It really got me thinking that often companies worry a lot about drafting strategies and implementing policies for what to do when "employees go wrong". However, it is not often when a restaurant actively implements AND PERPETUATES a strategy for rewarding (and thereby working to retain) great employees. (Note how I said "strategy", which is far more involved than just an incentive program).
The news with the economic downturn and subsequent surplus in available labor was that it worked well in employers' favors, in that employees needed to work even harder, considering themselves easily replaced. Yet, this was a negativity builder. Employees who feel that they are consistently expending more of themselves for the same reward, will increasingly become jaded and cynical over their perceived value to their employer.
As an employer, we cannot allow good employees to become disenfranchised. Regardless of the surplus in labor, the cost to train a new employee and deal with any potential client ramifications resulting from employee turnover is simply something you must work to avoid.
A simple solution is to actively make good employees feel appreciated. Conduct staff meetings, seek employee feedback, really determine what makes them tick, what motivates them. (It's not necessarily money). Then, management needs to enact a strategy for challenging, appreciating, and rewarding these employees.
A great article about what employees want from work in the format of a top ten list sums up this principle very well: http://humanresources.about.com/od/rewardrecognition/tp/recognition.htm
Remember, your employees are your most valuable asset. After all, they are the face of your company every day.
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