Callouts are bound to happen occasionally because people get sick, they have emergencies, they have family that has an emergency, etc., it’s not always avoidable. There is an industry-wide concern with callouts right now, and they are more frequent now for a few reasons:
#1. People are understandably more nervous now when they get sick after experiencing a global pandemic and its impacts. We have many young adults who were in school when COVID shut everything down, so they are more anxious about illness and more cautious about spreading germs. If they don’t feel great, they are more apt to call out so they don’t spread illness and/or so they can try to rest to mitigate the effects and the duration of the illness (which is an upgrade to the level of concern in our industry, if I’m honest).
#2. It is no longer cool to be a restaurant employee who allows the snot to get beat out of them by working yourself to the bone regardless of whether you are sick. Again, an upgrade to this beloved industry, yet it presents real challenges for running a business. There is a balance that must be struck, and I’m going to show you how I do it. It’s really about relationships and responsibility.
Building Relationships
Environments lacking empathy and trust are always filled with higher turnover and unreliable shift coverage… among other issues. I mean, who wants to go to work if you’re not feeling great and you know the place is going to go down in flames (everyone else called out due to this culture), but you’ll get the brunt of it anyway because your boss doesn’t care that you’re sick. In an industry where we have to be thick-skinned to get by, it sounds almost counter-intuitive to ask for empathy as a key skill, but it is an indispensable practice for restaurant managers to develop.
Here’s how empathy works in this context: Rachel texts me that she needs to call out for the day, no details. I text back saying no, she needs to cover her shift or come in. Rachel now has a chip on her shoulder and is a potential for no-call-no-show, bad attitude and sabotaging the team dynamic, or quitting the first chance she gets with no notice.
Alternate scenario: Rachel texts me her callout. I reply, “Is everything ok?” She responds, “Yes, I just don’t feel well and I know I have a double tomorrow that we are short-staffed for, I don’t think I will make it through.” I ask if she has checked with anyone that could cover the shift, but she has exhausted the list. I thank her for letting me know, and I can either accept that she is calling out for this shift, or I can ask if maybe she’d prefer to work tonight but have tomorrow morning off and still work the next night since that would be most helpful? How the scenario works out isn’t the point, really, it’s more about the fact that I put Rachel first and asked if she was ok and we opened a dialogue. I care enough about the people I work with to check on them as people first, knowing that the restaurant will go on if they are not there, even if it’s more difficult.
I also work hard to get people on my team that I truly want working with me, so I want to invest time and effort into our relationships. From the start, I get to know who might have health concerns and valid reasons they need time off unexpectedly, whose grandmother isn’t well so they need to leave on a moment’s notice, and who has car trouble right now while they’re building back financially. On the flip side, I also know who likes to pick up shifts on the fly. I have a bank in my head of who I can call to pick up a shift when needed, and what I can offer to sweeten the deal (no side-work, pick of shifts next week, etc.). I also foster the dynamic of the whole team so that they are more apt to figure out shift coverage amongst themselves because they genuinely don’t want to let each other down.
Responsibility
A quick lesson on one of my philosophies: the task of being in restaurant leadership extends beyond just running operations and even developing people on your team. Restaurants have a fairly heavy percentage of younger adults working with us, and for many, it’s a first job or early in their career. Therefore, we are charged with conveying a foundational knowledge about the workforce, including responsibility not only to the business they work for, but to their teammates.
Here’s how that works in this context: early on in a relationship between myself and an employee, I make my expectations for calling out clear. I expect that if they need to miss a shift for any reason, they will make every effort to cover their own shift. I make sure they are included in any group texts/chats as soon as they are on our team so they have access to contact people. I explain that IF they are not able to cover they shift, they should let me know ASAP so we can work together to figure it out. Then, we talk about what it’s like to work shifts when someone has left the team without coverage or letting us know, because no one enjoys that and they can relate. Putting this into practice, the first time they text me to call out I will ask who they have tried for shift coverage (along with empathizing with their need to call out, this keeps the good will going). If they haven’t tried everyone, I’ll prompt them to try others because I want them to actively practice following the expectation. There is generally a dialogue about why they are calling out, how they can try to cover the shift or if they can try to make it to work after all, and a reminder of the expectation and why it’s important. Overall, I gently push in any way I can to mold them into caring, responsible team members who understand the expectation and the impact on others if they don’t meet it.
Now, sometimes, if I know their reason and I know they did their due diligence trying to cover the shift, I just tell them I’ve got it because rewarding their effort with goodwill builds trust in our relationship.
Implementing this framework into your culture and leadership philosophies works, and it’s sustainable. I have taught this system to clients and I have been pleased to see it still working when I have revisited their restaurant after working with them. Managers who learn to build relationships and work with a people-first mentality are rewarded with fulfilling, successful careers and a legacy of making a valuable impact on people.
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