Cross-Training

You're gearing up for your biggest moneymaking night of the week. You're booked wall-to-wall, and as you check and double-check to make sure everything is in order, you receive the "dreaded telephone call." One of your best bussers or servers can't make it in tonight. It's a familiar scenario in the restaurant business.

If you've experienced this situation, you already have an appreciation for cross-training. Think fast. You could call in a replacement, but that's easier said than done at the last minute. Even if you can pull it off, it will cost you a little extra, perhaps a dinner or two on his or her next night off. In my years as a server, I've found that tipped employees, accustomed to a little something extra, will expect some kind of baksheesh, i.e. a gratuity or bribe.

But if you have a cross-trained staff, you can do some reshuffling of the floor chart and with a bit of extra effort from everyone, escape annihilation beneath that runaway locomotive. You've probably heard the term cross-training in the context of athletics, as in developing skills and performance in a number of areas. But cross-training is also applied in the workplace, and can benefit any organization. This is especially true in the restaurant business, where staff shortages and turnover are regular parts of the landscape.

In business, cross-training is the practice of training employees to perform tasks and duties outside of their regular roles. The goal is to build a staff that can pinch-hit in a variety of functions when called upon. Ideally, it allows your business to function with a lean staff, without constant fear of being caught understaffed. You don't need a great deal of imagination to appreciate when cross-training might come in handy. You just need one Saturday night, similar to the above scenario.

A Test of Management and Staff

Let's say your bartender or host is a no-show. What if you could put a cross-trained server on bar duty, and divide his station among four or five other servers who will be only too happy to help out because it means gaining another table for their station. Of course, it is easier said than done, since you are involved in a chess game with people, who have feelings, personalities, strengths and weaknesses. As the operator or manager, you need to be available to shore up weak spots, and to help out as necessary throughout the shift. This means not only being available to assist the shuffled employee, but also keeping an eye on servers or bussers who may have picked up extra tables, or the front door staff, who may have given up a greeter or seater. Your motivational skills will also be tested, because when you make these switches everyone has to pull some additional weight for that shift.