How To Build a Healthy Restaurant Culture

A restaurant has its own set of code of conduct. However, most executives see it merely as a handbook of rules and regulations, expecting their team to comply without proper assessment or evaluation.

In fact, a 2025 study by Homebased revealed that the employee turnover rate rose to around 75%, with one of the key reasons being poor workplace management.

Restaurant culture is intentionally designed to help your restaurant truly thrive with its values. Therefore, it is important to genuinely build and effectively apply it, creating a workplace full of motivated team members and happy customers.

Here, we’ll look at 10 simple ways to strengthen your restaurant's culture and how ordering software can help you keep things running smoothly.

What is restaurant culture?

Restaurant culture refers to the set of shared values, behaviors, and attitudes that shape how a team works together daily. It influences how staff communicate, treat guests, handle challenges, and uphold the restaurant’s brand identity.

Culture is not simply built through mandatory social events, perks like drinks for new staff, or values simply written on posters. 

These efforts are superficial and do not drive performance unless they are designed to instill purpose, and the values are reflected in observable behaviors.

If culture is not intentionally defined and guided, it will form on its own based on assumptions and habits. This often leads to restaurant complaints and conflict, confusion, and inefficiency, rather than a productive and positive workplace.

10 proven ways to create a healthy culture in a restaurant

Building a culture is like finding the right wind when sailing a boat; along the way, you will encounter major adjustments and changes in your workplace environment. 

So, the key is to stay flexible, steer with purpose, and keep your team aligned with your vision, ensuring everyone moves forward together.

1. Create a code of conduct.

The first thing to do when building a restaurant's culture is to create a code of conduct. Clearly state your values, expectations, and rules for behavior. 

It depends on what values you want your staff to embody and what you want your restaurant to represent. Some examples of strong restaurant values include:

• Respect
• Teamwork
• Integrity
• Excellence
• Hospitality
• Adaptability
• Passion
• Continuous learning

2. Establish values with the ReCulturing framework.

ReCulturing is a playbook for building a business by Melissa Daimler. The whole idea is to redesign and reconnect behaviors, processes, and practices so that they align with the organization’s purpose and strategy. 

The theory is built on three key pillars:

Value-based behaviors 

Given a situation with two restaurants that share the same core value of customer satisfaction, Restaurant One takes the time to prepare its dishes well, delivering well-presented and consistent food presentation beautifully, while Restaurant Two focuses on fast service to reduce wait times. 

Both value the same principle but demonstrate different behaviors. 

The key idea is that you must define value-based behaviors, rather than simply displaying a poster about customer satisfaction without a clear blueprint for achieving it.

Processes 

‘Processes’ is the act of integrating the value-based behaviors into how you hire staff, onboard, prepare, develop, and make decisions. 

If you are the owner of restaurant one, integrate desired behaviors into your hiring process by asking questions that reflect your values, like “Can you describe a time when you had to pay close attention to detail in your work? How did you ensure it was done correctly?”

Through this, you gain insight into how a candidate demonstrates core values and whether their behavior aligns with what your team stands for.

Practices

‘Practices’ are how you reinforce behaviors through routine tasks, communication, and meetings.

For instance, in a meeting discussing the addition of a new dish to the menu, rather than making a quick decision, integrated value-based behaviors help create a team culture where ideas are thoroughly analyzed and evaluated before implementation.

3. Address the culture gap.

Building a healthy culture is not that expensive;  in fact, it increases revenues, innovation, and customer satisfaction while reducing turnover, complaints, and costs.

One major reason for the gap is that leaders don't know how to fix culture because they don't want to change their own behavior. 

Many leaders overrate staff abilities because they think they are above average. Leadership is hard to measure, so self-delusion is common.

Eighty percent of employee attitudes depend on their immediate managers. So, leaders must be humble, tough on themselves, and generous to colleagues.

Employees spend one-third of their adult life at work, so “okay” culture is not good enough. Change in values might create conflict, but that conflict is necessary for excellence. 

4. Foster intrinsic motivation.

It’s not often discussed how extrinsic motivation, meaning external factors such as rewards, recognition, or incentives, can affect and enhance intrinsic motivation.

One toxic mindset in many work environments is expecting staff to simply adapt to “the way things have always been done.”

Even if you hire passionate staff, failing to allow them to shine can limit their motivation. 

Allowing staff to feel empowered to learn, experiment, and improve without fear of unfair consequences or incentive deduction helps employees take pride in doing their work wel

5. Celebrate individuality.

Celebrating individuality means recognizing that each team member is more than just a server or a line cook. 

A staff member might have skills as a photographer, an artist, a writer, a social media creative, or even a natural leader in the making.

You can unlock their greatest potential by hosting occasional parties, team building activities, or creative events. 

These moments allow you to see your staff in a different light, re-imagine their strengths, and consider how they might contribute in future roles or projects where their unique abilities can shine.

6. Prioritize collaboration over mission by hiring a personality. 

At the end of the day, achieving any goal requires a team that works together, not individual parts operating independently.

One effective way to foster collaboration is to identify each individual's personality traits and understand how they work as individuals during the hiring process. 

Do not focus only on experience and skills. Hire people for who they are, how they will exemplify the value you establish, not just what is written on their résumé.

This allows you to form groups that do not clash with one another and instead complement each other’s strengths, creating smoother teamwork and better results.

7. Be a leader who has an audacious goal in mind. 

Will Guidara, owner of Eleven Madison Park, one of the world’s top restaurants, emphasizes that building a strong culture starts with leadership.

State the mission clearly, gather the team, learn the hospitality trends and strategies, and conclude the best ways to achieve that mission, because a goal without a plan is simply a waste of resources.

When the leader consistently models ambition, clarity, and vision, the leaders below you as restaurant executives begin to mirror those same behaviors.

This fosters a culture where staff feel inspired to rise above the ordinary, push their own limits, and take pride in contributing to something greater than themselves.

8. Promote inclusivity. 

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 shows that about 68.8% of the gender gap has been closed globally, leaving roughly a third of women still facing unequal opportunities. 

Meanwhile, a 2024 Randstad survey cited by Personnel Today found that around 41% of LGBTQ+ employees have experienced workplace discrimination.

These findings highlight the importance of inclusive policies, safe work environments, and ongoing awareness. Consider conducting occasional seminars that focus on ethical behavior regarding gender, inclusivity, and respect for all employees.

9. Unblock communication through the RAMP method. 

When you foster diversity and inclusivity, you naturally hire employees from different generations. This can present challenges, as each person often communicates differently.

To bridge this gap, use the RAMP method:

• Remove ego. Listen without letting pride or assumptions get in the way.
  
• Ask questions to add value. Seek to understand, clarify, and contribute meaningfully.
  
• Mirror the type of conversation. Adapt your tone and style to match the other person.
  
• Pivot as needed. Be flexible and adjust your approach to maintain effective communication.

Generational gaps widen as technology accelerates, but with the RAMP method, you and your team can adapt and connect across different age groups.

10. Improve customers’ experience with non-verbal communication. 

Non-verbal communication might not be the first thing people expect when discussing culture, especially since culture is also about fostering open communication. 

However, non-verbal cues are often what customers notice the most. It is not just the words you say or the way you greet them. It is the smile, the clean uniform, how the staff present themselves, the warm energy, the restaurant themes and the small details. 

Make this a part of your culture, as it builds your restaurant’s reputation and shapes how customers perceive your business.

How a restaurant management system supports the culture of a restaurant

Here’s how a restaurant management system supports how operations are done in your restaurant:

1. Ensures a smooth flow 

Its digital menu feature allows customers to order independently, add special instructions, and have these details automatically reflected in the Kitchen Display System immediately.

No more lost tickets, manual jotting, or miscommunication between the front and back of house. Everything is organized, time-stamped, and instantly visible to the team, helping your staff stay focused, efficient, and confident during service.

2. Helps make decisions better 

There’s no need for manually tracking every order. The smart dashboard of this restaurant order system automatically shows how many orders you received and which items were your best sellers for the day. Its accounting feature also handles calculations for you, giving you clear insights into your sales, taxes, discounts, and tips.

This ensures that all your decisions are backed by accurate data, from inventory management to your overall operational strategy.

3. Encourages employee engagement 

When you run a restaurant, your servers and customers will inevitably interact. Customers appreciate authentic service and human interaction.

This is why this system is designed to support your restaurant without replacing the personal touch of your staff. With its restaurant waiter call button feature, customers can easily request assistance with just one click. This ensures timely service while maintaining a seamless dining experience.

4. Reinforces transparency and proactivity

With a restaurant technology system that records everything clearly, nothing slips through the cracks. There are no missed orders, no guesswork, and no hidden issues. 

This level of transparency naturally builds a proactive culture among your staff. When they can see real-time data, they can anticipate bottlenecks, spot errors before they escalate, and take timely action to keep service running smoothly.

 It empowers the team to work smarter, stay accountable, and uphold the standards that define your restaurant values.

5. Offers hyper-personalized service

When customers order through the digital menu, the system collects basic customer information along with their orders. This allows you to tailor your marketing to specific customers, track their order history, and offer personalized recommendations or promotions when they return.

 How you use this information is up to you, but the ultimate goal is to provide a service that makes customers feel valued and recognized.

Build a better restaurant culture, starting today

The truth is that a thriving restaurant isn't a happy accident; it’s a conscious construction. Every step you take directly impacts your staff retention and customer satisfaction. 

To make these changes stick, don't rely on paper alone. Seamlessly integrate your values into your day-to-day operations with the right tools. 

By leveraging an advanced restaurant ordering software , you simplify the “How We Do Things,” allowing your team to focus their energy on true hospitality.

Make operations simpler and your culture stronger.