LABOR IS A TOP CHALLENGE IN FOOD SERVICE. The never-ending pace of finding staff, keeping staff, and staying competitive with elevated pay rates is driving managers to search for meaningful solutions to the labor challenges of the day. The answer requires a look beyond creative recruitment and retention strategies. The key to finding real answers lies in ensuring optimal workflow that saves time. By streamlining tasks, you can empower your team and get more out of existing staff. Freeing up just 30 minutes per shift creates significant time savings. Focus on process and people to assure you are using the team you have in the best way, empowering people to achieve peak performance. UNDERSTANDING LEAN THINKING Operational excellence that sets your team up for peak performance starts with lean thinking. It's all about eliminating tasks that don't add value. Kitchens are process-driven operations. There are processes for 28 NUTRITION & F OOD SER VICE EDGE | SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024