Pizza Today - March 2022 - 83

Pizza Today: What are some
measures you have taken to keep
employee morale up during the
pandemic?
Bean: We've been perking up our
employees with positivity and positive
reinforcements. Some weekends we grab
cookies or energy drinks for the staff .
We've also tried to pin-point problem
areas that can alleviate the employee
struggles, such as modifying expo areas
to create a more productive workspace or
implementing visual cook charts to
reduce mistakes in the kitchen. Th e biggest
assistance has been fl exibility,
acknowledging that the staff also needs
that mental break - so we've been providing
more opportunities for requests off
even if it's a little more work on us at the
end of the day.
Smith: Th is has evolved over the
course of the pandemic for us. In the
beginning, we wanted to make sure our
employees' needs were being met. Most of
our team were laid off from their second
jobs, and we had to layoff most of our
front of house staff . We were buying extra
supplies and groceries for our staff to take
home if needed. We also kept all of our
laid-off staff on health insurance.
Th ings we have done more recently are
pretty simple, really. We see our staff as
an asset worth investing in. So, we have
made sure we are paying competitive
wages and giving raises where they are
earned. It's so much easier to invest in
our existing staff rather than hire in this
market. We are checking in with staff regularly
to see how they are doing, not just
at work but in general. People are burnt
out in our industry, and we want to make
sure we are able to give staff some extra
days off when needed. We also closed for
an extra couple days after Christmas to
give staff a break. Finally, we have made
a huge eff ort to make sure we aren't running
shifts short staff ed and adding to our
employees' stress level. We have modifi ed
service or hours as necessary to make
sure our staff has the most positive work
environment possible.
Di Diana: I was on a fl ight from OKC
to Chicago years back, and I was lucky
enough to sit next to Coach Billy Donovan.
At that time, he was the head coach
of the Oklahoma City Th under. About
an hour into the fl ight, I built up the
courage to introduce myself, and asked
him: " Coach, what is the secret to your
success? " And he answered me without
hesitation and said it was his team. And
the key to building his staff was letting
them know how much he cared; hence
he was on a late fl ight to Chicago in the
off -season to go meet with a player and
one of his staff members. Anyway, I really
took that advice to heart during the
pandemic. As a restaurant operator with
multiple sites, the pandemic and initial
lockdowns felt like the apocalypse. And
while I was busy with everything on my
plate, I had to take a step back and say to
myself: " If I'm this worried about things
and I'm supposed to be the captain of this
ship, how scared must my team members
be? "
My perspective really changed a few
months in, and I really dove into constantly
communicating with everyone on
MARCH 2022 / PIZZATODAY.COM / 83
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Pizza Today - March 2022

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