A Tip For HR Managers From ‘The Bear’

Hands up if you’ve watched The Bear on Hulu. I’m a big fan! The show broke a TV record last week when it earned 23 Emmy nominations in the comedy category. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a Michelin-starred chef who returns home to Chicago to take over his brother’s failing sandwich shop. I was a latecomer to The Bear and still haven’t watched season three, but I fell in love with it last season.

Warning: The next paragraph includes a little spoiler for season two.

The Bear‘s Best Lesson (So Far)

In my favorite episode, Bear (the chef and star) sends his coworker/cousin, Richie, to the best restaurant in Chicago to shadow its team for a week. He spends almost the entire time polishing forks to remove smudges. But he also watches the restaurant’s servers surprise and delight their guests with meaningful gestures—like comping the meal of a teacher who saved up to eat there. The experience opens Richie’s eyes to his own power to bring people joy.

The Bear is fictional, but that restaurant in Chicago is based on a real New York restaurant: Eleven Madison Park, named the best restaurant in the world in 2017. Legend has it Will Guidara, co-owner of the restaurant, once overheard a table of guests say they were about to leave New York City without trying a New York hot dog. They seemed sad, so his team ran out, got a hot dog from a street vendor, plated it up, and surprised the guests with it!

The Takeaway for HR Managers

Guidara wrote the book Unreasonable Hospitality based on his experience at Eleven Madison Park, and he also worked on The Bear this season. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about his concept of “unreasonable hospitality” and what we can take away from it.

This is what hit me: Here at The FruitGuys, we always aim to deliver a world-class experience to our customers. But hospitality extends to our team, too. As Giudara says, “One of my favorite definitions of hospitality is that it’s about giving people a sense of belonging.”

When our employees feel welcome and at home, they can do their best work to support our customers and make them feel appreciated, too. As CEO, I’m constantly thinking about how to create that feeling at The FruitGuys, and how things as simple as healthy snacks and employee appreciation gifts can help the HR managers we work with create it, too. Hospitality and belonging are so important to a successful workplace, and Richie’s story helped me remember that.

Whether you’re a fan of The Bear or not, there’s a lot to take away from its story and the real-life inspiration behind it. It’s a reminder that no matter who we are—whether we’re HR managers, CEOs, or shift workers—if we’re interacting with others there is always an opportunity to bring joy, create a sense of belonging, and make an experience more memorable. Sometimes the smallest gestures make the biggest impact.

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