How Interpersonal Engagement Fuels Modern Restaurant Success

Restaurant operators have long grappled with the question, "Should I hire for soft or hard skills?" and for good reason. In an industry where technical precision is essential, seamless service depends on more than just executing tasks. 

After nearly 30 years of supporting thousands of restaurant operators and HR leaders, first as the Director of HR for Potbelly Sandwich Works and now as the CEO of Restaurant HR Group, I’ve seen firsthand what truly makes a restaurant rise to the top.  

Spoiler alert: It’s not hard skills. If I had to choose between hiring someone for their technical knowledge or interpersonal skills, I would choose the latter every single time.

The People-Centered Success of Strong Brands

That doesn’t mean you should ignore technical skills completely. After all, no one wants a chef who can’t cook or a cashier who struggles with point-of-sale systems. Still, the heartbeat of a thriving restaurant is its people. And what makes those people, well, people? 

The individual soft skills they bring to the table. The culmination of those traits, from empathy and leadership to creativity and problem-solving, gives your culture personality and a unique life of its own, which keeps customers feeling valued and employees engaged—and them all coming back for more. 

Look at Chick-fil-A or In-N-Out Burger, often regarded as the restaurant gold standard. That’s not because they have the best sandwiches (though debatable!) or the fastest drive-thru lanes, but because their people make the difference. Both brands take a people-centric approach, intentionally embedding soft skills like communication, teamwork, and resilience into hiring, training, and management practices. You even catch glimpses of this mindset in Chick-fil-A’s commercials, where teammates go above and beyond expectations to care for customers. 

When managers and employees can forge a personal connection with customers and colleagues, that’s priceless because it provides fertile ground for loyalty to flourish.

If you knew nothing about their food and walked into one of these establishments, what would stand out is your interactions with the people. You’re greeted with a smile and treated with respect, and your problems are resolved swiftly and kindly. This type of atmosphere and service has made them two of the most well-loved restaurant chains in the country, earning the admiration of employees and customers. 

Why Soft Skills Matter More

Imagine a shift going south: orders are backing up, customers are unhappy, and employees are stressed. Being skilled at running a grill or cash register is certainly needed to get the crew over the hump. But things will continue to crumble if those team members aren’t also problem-solvers, adaptable, and calm under pressure or don’t have a supervisor who embodies those traits. 

Technical know-how, like the correct order to add ingredients or how to navigate restaurant management software, can be taught in minutes and perfected in days and weeks; interpersonal skills, like resolving customer frustrations with care and empathy, take much longer to refine.  

Ultimately, soft skills are relationship builders. When managers and employees can forge a personal connection with customers and colleagues, that’s priceless because it provides fertile ground for loyalty to flourish. So, when a candidate walks through your doors with those characteristics already on display, I hope you’ll take another look.  

From Soft Serve to Soft Skills 

My restaurant career began at the local Dairy Queen when I was 15. From there, I spent over a decade working in various restaurant and retail roles, learning the ins and outs of the hospitality sector. At 27, Bryant Keil, the visionary behind Potbelly Sandwich Works, hired me to head up HR, despite my admitted lack of formal experience or education. 

What I didn’t have in technical knowledge, I countered with my ability to communicate, lead, and connect with people.

During my time at Potbelly, I had the privilege of working with countless restaurant operators. Before long, it became apparent that the most successful ones didn’t necessarily have the deepest foodservice expertise. Instead, they knew how to inspire their teams, resolve conflicts, and maintain a positive work environment, especially when things got tough.

These encounters reinforced my belief in the power of soft skills as more than nice-to-haves. They prompted my second book, Soft Skills Playbook, a guide to help others develop these essential but frequently overlooked traits. This “people-focused” mission continues at Restaurant HR Group, where we partner with restaurant leaders nationwide to leverage their teams' soft skills to build solid and sustainable cultures. 

The True Impact of Soft Skills in Your Restaurants

Of course, a restaurant can’t run on soft skills alone. However, when restaurant management incorporates this mindset into every aspect of business, like those gold-standard brands, they can transcend operational limitations and transform their restaurant into a crave-worthy experience for employees and customers.  

To recap, soft skills can:

• Spur Resiliency: When team members actively listen, solve problems on the fly, and act with integrity, they contribute to a culture of resiliency that can weather challenges while delivering excellent service.
• Foster Employee Retention: Turnover and staffing challenges continue to plague our industry. In the years since the pandemic, employee trends have shifted, and one thing is clear: Employees want to feel valued, understood, and appreciated by their leaders more than ever. When restaurant management has the soft skills bandwidth to do this, employees feel connected and engaged and are far more likely to stay on board.  
• Elevate Customer Service: Navigating complaints and conflicts with grace and compassion is incredibly difficult. When done well, the soft skills you or your team display in these interactions create memorable moments, resulting in repeat business and renewed customer loyalty.
• Enhance Leadership: Whether you’re a restaurant manager in a single location or overseeing multiple sites, your team looks to you for more than keeping them on task. They need you to lean into your soft skills to motivate and inspire them, demonstrating how to balance soft skills with technical achievements to reach their goals.  

Stay Tuned for More on Soft Skills

Next time, I’ll share targeted interview questions to help you gauge candidates’ soft skills, such as communication, problem-solving, relationship-building, empathy, and resilience. I’ll also outline what to look for in their responses to ensure you’re hiring someone who aligns with your team’s culture and can contribute positively to your restaurant’s long-term success.

Until then, the debate between hard and soft skills will continue. But if you’re in the business of building an enduring restaurant operation, maybe it’s time to reconsider the role soft skills play.