Employee Statements.

As part of my Basic Shift Management training program, I'm obligated to ask the employees for their input into the management team. I've asked questions such as, "What do you expect from your management team?" and "What can the managers do to better support you in your job?". There have been some interesting answers.

I've had two situations with non-English speaking, female crew members who gave me an interesting (in my opinion) response. They both, in separate encounters, broke into giggles and one of them giggled so nervously and hard that she turned purple. I can only assume she got so nervous from being asked such a direct question, and the request for her input. I donno.

One of our newest crew members, who was being eyed for management after two months or so of working at one of our groups other stores, told me she felt that there was no team feeling in the restaurant. Basically, she feels it is most apparent at the management level, and that the crew is full of people who don't care. I'm flattered she felt like sharing her observations with me, especially when she gave me some positive feedback on my performance. But what could I tell her, really? My response was, "Well, as far as I can see, that's basically life, right? A smattering of exceptional people trying to do the best they can and being hindered by stupid. Legions of stupid." It really is that way. If you disagree, it's probably because you're part of the herd, not the smattering.

Another employee told me, "Michael, I am very angry over this" in his incredibly soft-spoken and faintly Spanish-accented voice, "I work hard to keep this area clean, and other people don't respect it. None of the managers stop it from happening. I am very angry, my friend."

One of my favorite employees is a woman who works at two stores, has two kids and is always taking up any opportunity to get things done. She is phenomenal, and always has a bright and positive attitude. She's always willing to help out and make sure the team is running well. Her response to me was to get inside of my personal space, and patted my belly (an incredibly frazzling situation every time she does it) and says, something in Spanish that I'm told means "Your head is going to blow up". I think. She's a strange one, but she's one of my favorite people.

So depending on the outlook of the individual, either there are many Opportunities to Improve for the management team or just a few Opportunities to Improve. Either way, it's going to be a rough go - I'm not that great of a team builder, honestly, being so "Me" oriented, and I think that if I can help develop a more team-like environment at my store, it will be a great accomplishment.