NEW YORK CITY–Shake Shack has exploded as one of the most popular of fast casual restaurants in the company, in large part because of a focus on employing great people, not just offering great food. Danny Meyer launched the restaurant chain when he was 27, and from the beginning encouraged staff to take notes on customers, to remember things like a favorite table or dish. He wanted employees with high emotional intelligence, people who had the ability to recognize that a customer needed something fixed.
Today, Shake Shack has more than 240 restaurants around the world, and it continues to put a premium on the people it hires.
Writing on Inc.com, Justin Bariso, founder of Insight, shared the six emotional skills Meyer said he looks for in new hires.
1. Kindness and Optimism
"Skeptics and cynics don't tend to really care that much about how they make people feel," according to Meyer. "You're probably someone who is happier yourself when you make someone else feel better."
2. Intellectual Curiosity
Too many people today want others to consider them an expert, but Meyer said he encourages looking for those people who have an unquenchable thirst for learning, because these persons will continue to grow.
3. Work Ethic
For Meyer, work ethic is about more than just working hard; it includes the "excellence reflex." "The excellence reflex is a natural reaction to fix something that isn't right, or to improve something that could be better," Meyer wrote in his new book, Setting the Table. "The excellence reflex is rooted in instinct and upbringing, and then constantly honed through awareness, caring and practice."
4. Empathy
It takes time and effort to understand the how and why behind others' feelings. And frankly, most aren't willing to invest those resources for strangers. But those who do are able to create wonderful connections with others, observed Bariso. Or, as Meyer puts it, "In the end, what's most meaningful is creating positive, uplifting outcomes for human experiences and human relationships. Business, like life, is all about how you make people feel. It's that simple, and it's that hard."
5. Self-Awareness
Meyer compares self-awareness to knowing what your own personal weather report is, on any given day. "Because hospitality is a team sport," says Meyer. "And you will infect your team, one way or the other."
6. Integrity
Meyer defines integrity as "having the judgment to do the right thing, even when it may not be in your own self-interest."