Pizza Today - May2023 - 16

BUILDING BLOCKS N I C K B OG A C Z
or truly demonstrate your core values.
Instead, pay attention to how members
of your team interact with each other. A
key component to the core values is how
people treat each other. When you have
members of your team who not only
meet those expectations but exceed them,
that's when you begin to identify leaders
in your organization.
More promotion considerations
Core beliefs are a good start, but they
are not the only things that get people
promoted.
I like when someone buys into the
Who Should You Promote?
P
eople love to work somewhere
they can grow. Most
employees want not only a
job, but a career. Right beside that,
employers understand their business
cannot grow without great people. So,
putting both together - giving people
the opportunity to grow along with
your business - sets up a long-lasting
relationship.
Of course, that leads to an obvious
question: How do you decide who
those great people are? Th e ones who
will lead the rest of your team and
help grow your business?
Core beliefs
For starters, it helps to establish
a culture based on your business's
core beliefs, those non-negotiable
values and behaviors that you expect
from leaders in your company and, of
course, yourself. But fi rst, how do you
determine your core beliefs? Simple
- they're the same core principles
that you live by and helped you to start
your business.
An example from my restaurant:
*
*
*
Integrity: Know and do what
is right.
Respect: Treat others the way
you want to be treated.
Responsibility: Embrace
opportunities to contribute.
Learn more.
* Sportsmanship: Bring your best
to all competition.
* Servant leadership: Serve the
common good.
Promoting employees simply based
on seniority is a slippery slope. Just
because someone on your team has
been there longer than others does not
mean that they have leadership skills
company, is team-fi rst, and recognizes
that although we may be in the pizza
business, we truly are in the people business.
I have honest conversations with
the ones who exhibit these qualities,
explaining to them what advancing to
the next position or level exactly means.
It's not only about what the job entails,
but what the pressures may be and what's
expected of them.
Promoting from within is great,
because it creates an environment of
appreciation, but it's not always possible.
Th ere may be times when someone left
unexpectedly, or growth is occurring at a
high rate. In these instances, you must go
outside of your four walls to hire - and
do so very thoroughly. Interview based
on your core values and look for superior
people skills. It also helps to have
some of your team do a portion of the
interviewing so that they feel comfortable
with the new person coming in at a
higher position, provided that the interviewer
is in an equal or higher position
than the candidate.
In the next installment, we'll return to
inside our comfortable four walls, discuss
what it takes to set up a smoothly running
pizzeria - and what to do when all
appears well.
NICK BOGACZ is the founder and president of Caliente Pizza & Draft House in Pittsburgh. Instagram: @caliente_pizza
16 / P IZZATODAY.COM / MAY 2023

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Pizza Today - May2023

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