A Complete Guide to Handle Restaurant Shift Change

Restaurant shift change is an integral part of operating a restaurant or eatery. Ensuring the restaurant shift change process is as smooth as possible helps streamline your operations, prepare for any situation, and run your establishment smoothly. Restaurant shift change that is not well-planned and efficiently managed leads to chaos, confusion, and, ultimately, a bad customer experience. 

This guide will provide you with answers if you are looking for a guide on how to handle restaurant shift change optimally. We will also help you come up with an appropriate checklist to manage your restaurant’s shift change.

What is a Restaurant Shift Change? Why is it Important?

A restaurant shift change refers to the transition at an outlet where one time slot ends and the other begins. It may be a change from a day shift to a night shift or a switch from one 6-hour shift to another. It is often a hectic time for restaurants as early shift staff prepare to end their work while the proceeding shift staff prepares to take over the operations.

During a restaurant shift change, several processes happen in the background, from handling the dinner menu to managing table servings and cleaning. A smooth shift change helps create a uniform and satisfactory customer experience. It also ensures all the restaurant operations run seamlessly, establishes proper communication channels between the staff, and prevents confusion.  Utilizing Restaurant Management Software can further simplify these processes by automating tasks and ensuring efficient coordination among the team.

Impact On Restaurant Operations

A properly synchronized restaurant shift change can reduce wait time, prevent confusion, and ensure smooth operations. A well-coordinated team can handle pending services and unpredictable challenges efficiently.

Each staff member understands their roles and responsibilities while equally respecting others. It also creates a collaborative environment among staff members.

Impact On Customer Experience:

An organized restaurant shift change supports on-time services, effectively predicts demands, and reduces delays, thereby ensuring customer satisfaction. Consistent services such as food quality, safety standards, and good taste attract loyal customers, increasing brand awareness.  To further optimize these processes, learning How to Improve Restaurant Operations Management can provide valuable insights into streamlining operations and enhancing overall restaurant

How can an Efficient Shift Change Checklist For Restaurants Be Created?

Restaurants require teamwork and expert management for smooth operations and to organize the shift change process smoothly. You and your staff should keep a handy checklist ready for daily activity monitoring and execution. A restaurant checklist often includes tasks to be performed before the opening and closing time of service. It makes shift transitions quick and easy, avoiding delayed deliveries.

Here are the key aspects of preparing the checklist. 

• Plan the activities: You can begin by creating a list of the necessary tasks to be performed and arrangements to be made.
• Create a restaurant checklist: Once you have listed all the tasks, jot them down on the checklist. According to the restaurant operations, you may have to create separate opening and closing checklists for each team ( Back-of-house, Front-of-house, and managers)
• Maintained, organized, and accessible: You must always have several copies available at the restaurant for teams to view and function accordingly. Managers must update and maintain checklists to inform staff well in advance.
• Keep room for updates: Restaurant businesses often face unpredictable challenges. So, ensure your checklist has enough room to accommodate any changes. 

We have prepared a sample opening checklist for the Front-of-House (FOH) and Back-of-House (BOH) teams. It includes the essential elements:

Front-of-House Opening Checklist

From setting up the dining space to restoring the essential resources, the FOH opening checklist must have the following:

• Set up chairs and tables and organize the seating space
• Clean the tables
• Ensure bins are empty and usable
• Clean the washrooms
• Fold and arrange napkins and decorate seating spaces
• Restock condiments on the tables
• Arrange necessary cutlery and glassware
• Refill water cans

Back-of-House Opening Checklist

From chopping ingredients to organizing kitchen workstations, the BOH opening checklist must include the following:

• Thoroughly clean all the workstations
• Keep food-preparing utensils ready
• Chop the necessary ingredients and organize all the ingredients
• Check tools like toast-makers, ovens, and dishwashers
• Manage the inventory
• Make arrangements for boiling, frying, and steaming dishes
• Ensure availability of refrigerator items like milk, curd, etc

You can also personalize your checklist depending on your restaurant’s specific needs. For instance, if you cater to customers looking for gluten-free options, ensure that your checklist reflects the steps needed to keep gluten-based ingredients separate. 

Tips for Effectively Handling Restaurant Shift Change

It is a dream of many restaurant owners to see that shift change happens seamlessly. However, it is still a dream because many establishments see shift change as a nightmare. During the shift change, the prep work becomes complicated, the majority of cleaning takes place, and the cash counter needs to be handled as well. There are no issues if everything goes smoothly; however, the workload of the next shift increases immensely as they have to wrap up the work of the previous shift and start working for their shift as well. 

Hence, here are some tips that you can keep in mind to ensure seamless shift change. 

• Stick to the Checklist. 

As a restaurant’s manager, it is your duty to create a checklist and write down every process. Hence, you should check that every item or task on the checklist is ticked off before the shift ends. The tasks include that all the food orders are delivered, cleaning tasks are handled, and all the side work/prep work is done properly. 

As a manager, you might be tempted to give the servers and staff leave a little early; however, understand that there are closing tasks that every employee should complete before the shift ends. Also, there are some deep cleaning tasks that need to be performed every week or month. Hence, ensure to make time for them as well. 

• Conduct Shift Meetings. 

Conduct a shift meeting after every shift ends and begins. The duration of the meeting doesn’t matter; it can be brief, 5-10 minutes. During these shift meetings, your main task will be to take updates from and give updates to every employee. 

When the new shift starts, hold a quick meeting to ensure that every employee is on the same page regarding the tasks of the day. You can announce company news, discuss upselling and short inventory items, and give appreciation to workers for their good work in these meetings. These meetings allow the employees to ask their questions or queries before they start working.

When the shift ends, just take an update from the employee and discuss if there were any issues that the employee faced.

• Hold Each Employee Accountability. 

Every employee should be held accountable for their duties. For instance, if the previous shift employees do not complete the end-of-the-night tasks, the morning shift employees have to work extra to complete the pending tasks, and they have their pre-shift responsibilities as well. 

As a leader, you should ensure that every employee finishes their tasks and that too properly. Also, you shouldn’t just give orders to your employees. As a good manager, you must work with them to help them finish the task, and you are willing to support them. 

• Train the Employees for Shift Change. 

Train your employees on the exact procedure of how to begin the shift and how to finish it. Periodical retraining is essential as well because it ensures that employees remain up-to-date and any misinformation will be resolved if there were any conveyed by the previous manager. 

• Don’t Close Early. 

As a manager, you should complete all the close-up tasks towards the end of the shift so the entire shift can go home at the same time. This might be a problem because what if some customers come in when you are about to close? Closing down early can help you miss the last customers. 

Hence, it is best to distribute your staff to start working on the closing checklist if there isn’t much rush. However, ensure that this doesn’t come at the cost of quality service to customers who are in the restaurant or come in at the last moment. 

Benefits of Digital Checklists and Mobile Applications

You can use a cost-effective shift-change management tool to organize your restaurant shift-change system. A technology-based application helps you introduce a standardized system in your infrastructure. Some of the benefits of using a digital checklist are:

1. Digital checklists are often connected through centralized management tools that ensure task completion during shift changes.
2. Technology-driven systems keep all the tasks in one place for each team. It eliminates the need to create separate manual checklists for each employee.
3. Mobile apps support real-time employee status and availability. This ensures smooth work management in case an employee is unavailable.
4. The use of mobile systems supports easy shift swap functionality for employees.
5. Technology in restaurant shift change management reduces manual costs and increases productivity.

What is the Role of Leadership in Managing Restaurant Shift Changes?

A restaurant shift change is a crucial time that must be tackled properly. Effective leadership during shift changes may help reduce chaos at the restaurant, ensure timely deliveries, and minimize customer wait time.

An assertive leader will make faster decisions and eliminate work negligence. He is capable of assigning on-time duties and managing emergency scenarios. Restaurant managers must always extend kindness and support to maintain a healthy workplace environment. Your employees will work productively when their efforts are valued and rewarded. 

Leadership plays a vital role in effectively managing restaurant shift changes, and here’s how. 

• Accountability of Employees

A restaurant manager must maintain operating transparency with employees and make them feel a significant part of the business. Acknowledging their excellent work and rewarding them for performance will make employees more responsible towards their tasks. You must ensure each employee is valued and holds himself accountable.

• Employee Skill Development

Your new employees will require sufficient support to thrive in the working space. As a restaurant manager, you must provide guided sessions or assisted training to help them learn faster. You may also have to train them regarding changing shifts, peak hours, difficult menu deliveries, and real-time operations.

• Updated Checklists

It is mandatory to inform employees about real-time updates, including menu changes, inventory stocks, special events, or fixed-hour deliveries. Restaurant managers must ensure timely maintenance of checklists for each team and ensure employees are informed in advance.

• Easy Communication Channel

Restaurant managers must create a collaborative, light, and fruitful work culture. Employees must be able to easily communicate their messages in case of health issues, emergencies, or unavailability.

• Teamwork and responsibility

A collaborative leader understands his employees’ efforts and pays equal respect to them. Restaurant shift change is not a one-man task but requires a team effort. A good leader always builds an environment of trust and transparency at the workplace so that employees take complete responsibility for their tasks and duties. They will also come forward in case extra support is needed. Restaurant managers must encourage employee accountability and foster teamwork.

Conclusion:

Restaurant shift changes are critical scenarios and must be handled effectively for smooth operations, coordinated teamwork, and seamless customer experience. Maintaining checklists for every team will increase staff productivity, multiply sales, and benefit your restaurant at large.

Restaurant businesses can enhance shift changes with the smart use of advanced technology software and tools. They can manage inventories and restaurant menus. It can enable employee tracking and allow your staff to focus only on necessary operational tasks. These systems reduce manager workloads, providing them with a centralized view of the outlet.