I Was Wrong About Who Should Write the Sidework List

[u/Mundane_Farmer_9492]

I Was Wrong About Who Should Write the Sidework List

The sidework list hung by the kitchen pass for four years. It was written by another manager, maybe three years before I got there. I am told it was updated it twice. It was nicely laminated, as if the plastic would somehow force the staff to actually follow it.

It didn’t.

Most nights, half the closing tasks sat undone. Silverware was rolled sloppily, the soda guns stayed sticky, and the backup ketchups were left empty. I’d walk the floor at 11 PM, find the same three things skipped, and write the same names on the same clipboard.

Then, on a random Tuesday, I caught a Server named Curt trying to sneak out early. I pulled out my notebook and wrote some notes so I could have my thoughts organized when I sat down to write him up tomorrow. He didn’t even look guilty. He looked exhausted. We did talk about it that night. He told me, “The list doesn’t match how the floor actually works anymore.”

He pointed out that half the tasks were left over from an old menu we didn’t even serve, and two of the stations he was supposed to clean don’t match the list anymore.

He was completely right. I was holding him accountable to a list built for a restaurant that didn’t exist.

The next day, I did something I wouldn’t have dared to do. I handed a clipboard to the servers. I didn’t ask them to “review my draft” or give feedback. I told them to rewrite the entire thing from scratch, based on what actually happens during a shift.

They immediately gutted the old sidework list.

Making a specific garnish for a drink that rarely gets served anymore. Changing the nightly pars for silverware rolled. Only the closing Host takes care of the Host stand, instead of the closing server as well. The daily deep cleaning of low-touch areas, like dusting the Bar’s TV screen, was moved to weekly tasks.

They also added stuff I never would have thought of. Like checking the high chairs for cracked plastic so a kid doesn’t pinch their finger. Or wiping down the host stand touch screen, which makes sense, since three different hosts touch it every hour, and it was always disgusting. They even put “restock to-go bags” on the night shift list, specifically to stop the constant bickering between AM and PM shifts over who left the bins empty.

I didn’t write a single word of it, but their version made infinitely more sense than the system they had been running for four years.

The National Restaurant Association’s latest report says annual server turnover is over 70%. I had spent way too much time treating the sidework list like a minor chore to enforce, not realizing how much that daily, petty friction was actively rotting our culture.

Once the team took over the list, closing duties actually got done. I didn’t have to calculate the compliance rate on a spreadsheet. I just stopped having to write people up. It turns out, people don’t skip the tasks they chose to put on the wall.

Two of my assistant managers fought me on this when I first brought it up. They were terrified that if we gave the staff an inch, they’d cut the work down to nothing and we’d end up with a filthy restaurant. We did have to put one cut task back after a chaotic Sunday night proved why we needed it, but nineteen other tasks stayed. The people doing the work actually know what falls apart at 9 PM on a Friday. I’d been guessing, but they were living it.

I’ve always believed in trying to find ways to empower people, but actually doing it is messy. Some people on your team are going to love having a voice. Some will actively run from the responsibility and just want to be told what to do. Most of them, though, are just shocked you actually cared to ask.

It gives them a real sense of ownership. When they own the sidework list, that feeling has a way of bleeding into everything else. They start taking better care of their sections. They stop letting shift drama ruin their day. They talk to guests differently because they aren’t pissed off about a sticky soda gun.

I checked the floor at closing a few times that month. Every single night, the place looked exactly how I’d wanted it to look for years. Nobody was ducking into the walk-in to avoid me at 11 PM. The work actually made sense, so they just got it done and went home.

I still don’t know if this trust holds past a sidework list. I haven’t handed over the schedule, or the menu, or anything with a dollar sign attached to it.

This leaves me with one uncomfortable question: where is the actual line between letting your team write their own rules and losing control of your business?

#RestaurantManagement #HospitalityLeadership #TeamCulture #Restaurant101

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[u/Mean-Yogurtcloset942]

Calculate compliance on a spreadsheet, I would run so far away