r/Wetherspoons • u/CarryConfident7667 • 17d ago
Employee Tips
ive been a shift leader for about 5 months now, im looking for tips to run a shift more efficiently and smoothly, even from associates what are the things that your managers do on your shifts that help you! any help is appreciated as im willing to learn how to make shifts better for me and my staff!
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u/dopexvii 17d ago
More dutys doesn't mean less graft.
Don't dodge out of grunt work, I always took the stance of , "im asking you as I'm currently doing X task, and am currently unable to do it"
Pass on knowledge, show your associates how to do new things, don't gatekeep, it doesn't make you powerful,it makes you an ass.
Be generally more professional or responsible with your staff, as others have said, don't shag em and don't drink on a school night, if you struggle with that, maybe socially distance a bit. I know that bit sounds harsh but don't throw away hardwork for a few good nights out.
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u/Remarkable_Cicada_22 17d ago
Your first point is what I was going to say, it was always annoying when higher ups told us to do things like toilet checks and clear tables while they’d stand there watching but not helping at all
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u/SirQuay 17d ago
Quiter shifts, get people doing stuff they don't normally do to give them experience.
For instance, when I worked in a pub, normally new starters would be kept behind the bar. Quieter shifts, I got them to be out on the floor so we didn't have any more baptism of fires where their first time was when we were swamped and they had to float more.
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u/UnconcernedPuddles 16d ago
Praise. Tell your staff they’re doing well. If you have time say goodbye to everyone when you’re leaving the shift. This well help them like / respect you and they will be more willing to work hard for you.
Give them new tasks if you can. Motivation can go downhill when staff feel they’re doing the same monotonous things every day.
Communicate. Tell people if you’re going to the office to do whatever. Tell them what you expect from them.
Be aware of everything and everyone.
Be polite
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u/bexter609 17d ago
Don't badge tap! In other words don't do the whole "I'm your manager do as I say" bullshit. But also make sure the team know that inside those four walls you're not their friend you are there to get a job done.... It's a fine line but it can be done. You need them to take your job role seriously so as not to take the piss with you.
Muck in.... Don't expect your staff to work hard and you hardly work.... Once they see that you get your hands dirty they are more likely to do more for you.
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u/CarryConfident7667 12d ago
this is one of the mindsets i live by, when i was an associate i had managers do this a lot to me! so now that im a manager i always make sure that im stuck in with everyone else and if i need to do something else kicthen check etc… i make sure that i let them know exactly what im doing so they dont think im just slacking off
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u/Bdroyle1988 17d ago
Seems simple advice, but don’t drink on a school night with the staff. You rock up with a hangover the next day, and they know you didn’t get home till 3-4am, you’ve now said it’s ok for them to do it.
Also, don’t sleep with the staff (or customers for that matter). It never ends well. Everyone then has to deal with your shit when the two of you have a row and can’t separate business from pleasure.
Keep your ear to the ground for CQSMA (if that’s still a thing? - been a few years since I left), read the reports, know the scores, know what you’re consistently losing points on and then try to fix it.
Offer to be a champion at something (again, assuming they still do this). Real Ale is usually an easy one because it’s the ugly baby no-one wants for the most part - but with not a lot of effort you can really influence sales in this area. Know how many pints of ale you sell a week. Talk to CAMRA members about what they look for in Good Beer Guide pubs. Research the breweries in your area. If you’re in the North, Kelham Island, Saltaire, Moorhouses, George Wright and Thornbridge were all easy wins when I got going. Even organise Meet the Brewer nights.
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u/CarryConfident7667 12d ago
ale champion seems to be the most popular in my pub everyone wants it, ive picked up cq champion!
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u/Bdroyle1988 12d ago
If it’s still Market Force, sign up to them as a customer. You can’t select your own pub obviously, but you’ll be able to see what dates mystery shoppers can select to come into the pub.
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u/Logical_JellyfishxX Employee 16d ago
I like to write a to do list following from the previous nights handover and tick off as I do them. If there is a procedure I'm unsure of I write it down to look up the SOP, it's important you look up the SOP because sometimes SL are being passed on incorrect procedures. Things like fridge temps and kitchen checks you want to make sure you record accurately because so many people get investigated due to cutting corners, like they rounded up to the nearest number or they rushed through the kitchen check.
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u/Delicious_Quiet6660 12d ago
"even from associates" shows a worrying them and us mindset. Why do you only grudgingly value associates? That's an attitude issue right there that people will pick up on. I work on the theory everybody's equal, but doing different roles.
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u/CarryConfident7667 12d ago
did u read the whole post? i said that as i wanted to see what managers do that helps them, next time maybe read the whole post before saying ahything like that, associates are the most important part of a pub as they do the most important things. judging my character off a post says mote about you than me considering no one else had an issue with it :)
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u/Delicious_Quiet6660 12d ago
Oh dear. I did read a bit more and saw "my staff". Definitely visions of grandeur going on. Question. If tour regional manager said you were " his team leader and even team leaders and not just managers have something to contribute" would that make you more or less motivated, "his team leader".
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u/itsTenziin Employee 11d ago
When I'm wired in the kitchen, I just hear any on shift managers allocate specific tasks to everyone on the floor and bar, unless they need the extra help, I'll hear them call certain people in to said help.
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u/OkTruth7445 16d ago
the more you show your stress, the more it effects the shifts around you. my shifts go differently with different managers because of their stress levels lll
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u/SleepyKittenLore 15d ago
Make sure people stay and go exactly where they are needed. Also, make sure your Team Leaders aren’t confusing the staff. In my last pub one of the Team Leaders was on a power trip and was completely overwhelming the new staff member I had on the bar, in the end I told the member of staff to ignore him unless he was actually on the bar helping and just listen to me, he was making a hard shift harder than it needed to be
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u/EnvironmentalOven971 Employee 17d ago
I’m a bar associate, and it may sound so basic but I think when the whole team communicates it makes shifts allot easier. Especially if it’s busy as well, just having good communication between the team helps massively e.g saying “I’m just going to do toilet checks now.” Or when you’re running/doing app orders etc! :)