Even as the pandemic wanes and many cities relax their vaccine mandates, restaurant operators continue to be in a difficult position – managing consumers and employees who are concerned about Covid on one hand, as well as people who are determined to resume life as it was before the pandemic. If you find yourself in this position, do as much as you can to get out in front of the challenge: On your website, social media, front-door signage and menu, post clear, brief, easily digestible information about your safety policy – and surround it in welcoming terms. Your safety standards are about taking care of your staff and everyone who enters your restaurant so you can continue to serve your guests the food they love. If needed, a member of staff can help reinforce the message as guests enter your facility so you can avoid having to confront someone after they have bent the rules. Online, have some boilerplate language ready to respond to the trolls – and again here, surround your policy in welcoming, neutral language. For as many guests who boycott your business over safety rules, you are likely to attract many others who will go out of their way to support you because of them. We’re all suffering from Covid fatigue – and a desire to get back to some semblance of pre-pandemic life. But restaurants are in a tough spot: They will likely be unable to relax pandemic safety policies while local regulations continue to change and the public’s concerns about safety rise and fall with the presence of new virus variants. (And for some time still, customers will be taking precautions based on their personal health and vaccination status.) How does a restaurant keep pace with the shifting environment – and keep staff informed about ever-evolving regulations? A recent report in The Atlantic about how we might manage the virus going forward may provide some clues. Several experts interviewed for the piece, including an infectious disease physician and global-health expert, anticipate we will adopt a tiered system of response – similar to how we categorize and respond to hurricanes. Rather than flipping a switch – masks or no masks, well-ventilated indoor dining or no indoor dining at all, for example – we can expect gradations. Future approaches will likely include pieces of the safety protocols you have had to adopt over the past two years – with some choice involved in how far a business goes. Going forward, how can you adapt your training procedures to flex with current environmental risks, as well as to concerns of employees and customers? Consider how you can provide just-in-time updates to trainees by packaging and delivering the content in new ways. Restaurants are having to do more with less, make training new staff as straightforward as possible, and uphold safety protocols – so where any processes can be made easier, why not make a change? Cleaning products are one example. They should be simple to use. Can your cleaning products be used in a variety of applications and locations across your restaurant? The food safety company Ecolab advises restaurants to make the cleaning process less complex by using multifunctional cleansers specifically designed to require fewer steps, less time and less dependency on certain temperatures. The labor shortage, along with the spread of the Omicron variant, have resulted in many restaurants modifying their hours in an effort to manage concerns over customer and worker safety. A recent Fortune report said McDonald’s U.S. locations are open 10 percent fewer hours than before the pandemic and 9,000 Starbucks locations have also modified their hours. In your restaurant, do you know how to best ride the line between serving customers competently and protecting the safety of everyone who comes through your doors? Throughout the course of a shift, can you identify the precise number of employees you need on hand at various stages to complete the work that must be done? Would temporarily modifying your hours help ensure you have enough minimum staff on hand during the hours you are open? Restaurant operators are having to do more with less these days – and that can expose them to risks they were able to manage more easily before the pandemic. The current operating environment calls for a robust risk management plan that reflects today’s challenges and the need to cut corners. Your insurer can help you assess your existing operation and get a clearer sense of your biggest liabilities – whether they relate to your property, worker’s compensation, delivery, cyber, employment practices or some other aspect of business – and advise you of what steps to take now to prevent those risks from becoming costly problems. At a time when poor guest behavior related to Covid restrictions often makes news, restaurant operators have been placed in the challenging position of trying to take care of staff and provide guests with good service (even if their behavior isn’t the best). A new study reinforces that when operators visibly take care of staff safety, it can have a strong positive spillover effect to guests and build trust with them: Research from Qualtrics found that 30 percent of consumers have moved their purchases in the past 18 months to less-familiar brands because of the stricter safety protocols they use. Further, 22 percent of consumers have avoided businesses that gave guests doubts about their commitment to keeping their people safe. The spread of the Omicron variant – not to mention the typical seasonal illnesses taking a toll on staff – can make it easy for operators to overlook other important health and safety hazards in a restaurant that can lead to insurance claims. Slips, trips and falls are among the most common risks – and winter precipitation can increase the slippery spots in your facility that create hazards for staff and guests. In addition to regularly scanning floors to keep them clean, dry and non-slippery, Markel Insurance advises operators to clear spills with a clean mop and the recommended proportion of cleaning product in the water to remove grease. Remove clutter from walkways and work areas and keep them well-lit. Use slip-free mats in high-traffic areas and mark or fix any areas that may pose a tripping hazard, such as uneven flooring or bumps in carpeting. While Covid variants continue to be front-of-mind for restaurant operators, it can be easy to forget about the other seasonal illnesses that can impact a restaurant, particularly norovirus (which, although it can strike at any time of year, is known as the “winter vomiting bug” for a reason). Norovirus causes more foodborne illnesses than all bacterial pathogens combined. You can prevent its spread in your restaurant by having a food safety plan that considers your entire facility, including restrooms, your dining room and supply areas in addition to your kitchen. Reinforce with employees the need to wash hands even more frequently than usual with soap and water, and keep stations well stocked with soap and paper towels. Conduct training with staff on cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, including the proper solutions to use, as well as the amounts, applications and schedule of use. Finally, schedule frequent restroom cleanings and give staff a refresher on what procedures must be used when cleaning up after someone has been ill in your facility. Want to improve your safety? Focus on improving your transparency. By having an operation that is open with vendors, suppliers and customers about your safety practices, you’re creating the conditions for improved safety. There are a number of actions you can take to improve your transparency: Trace (and minimize) your menu’s links in the food supply chain so you can tell a less complicated story about how you’re sourcing your menu. Be open with nutritional information and allergens on your menu – One Dine suggests offering a QR code on your menu that links to detailed information about menu items. Make your kitchen more visible – if you physically remove the barriers between staff and guest, you build trust and also reinforce your commitment to operating safely and efficiently. Finally, admit to mistakes when they happen – that could mean responding honestly and professionally to a negative review, or acknowledging steps you’re taking proactively to improve your operation’s safety based on audits or self-assessments. The pandemic has been a two-year practice in adjusting to new recommended safety practices – and it’s demonstrated the need for restaurant operators to be able to get information out to staff in real time. In other words, posting flyers on employee bulletin boards has officially become obsolete. Do you have tech tools in place that enable you to push safety alerts and other information out to employees instantaneously via their smartphone? In addition to helping protect food safety and ensure your team is on the same page about vaccine-related regulations in your area, it could also help you empower your team to take greater responsibility and initiative in upholding health and safety protocols in your business. |
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