Creating Sidework Sheets Your Employees Actually Follow

Sidework is the one part of the job that most Front of House employees will tell you they like the least. After earning their money and watching the patrons leave the last thing they want to do is hang around cleaning and organizing for the next shift. Ensuring that they understand the importance of sidework and its roll in a bar or restaurant can be difficult, making them take it seriously can also be a tedious task. Thankfully there are some methodologies you can employ to get them on the right track to helping themselves, your location, and their colleagues.

Simple Yet Comprehensive Sheets

Your sidework sheets should be straight and to the point, with no fluffy language to complicate things. They should include every task that employees need to complete, and they should be set out in an easy to read format. Leave them no excuses if they do decide to skip some tasks.

Initials Equal Ownership

Most people put small check boxes next to each task for each day. When making your sheets ensure that these boxes are large enough for a pair of initials. Making your staff initial each completed task means that they’re putting their name to it. It also allows you to easily work out who didn’t complete a task to standard and have them do it again; instead of it falling on someone-else’s head.

Training

Proper training is essential if you don’t want to have to check your staff’s work at the end of every shift. If you’re introducing these sheets then go through the whole list with your employees, visiting the location of each task as you do so. Ask if there are any questions along the way to make sure everything is clear. After their first attempt go and check everything with them, if they went wrong somewhere tell them and then show them how to correct it. Also explain why some seemingly arbitrary tasks are important; if your staff know why they’re doing these things they’re more likely to take them seriously.

Continue to check them until they do everything correctly. After this, spot check them every now and then to let them know that you’re still aware of what’s going on; don’t let them think they can dupe you.

Deal Out Tasks Fairly

When sharing the tasks between the different shifts of employees ensure that each shift completes relevant tasks. Ensure that you share the tasks out equally, this not only means volume-wise but also weight and time-wise; don’t have one shift doing all the heavy lifting and organization, and the other shift completing three tasks that take an hour each. Share the load evenly.

Listen to Your Staff

If they tell you something isn’t working for them or that it should be tasked to the other shift then listen, they’re probably talking sense. If you’re not sure, open up a discussion and see what others think; if it’s going to make their lives easier then it’s going to make your life easier.

If it’s brought to your attention, or you notice, that someone isn’t pulling their weight then take them aside and have a conversation with them about improving their etiquette. Maybe retrace the things you told them in training about why some of these tasks are important. Double check their work and keep an eye on them until their performance is satisfactory again.

Sidework doesn’t have to be a burden, and once your staff get into a good flow with it it can actually become an enjoyable part of the shift for them to spend together. Knowledge of why and how are some of the most important parts of completing sidework; along with keeping a high standard. If you get to the stage where your staff are check on each others work for their own sake then you know you’ve got your sidework plans working perfectly.