Four Traits Of Great Food Truck Employees

A food truck vendor can’t grow a winning mobile food business single-handed. Some may try, but it is nearly impossible. Every successful food truck has built a flourishing business with great food truck employees by their side. Thinking critically, solving problems, innovating and collaborating are highly valued at every level within a food truck organization.

So what makes great food truck employees? Many HR professionals call them the “Four Cs”.

The Four Traits Of Great Food Truck Employees

Critical thinking. The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment.
Communication. The means of connection between people or places, in particular.
Collaboration. The action of working with someone to produce or create something.
Creativity. The use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work.

These are the kinds of skills that are not only critical for food truck ownership to have, but also in the individuals mobile food vendors need to hire. These four traits of great food truck employees show how quickly someone can adapt and innovate.

Unfortunately many employees are lacking in these critical skills. In fact, 50% to 60% of food truck owners feel the majority of their staff members are at best average in these skills.

These Traits Can Be Taught To Great Food Truck Employees

Not to worry, while these are skills you should look for when hiring, remember that they can be developed in employees too. While experienced workers are much more likely to have these skills than recent culinary graduates, it’s easier to develop them in students and recent graduates than it is to develop them in experienced workers.

One-on-one coaching and mentoring are by far the most effective ways of developing these these four traits to create great food truck employees, so it’s important to develop a mentoring program that pairs you or trusted senior food truck employees with junior ones could be well worth the time and effort.

The Bottom Line

Applicants tend to either be too modest or exaggerate on their qualifications in these categories. Never hesitate to get the truth from former employers and coworkers. Study these traits and you’ll be ready to hire great food truck employees.

If you have great food truck employees, do they have any other common traits? We’d love to hear from you in the comment section below or on social media. Facebook | Twitter

Are you looking for great food truck employees? Do you have an opening in your food truck? If so, post a job at our food truck job board.

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].