Your restaurant functions best when your front and back of house staff work together to maximize productivity.

1. The Magic of Pre-Shift
Meetings.
Your restaurant functions best when your front and back of house staff
work together to maximize productivity. Team building exercises and
communication workshops can be one mode of bringing them closer
together. Still, it doesn’t have to be much trouble: Restaurant managers all
around are discovering the benefits of daily pre-shift meetings.
Unfortunately, putting so many different personalities together can cause
interactions to get quickly out of hand or mean-spirited. It doesn’t help
that the restaurant industry is often staffed by students and younger
generations who haven’t matured as much as those who, say, might
dominate an office setting. As a result, rumors get out of hand, especially
with staff members working in such close quarters together for a majority
of the time. Foster positive communication amongst employees, both in
and outside of work, so everybody feels safe and welcomed while they’re
on the clock.
The Magic of Pre-Shift Meetings
Advantages of Daily Meetings
Your workers should be as well-informed about the daily goings-on in the
restaurant, especially since the industry is so subject to change and trends.
Staff meetings are an opportunity to switch to a work-focused mindset.
Even if it’s only a five-minute check-in, daily briefings give workers a
chance to get ready for the day, ask any questions they have, and get their
priorities straight before the rush comes by.

2. Introduce new concepts, ideas, rules, and any other relevant information at
these daily meetings, so all of your staff gets the same accurate
information. With so many workers milling about, having news filter
through the grapevine becomes a costly game of telephone. Release the
same exact information to everyone, save time, and make sure they’re
focused on meeting the day’s goals, whatever those might be. Clearly
detail out your expectations, how you want things done, and any
upcoming events at this point, too.
Drawing their focus can be difficult in hospitality; since employee
demographics skew young, many workers feel like their position is just a
short-term stepping stone to the “real career” they want. It’s hard to
motivate them for a job they don’t care about or plan to stick by. You’ll
need to encourage their work ethic yourself; often, a living wage is enough
to convince workers to give each day their all, but you can also get creative
and reframe their individual goals to align with management.
How do you know what your employees want? Not just professionally, but
personally, too. It all matters. Talk to your staff and get to know them
throughout the day working together. Understanding what’s essential to
them lets you provide the tools they need to meet their professional goals.
It simultaneously also helps you frame the business’s ambitions in a way
that matters to each individual. This gets them all working together toward
the same outcomes, which equals productivity and profits.
Use employee evaluations to expand on what you’ve learned and worked
with each individual to determine what they need from you to succeed at
their jobs. Open communication between management and the workforce
puts workers on track to start the day right, with everyone’s focus shifted in
the same direction.
Advantages of Daily Meetings

3. Worth the Trouble?
Use pre-shift meetings every day to strengthen communication amongst
management, back of the house, and front of house staff. When you’re all
on the same page working toward the same business goals, your
productivity will improve, waste and theft lessen, the staff is happier overall,
and your profits soar.
Take the time out of your own and your staff’s day to have a daily meeting,
so everybody meets the day right. It’s just a few minutes out of each
morning. With similar goals, better communication, and more positive
workplace relationships, your restaurant will be ready to start every shift,
ready to make some magic.