main purpose of staff motivation in the  
personnel management system is to get the maximum 
return from the use of available human resources,  
which allows to increase the overall efficiency and 
profitability of the enterprise. Properly organized 
system of material incentives at the restaurant  
business enterprise creates an atmosphere where 
employees feel the need to work with maximum 
efficiency for the success of the institution.  
The system of material incentives requires constant 
study of the factors that determine material incentives.

These factors are understood as the driving forces  
that ensure the formation and use of a set of incentives 
to meet the collective and personal interests of 
employees (Tranchenko, Shkolniy, Lopatyuk,  
Biletska (2018).

Personal self-realization is necessary for the  
effective work of the restaurant business. Although 
remuneration is the most significant source of  
income in the restaurant business, it is impossible  
to ensure these qualities of an employee with the  
help of traditional forms of material incentives 
and strict external control, salary and punishment.  
Only those employees who are aware of the 
meaning of their activities and strive to achieve the 
company 's goals can count on obtaining high results  
(Tranchenko, 2018).

It can be argued that monetary motivation by its  
nature is "insatiable" and in the future other types 
of material motivation should be used to retain  
specialists at the enterprise and stimulate them 
to perform their duties in good faith. Along with 
a decent salary as additional financial incentives  
can be used: bonus system of accrual; provision of  
free or preferential meals at the enterprise; payment 
for mobile communication directly related to the 
implementation of the labor process; reimbursement 
of transportation costs; financing professional 
development; providing an opportunity to get a loan 
or a preferential loan for housing or other household 
needs; partial compensation of vacation expenses, 
etc. These benefits help to create comfortable working 
conditions, thanks to which a person will be satisfied 
with his work not only because of the salary.

If the interests of the enterprise and employees  
are balanced, it will allow to identify a certain group 
of motivators in the first place. They will be interested 
in achieving the set goals and will encourage other 
employees to do so in order to get a certain incentive  
for the work of the team. In turn, the motivators 
are divided into groups: psychophysical, personal, 
professional and material (Figure 1.) Although 
the motivators and their elements are in different  
structures, they are still in some way related to each 
other (Lopatiuk, 2021).

The purpose of each hotel and restaurant enterprise 
is to make a profit as a result of providing effective 
services. They are directly related to the service,  
that is, the staff that provides them. In order to build 
quality services, it is necessary to prevent the decrease  
in staff motivation due to lack of support from 
management and in the process of disagreement  
with colleagues. To do this, the following system 
must be created that will be effective and consistent in  
the process of achieving the goal (Tranchenko, 2018) .

To improve the efficiency of personnel management 
abroad, there is a practice of personnel training. 
Depending on the goals and objectives, the following 
training options are used:
– training of new managers and specialists who are 
hired for the first time at the enterprise. Employees 
are introduced to the peculiarities of the structure,  
economy, organization of production activities, 
technologies, social conditions and safety;
– retraining of personnel is carried out in order to  
obtain additional higher or vocational education;
– providing staff with special skills and knowledge 
that were not previously used at the enterprise to  
increase labor productivity and adapt staff to new 
realities due to changes in the production process 
(Loptiuk 2020).

After analyzing the work of Vinnytsia restaurant 
establishments, it was concluded that there are  
negative trends in the work with staff during the 
quarantine period:
– lack of professionalism of waiters (most of them do 
not have the appropriate qualifications and education);
– decrease in motivation, which is reflected in the  
work of employees (they work without enthusiasm, 
without effort, do not show initiative, approach their 
duties formally).

It was on the basis of our study of the chain of 
institutions "Faini spravy " that it was possible to find 
out that the role of the leader is especially important 
when the strategy of the team is formed, which  
provides a variety of services and serves consumers. In 
the case of direct contact of the employee providing 
services with the recipient of these tangible and 
intangible benefits, the most important thing is to 
create a sense of a high-quality and well-coordinated 
team capable of providing competitive services. In 
the conditions of constant dynamic changes that are 
always inherent and occurring in the environment 
of restaurant business enterprises, it is worth noting 
that leadership qualities can positively affect the 
use of intellectual and human resources potential of 
the economy. This statement makes clear another  
function of management – to exercise targeted control 
over the entire personnel structure (Tranchenko, 
Shkolniy, Lopatyuk, Biletska (2018). 

The process of realization of such influence should 
lead to an increase in the types of competitive,  



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strategic and business-modeled behavior in the teams 
in order to guarantee the provision of quality goods 
and services to the consumer, raising the enterprise 
to a higher level as a result of constant inevitable  
processes of development of the institution and its  
place among the segments of the market economy.

In order to effectively apply leadership as a powerful 
mechanism for the development of hotel and  
restaurant services, it is necessary to carry out its 
scientific institutionalization. This will make it  
possible to implement this approach within the 
framework of normal relations, thanks to the method 
that will consolidate this direction in socio-economic 
processes, streamlining them with related formats 
of management and leadership in the conditions of 
sustainable development of the business complex.

At the enterprises it is advisable to apply methods 
related to diagnostics of assessment of return on 
investment in intellectual development of personnel 
(Figure 2).

They are an integral part of economic potential 
development and create an inextricable link between 
human and organizational potential. Human 
potential should be a source of innovations that are 
implemented in the process of knowledge trans-
formation (Kozhuhivska, Parubok, 2018) 

Having implemented the leadership function, the 
next step is to improve human potential and intensify 
corporate culture development programs. After 
analyzing various results of leadership programs, it 
was found that the involvement of investment policy 
in human capital is much more effective compared to 
the modernization of technological production base.  
This conclusion is based on the fact that production 
facilities are managed by employees, and as 
a result of maximum involvement of the team in the 
implementation of changes, transformations and 
other types of optimization, it is possible to improve  
business results. It also depends on the number 
of employees involved and the speed of involving 

Motivators for using the labor potential of the enterprise

Material motivators

Pay system Copartnership Participation in ownership
Participation in 

management
Provision 
of benefits

Professional motivators

Educational level Professional skills Experience

Personal motivators

Ability to master and 
generate ideasCompetence Responsibility Initiative

Psychological motivators

Staff rotation Social guarantees
Work force development 

system
Improvement 
of working 
conditions

Figure 1. The structure of motivators for increasing TPP



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employees in solving certain processes. To solve 
complex and non-standard issues, managers use the 
methodology of a systematic approach, which allows  
to involve managers of the company at all levels,  
forming a powerful management team that is able 
to organize the team to the conditions of the most  
effective work (Yuryk, Romanyuk, 2017)

In order to improve the management culture, it is 
necessary to identify the elements of organizational 
culture that have the specificity of repetition and 
have an indirect ability to influence other areas of 
communication. This type of culture begins to form 
as a result of communication and actions aimed at  
achieving the company 's goals through the staff. Due 
to these processes, special norms of behavior, values, 
approach to contact with external factors were created.  
In order to carry out a complete, continuous 
reproduction of the general culture of the staff,  
managers need to adhere to a targeted analysis,  
control and evaluation in the process of setting tasks  
for employees. In order to ensure that employees  
adhere to roles, it is necessary to establish a type of 
reward that will have an intangible origin.

Another step towards improving the efficiency 
of personnel management is its practical side.  
To do this, the following criteria must be met:
– constantly increase the role of self-management;
– establish effective cooperation between the staff and 
the leader;
– to improve the quality of the organization of 
management activities;

Sufficient 
starting capital

Implementatio
n of the 

management 
mechanism

Justification of 
the economic 
feasibility of 
investment

The 
relationship 

between 
expected 

income and 
risk

Investment Investment
in human 

capital

Urgency of 
implementati

on

The size of the 
return depends 
on the interest 
of the person

High 
profitability in 
combination 

with riskiness

Influence of 
historical, 

cultural and 
family 

traditions

Ability to 
transfer the 

acquired 
knowledge

Longer 
investment 

period

Management
staff

Figure 2. Peculiarities of investing in human capital

– application of ethical methods and techniques in 
business communication.

The "Lezghinka" restaurant, which is part of the 
"Faini spravy " chain, needs constant improvement  
of its personnel to keep moving along with modern 
market challenges. The company should also reduce  
the costs and time spent on the search for new  
personnel. To do this, it is necessary to establish  
closer ties with colleges and universities in Ukraine.

6. Conclusions
Introducing such opportunities is a way for staff to 

grow and develop professionally within the company. 
Providing employees with the opportunity to acquire 
new skills and move up the hierarchical structure  
of the restaurant, along with a policy of incentive 
motivation. This will significantly reduce staff turnover 
from the enterprise and ensure its effective functioning.

In order to improve the work of the departments  
of the teams, it is necessary to create such conditions 
that will allow to implement the following factors:
– as a result of the campaign on the use of business 
ethics, to increase the level of communication;
– significantly reduce the cost of finding new employees 
through cooperation with colleges and universities;
– to improve the moral climate of the "Faini spravy " 
restaurant chain through the implementation of the 
principles of "organizational culture", which have the 
specificity of repetition and have an indirect ability to 
influence other areas of communication. This type of 



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culture begins to form as a result of communication  
and actions aimed at achieving the company 's goals 
through the staff;
– introduction of self-management, increasing the  
level of responsibility of employees and cooperation 
with managers;
– due to the introduction of internal culture in the  
farm, staff turnover will be significantly reduced.

Improving the efficiency of personnel  
management also requires the implementation of 
a program to strengthen communications with  
staff. The absence of such communications 
of one department with other departments 
of the restaurant for the most part always 
contributes to a decrease in the speed and quality  
of work.

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Received on: 2th of September, 2022
Accepted on: 7th of October, 2022

Published on: 31th of October, 2022