Team goals only work if your team sees them as a shared challenge, not a threat. Many kitchens fail because numbers are used to hold people accountable instead of improving together. Setting goals that motivate your team instead of demoralizing them requires a completely different approach.
Why team goals are often seen as a threat
Most kitchens introduce goals the wrong way. They announce: "From now on, food cost needs to be under 30%" without explaining why this matters or how the team can actually help.
⚠️ Watch out:
If your team thinks numbers are being used to control or punish them, they'll resist. Then you won't get honest feedback anymore about what's actually going wrong.
The problem lies in how you present it:
- Wrong approach: "You're wasting too much, food cost needs to go down"
- Right approach: "Let's figure out together how we can work smarter"
Make goals transparent and understandable
Your team needs to understand why a goal actually matters. Explain what food cost means for the business and their jobs specifically.
💡 Example:
"Our food cost is currently 35%. For a healthy restaurant it should be around 30%. That 5% difference means:
- At €40,000 monthly revenue = €2,000 less profit
- That's €24,000 per year
- Money we could invest in better ingredients, equipment, or wages"
Now your team understands it's not about control, but about the health of the business they're part of.
Involve the team in finding solutions
Don't set goals from your office. Ask your team to think along with you. They often know exactly where things go wrong.
Organize a short team meeting:
- "Where do you see waste happening?"
- "Which dishes are hard to make consistently?"
- "What would help us throw away less?"
💡 Real-world example:
A bistro in Amsterdam discovered during such a meeting that salad prep was happening too early. Every day €15 worth of lettuce went straight in the trash.
The team's solution: Only cut lettuce after 5 PM. Result: €450 less waste per month.
Set realistic and achievable goals
Don't start with "food cost needs to drop from 35% to 28% in one month". That's unrealistic and completely demoralizing.
Work with small, manageable steps:
- Month 1: From 35% to 33%
- Month 2: From 33% to 31%
- Month 3: From 31% to 30%
Every small success creates momentum for the next step. From tracking this across dozens of restaurants, I've seen that 2% monthly improvements are sustainable while 7% drops usually fail.
Measure and celebrate successes together
Share results weekly with your team. Not to control them, but to celebrate what's going well together.
💡 Example weekly check-in:
"Last week we achieved a food cost of 32.1%. That's 0.4% better than the week before. The new pasta portioning is working especially well."
Focus on what's going well, not just what needs improvement.
Use the right tools for transparency
Your team needs to see how they're performing in real-time. Hidden numbers create distrust and suspicion.
With tools like food cost calculators, your team members can see daily food cost themselves. That makes them co-responsible instead of victims of unclear goals.
Link goals to development, not punishment
Make it crystal clear that reaching goals leads to positive outcomes:
- More budget for quality ingredients
- Investments in new equipment
- Room for wage increases
- Less financial stress for everyone
⚠️ Watch out:
Never link goals to individual performance reviews or layoffs. Then they immediately become a threat instead of a challenge.
How do you introduce team goals as a challenge? (step by step)
Explain why the goal matters
Don't start with the number, start with the reason. Tell them what it means for the business and their jobs. Use concrete amounts to make it tangible.
Ask the team to think along
Organize a short meeting where everyone can say where they see waste. Write down all ideas without judgment. The team often has the best solutions.
Set realistic intermediate goals
Break down the final goal into small steps of 1-2 months. Celebrate each achieved intermediate goal. Small successes motivate for the next step.
Make progress visible to everyone
Share results weekly. Focus on what's going well, not just what needs improvement. Transparency creates engagement.
Link success to positive consequences
Show what becomes possible when goals are reached: better ingredients, new equipment, less financial stress. Never link to punishment or layoffs.
✨ Pro tip
Start with one small, easily achievable 30-day goal that your entire team helped create. An early success builds trust in your new approach and motivates everyone for the harder challenges ahead.
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Frequently asked questions
What if my team still sees the goals as a threat?
Then you probably used numbers to hold people accountable in the past. Give it time and prove with actions that you're doing things differently. Consistency matters more than speed, and rebuilding trust takes patience.
How often should I discuss progress with the team?
Weekly is ideal for most kitchens. Not to control, but to look together at what's working and where help is needed. Keep these check-ins short, positive, and focused on solutions rather than problems.
Should every team member have the same goals?
No, adjust goals based on each person's role and influence. A chef has different impact on food cost than a dishwasher, but everyone should understand how they contribute to the shared goal and feel valued in that contribution.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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