Calling Out Your Food Truck Superstars

Some of your food truck’s most valuable employees are those who contribute far beyond their pay or title. Keep an eye out for your food truck superstars so you can find them, cultivate their talents, and set them up as examples for your current and future staff members.

Here are three characteristics to look for in Food Truck Superstars:

Focus on results. Because they concentrate on the outcomes rather than the process, they know when to break rules — and it’s not to be rebellious.
Strong interpersonal skills. Despite their titles, these food truck superstars lead through influence. And they gain that sway by connecting with employees and customers.
Demonstrate high integrity. They are consistent in their actions and words. Should a conflict arise, others on the truck look to them for guidance.

Retaining Your Best Food Truck Employees

Your food truck superstars are valuable employees, and they likely know it. So how can you retain their talent?

Put them in the driver’s seat. Holding on to high performers is hard to do if you’re not giving them the opportunities they need to thrive.
Challenge them. This tactic motivates employees in two ways: it shows you trust them, and lets them see outcomes that are a direct result of their work.
Build trust. Create an environment of transparency, this will build trust and helps employees see the big picture. It helps them see that their decisions matter, and lets them tie what they’re doing to outcomes, which is critical.
Give regular feedback. Avoid sending out different messages to different staff members, regular group meetings are essential. Gathers your food truck team once a week to discuss where things stand, outline initiatives and talk about what each person is doing. This can take less than an hour. Regular feedback (inside and outside of these meetings) is key.
Reward great work. If all of your employees are doing good work, then your food truck is doing well. Pay them more, give them bigger bonuses. Please note: Do not stick to rigid rules with no room for exceptions. Don’t deny a new employee who is doing a great job an annual bonus because they haven’t been there long enough to qualify.

The Bottom Line

Whether or not you’re planning to expand your food truck team, it’s always important how you identify your food truck superstars. If it isn’t using an approach listed in this article, develop one of your own.

What traits do your food truck superstars have? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section or social media. Facebook | Twitter

About the Author: Richard Myrick

Richard Myrick is an architect by degree (Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan) who began his career in real estate development and architectural planning. In September of 2010 he created Mobile Cuisine Magazine to fill an information void he found when he began researching how to start a mobile hotdog cart in Chicago. Richard found that there was no central repository of mobile street food information anywhere on the internet, and with that, the idea for MCM was born. Richard also wrote the "Running a Food Truck for Dummies" available in bookstores everywhere and Amazon. You can reach out to Richard by email at: [email protected].