🌱How to End the Call-Out Crisis That's Destroying Your Restaurant (And Your Managers)

Picture this: It's 3 PM on a Saturday, and you get a text message. 

Another call-out. 

Your general manager, who should be focusing on preparing for the dinner rush, is now scrambling to cover a shift. 

Sound familiar?

If you want to break the call-out cycle that's burning out your managers and hurting your guest experience, you need to read what happened in my coaching session today.

I was working with a Director of Operations who came to me frustrated about time management. 

He wanted to focus on strategic initiatives but felt trapped putting out daily fires. 

When we dug deeper, we uncovered the real problem: his restaurants were experiencing 4-5 call-outs per week!

If you're tired of playing defense with operational fires and want to get to the root cause of the issues holding your restaurant back, the answer is right here. 

Here's what that was actually costing his business...

His managers were constantly covering shifts instead of managing operations. 

They couldn't focus on guest experience, develop their teams, or handle service bottlenecks. 

The ripple effect was massive (burnt-out leaders, inconsistent service, and zero time for growth initiatives).

I asked him one simple question: "Are you making it too easy for your staff to call out?"

That question changed everything.

After reviewing their current process, we discovered they had accidentally created a system that encouraged call-outs rather than preventing them. 

Here's the solution we implemented:

Step 1: Communicate the "why" behind your schedule
Explain to staff why the schedule is built the way it is and ensure all requests are submitted before schedules are posted.

Step 2: Transfer ownership
Once the schedule is posted, staff members are responsible for their assigned shifts. If they need coverage, they own finding it.

Step 3: Individual outreach requirement
Staff must personally contact each unscheduled team member (no group texts that everyone ignores). Only after exhausting all options do they involve management.

Bonus accountability tip: Require staff to actually call (not text or Slack) when they need to call out. It's much harder to bail on your team when you have to have a real conversation about it.

The beautiful part? 

This isn't just about reducing call-outs. 

When you explain why you build schedules the way you do, your team starts to see the value you place in them and understands their important role in the business success.

This is what systems thinking looks like. 

One small change creates a massive ripple effect throughout your entire operation.

What operational challenge in your restaurant could be solved with better systems rather than more effort?

Ready to build systems that create thriving teams and sustainable growth? You can work with me one-on-one to implement custom solutions that fit your specific challenges, or join our group coaching program where restaurant leaders support each other through similar transformations. 

Visit https://www.IRFbook.com to get started.

Christin