Crew Leader Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a crew leader. Feel free to use our crew leader job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a crew leader.
Who is a Crew Leader?
Crew Leaders are typically hired by restaurants to manage their staff and ensure that operations run smoothly. Crew Leaders are responsible for creating crew schedules, training new personnel, maintaining material supplies, ensuring equipment is in good working order and identifying ways to minimize theft and wastage. The most sought-after skills in this field are restaurant management expertise, attention to detail, resourcefulness, stamina, leadership, and a commitment to customer service. Successful Crew Leaders have a minimum of a high school diploma and extensive field experience.
Being an effective crew leader requires persistence, adaptability, and leadership. You can demonstrate how to succeed to your crew by setting an example, collaborating closely with them, and being fair when it comes time to hold them accountable for their actions.
Crew Leader Job Description
Below are the crew leader job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a crew leader job description for your employee. Employers can also use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
The duties and responsibilities of a crew leader include the following:
- Supervising the servers, cooks, hosts, and other crew members’ activities.
- Educating crew members on proper food handling and customer service procedures.
- Assuring compliance with established standards for the hygiene, quality, and food safety.
- Scheduling work shifts and approving or denying Crew Members’ leave and time off requests.
- Organizing and supervising restaurant equipment repair and maintenance.
- Keeping an eye on restaurant supplies and placing orders for replacement stock as needed.
- Resolving customer complaints and responding to inquiries about pricing and menu items.
- Assisting Crew Members with payment processing via the restaurant’s POS system.
- Creating and distributing crew schedules, ensuring that they are adhered to properly.
- Supervising staff to ensure that they carry out their responsibilities with a focus on customer satisfaction.
- Instructing new crew members in the preparation and serving of food.
- Educating employees about food safety, sanitation, and personal hygiene
- Inspecting food supplies, dishware and flatware, and food preparation equipment to ensure their quality and compliance with established standards.
- Assisting with inventory control of food, equipment, liquor, and supplies and notifying designated staff of any shortages or inconsistencies.
- Conducting interviews, hiring, training, and orienting new employees
- Monitoring operational issues such as theft and wastage and developing protocols to minimize them
- Maintaining kitchen equipment regularly and scheduling repairs promptly.
- Maintaining records of equipment wear and tear and authorizing the purchase of replacement equipment.
- Greeting and seating customers, as well as monitoring their needs
- Assisting in the processing of cash and credit card payments
- Becoming receptive to and responsive to customer complaints and suggestions
- Seeking active resolution of any issues while adhering to the company’s policy and standards of behavior
- Ascertaining that each employee is meeting company goals and objectives and providing constructive feedback
- Resolving customer complaints about products, services, or employee interactions.
- Assigning employees tasks to keep the workplace clean, which may include stocking supplies and maintaining clean restrooms and public areas.
- Assuring that customer discounts, returns, and exchanges are approved properly while maintaining customer satisfaction and a positive relationship with the company.
- Introducing new employees to company standards and procedures, covering everything from how to handle a negative customer experience to how to interact properly with clients.
- Supervising and administering quizzes and tests to ensure that employees have a firm grasp of the company’s policies.
- Supervising and maintaining inventory, as well as placing orders for office, cleaning, and other supplies as necessary.
- Educating crew members on proper handling techniques and providing exceptional customer service
- Creating and enforcing food handling and safety regulations
- Supervising the Crew Members’ daily activities
- Establishing work shift schedules and ensuring that Crew Members report on time
- Accepting or declining Crew Members’ leave requests
- Assuring that the restaurant’s and kitchen’s equipment is in good condition
- Maintaining inventory of restaurant supplies and placing orders for replacement stock
- Taking care of customer inquiries and complaints
- Assisting customers with menu selections and other pricing information
Other important tasks include the following:
- Training Employees
Crew leaders mentor and coach their crew members, instilling in them a sense of responsibility for everything from food safety to customer service. They do this for current crew members as well as new hires, occasionally supervising new hires until they are ready to work independently.
- Supervising Food Preparation
It is the crew leader’s responsibility to ensure that all employees follow safe food preparation practices. They accomplish this by monitoring individual employees’ performance, ensuring that equipment is operating properly, and ensuring that food is kept at the proper temperature. Additionally, they supervise the presentation of food to ensure that employees are following recipes and properly preparing all dishes for customers.
- Employee Management
Typically, crew leaders schedule everyone’s shifts and may also approve time-off requests. Additionally, they delegate duties to each crew member. At some restaurants, employees may be disciplined and new hires or firings may occur.
- Communicate with Customers
At many restaurants, the crew leader is in charge during their shift, which means they handle customer complaints or questions and ensure that customers have an exceptional dining experience.
- Purchasing Items and Establishing Budgets
Throughout their shift, crew leaders keep an eye out for running out of ingredients or supplies and either order them or leave instructions for them to be ordered. They may also create budgets for supplies and employee expenses, depending on the size of the restaurant.
- Setting an Excellent Example
Nothing will enrage your crew more than being instructed to do one thing and then witnessing you do another. If they are not permitted to be on their phones while on the job, neither should you. You should arrive on time and adhere to your organization’s dress code.
Additionally, you can set a good example by performing the same tasks as they do even if you are not required to. For instance, if you work in a busy restaurant, jump in and assist with busing tables or taking orders. If there is a particularly unpleasant cleaning task that everyone despises, take a turn performing it.
- Providing Regular Feedback
Depending on your work environment, you may be required to conduct an official evaluation of your crew. Even if you are not required to evaluate your crew members formally, you should provide them with regular feedback on their performance. If they stepped up during a busy shift or completed a difficult task quickly and accurately, express your gratitude.
- Receiving Feedback regularly
It’s natural to feel as though your voice is being ignored, particularly in a large organization. Take the time to discuss with your crew what works well and what could be improved. Your crew members can provide invaluable insight into ways to enhance operations and morale. Accepting and considering their suggestions demonstrates your commitment to being an effective crew leader.
Qualifications
- GED or High School Diploma
- Minimum of five years’ experience in the hospitality industry as a Crew Leader or Crew Member
- Possessing a valid food handler’s license or food safety certification is required.
- Complete familiarity with a variety of food handling practices, regulations, and industry standards
- Capable of operating in a fast-paced environment and dealing with stressful situations
- Capacity to provide superior customer service
Essential Skills
- Acknowledgment and appreciation
It is critical to give credit where credit is due and to express gratitude for each crew member’s efforts. By expressing gratitude for crew members’ contributions, you can also foster a positive work environment and culture in which crew members are more appreciative of one another’s efforts. Additionally, by acknowledging contributions, members will be more receptive to going the extra mile when necessary.
- Listening skills
Listening is how any successful leader makes informed decisions and keeps abreast of what is happening with their crew and company. Proactive, strategic, and intuitive listeners are the best leaders. To be an effective leader, you must be an effective communicator – and effective communicators listen.
- Commitment
Nobody enjoys working for an unreliable leader or in an unreliable crew. Your commitment as a leader will help foster the crew spirit that distinguishes an exceptional crew from a mediocre one. When a crew encounters difficulties, a leader’s tenacity and commitment may well mean the difference between success and failure. Notably, demonstrating commitment helps keep crew morale high.
- Vision
One of the most critical characteristics of a crew leader is the ability to demonstrate confidence through effective decision-making. Successful crew leaders are steadfast in their vision and strategy and will not budge unless necessary. Additionally, strong leaders have a succinct, well-articulated message that filters down to every member of the crew.
While many crew leaders have a clear vision in place, communication and collaboration are critical. Communicate your vision early and frequently, and establish clear crew goals to support it. If crew members approach you for advice, offer your insight, and don’t be afraid to make difficult choices. The more decisive and transparent you are, the more the crew members will contribute to your vision.
- Investing in the future of the crew
Crew members value having a clear career path, which is why crew leaders must invest in their crew by rewarding good work with appreciation, respect, and growth opportunities.
.Respect must begin at the top of a strong crew. Great crew leaders elicit the best performance from their crews because they work cooperatively to earn their leaders’ admiration and believe their leaders will invest in them in return. By listening to and collaborating on tailored development plans, you can assist your crew and demonstrate your respect for individual career ambitions. Additionally, encourage them to pursue promotions or training opportunities regularly. This demonstrates that you value their career and are concerned about their future.
- Integrity in action
A crew leader who possesses integrity uses their values to guide their decisions, actions, and interactions with others. They are unwavering in their convictions about what is right and wrong and are admired for their authenticity, principles, ethics, and consistency. They possess a strong sense of character, keep their commitments, and communicate with others in an open, honest, and direct manner. By demonstrating integrity in your daily actions, you will earn the loyalty, confidence, and respect of your crew members
How to Become a Crew Leader
- Assist your crew members
Are you unsure how to do something? Arrange for training sessions to be held. Are your service procedures not quite up to par? Arrange for additional training sessions. Are you able to assist one of your employees in some way? Simply do it. Yes, you are his superior, but you are also a human being. It is not about working as a “payoff.” It is about humane behavior. You’ll gain a better understanding of your crew members, as well as yourself.
- Correct positively
Consider the conversations, fights, and reprimands that have occurred in your life. Those in which they reprimanded you for everything… did they assist you? Were they motivating? I’m guessing not. However, those in which, in addition to your shortcomings, your potential is highlighted as a model of work to emulate are extremely beneficial. Develop the ability to lead your team in this manner.
- Always listen
You must always be receptive to their requests, opinions, and suggestions. Bear in mind that they care just as much about your restaurant’s success as you do. Maintain an open mind and an open ear. It is much easier to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes through dialogue than it is through argument.
- Be firm but flexible
Listening to your crew members” suggestions and requests do not mean you have to respond to them all or always. You must be able to distinguish between those that are reasonable, those that can be accomplished, and those that must be filed away. That is the role of a crew leader.
By incorporating these four ways of doing things into your restaurant’s daily operations and interactions with your team, you will take a significant step toward becoming the crew leader your business requires. Additionally, in addition to the characteristics of a good leader mentioned previously, it is critical to remember that a leader always adheres to and respects his or her standards and, most importantly, that a leader always seeks the common good.
Where to Work as a Crew Leader
Restaurants and fast-food chains employ crew leaders to supervise and train crew members, as well as to address customer complaints.
Crew Leader Salary Scale
In the United States, the national average salary for a Crew Leader is $35,331 per year.
