Team and management
Restaurant skills matrix: how to build one that is useful
A useful matrix answers one question: who can run which station alone, today? Here is how to build one without making it a decorative HR table.
Team and management
Onboarding, turnover, preparing a review from facts.
Team and management
How to know when a new employee can really work alone
Tenure does not prove readiness. Use a situation-by-situation grid (opening, prep, service, incidents) to see who can work alone and who still needs backup.
Team and management
Is a manager ready to run a location? Five tests to watch
A manager is ready to run a location when they handle exceptions, pass on their skills and follow issues through to the end, not after one good month.
Team and management
Restaurant opening: how to prepare your team before day one
Preparing a restaurant opening means writing each role, training before the first service, running a dress rehearsal and correcting every night for two weeks.
Team and management
How to prepare an employee conversation with facts, not impressions
Prepare an employee conversation with facts: reread dated commitments, training and wins, separate fact from opinion, and leave the decision to a person.
Team and management
Managers do not need another dashboard
A manager on shift needs the next action, not one more analytics screen. A useful tool removes admin work before it asks for any, and never ranks people.
Team and management
Employee recognition: praise with facts, not badges or rankings
A specific compliment (what was done, when, with what effect) beats a badge. Here is how to prepare it from facts and say it yourself, in your own voice.
Team and management
Restaurant employee goals: why they often fail
An employee goal fails when it is vague, unobservable or has no review date. "Be faster" is not a goal: here is how to rewrite it so it holds.
Team and management
AI in restaurant HR: a doctrine for what the tool may do
AI can recall facts and prepare a review conversation. It should not promote, discipline or fire anyone. A doctrine for the kitchen and the floor.
Team and management
Restaurant job profile: what should it include?
A useful job profile links duties, a typical day, standards and independence criteria. Here is the template to copy for hiring, onboarding and managing.
Team and management
Management software or surveillance: where is the line?
Management software turns into surveillance depending on purpose, transparency, access and what the vendor rules out. Five questions to tell which one you have.
Team and management
Why weekly manager reports often teach you nothing
A report full of "good week" and "nothing to report" teaches you nothing. A good one separates facts, actions, results and open items, with a way to verify.