How to Run Pre-Shift Meetings, Shift Meetings and Trainings

The pre-shift: ten minutes, one focus

A pre-shift meeting gets everyone ready for the next few hours. It's not the place to review every policy or to vent about last night. Use the same order every time so the team knows what to expect:

1. Tonight's numbers (3 minutes). Reservations, expected covers, large parties, the 86 list and any low items. Describe the special in one sentence, and let people taste it if you can.
2. One focus (3 minutes). One behavior or standard for this shift only, such as greeting tables within two minutes or checking back after two bites. Say what it looks like in practice.
3. Quick practice (2 minutes). Role-play a greeting, walk a new table layout, practice the description of the special.
4. Shout-outs (1 minute). Name one person and the specific thing they did well last shift.
5. Questions, then go (1 minute). End on time.

Kitchen pre-shifts follow the same idea: prep status, specials, allergy notes, equipment issues, one focus. The pre-shift meeting planner fits on one page and can live on a clipboard by the pass.

Picking the focus

The focus should come from something you saw. If table touches were slow last Friday, Friday's focus is table touches. If a guest review mentioned that no one explained the menu, make menu explanation the focus for a week. Repeat a focus for several shifts in a row so it becomes habit, and say when you're moving on.

Avoid more than one focus per pre-shift. People remember one thing under pressure. Five things become none.

The monthly team meeting

Once a month, or once a quarter for smaller teams, get front and back of house together for 30 to 45 minutes. A good agenda:

• What went well last month, with real examples and names.
• The numbers that matter to the team, such as guest scores, review themes or sales trends. Share what you're comfortable sharing.
• One change coming up, such as a new menu, a policy or a schedule change, and why.
• Questions and open discussion.
• One problem to solve together. For bigger problems, use a whiteboard session instead of open discussion.

Pay people for the time, feed them, and start and end when you said you would. Send a short written summary the next day for anyone who couldn't attend.

Short trainings that stick

Training in restaurants works best in short, practical pieces. A 20-minute session on one skill, such as opening a bottle of wine at the table, handling an allergy order, or closing the fryer station, beats a two-hour lecture.

Use the same simple pattern for any skill:

1. Explain what the skill is and why it matters, in two or three sentences.
2. Show it done correctly, at normal speed and then slowly.
3. Practice: everyone does it while you watch and correct.
4. Check on the next two shifts that people can do it without help.

Write a one-page checklist for each skill you train and keep the pages together. After a few months you'll have a training manual built from what your team actually needs.

Common mistakes

Running long. If pre-shift regularly runs 20 minutes, people start arriving late on purpose. Cut content, not the ending time.

Lecturing. Teams remember what they practice and say out loud. Ask questions and get people moving.

Only bad news. If meetings are where people hear about mistakes, they'll dread them. Lead with what's working.

No follow-up. A training without a check on the next shift is mostly forgotten by the end of the week.

Keep a simple record

Note the date, focus and who attended for each pre-shift and training. It takes one line, and it shows you what you've covered, what you keep repeating, and who missed a training they need.