Take full responsibility for every action in the club. Assume there is something you can or could have done to prevent any error or accident. Even if something is clearly someone else’s fault, what could you have done to help them succeed?

Always check-in with each team member you are responsible for at the beginning and end of each shift.

Start of shift:
Learn about their general mood, health, and motivation.

Set goals:
Follow up about previous issues.

Check their work, compliment them on something and suggest something they can improve upon.

Recap before ending the interaction.

Write up staff when misconduct is observed. We call this progressive counseling. We often learn more from failure than from an easy success. Receiving a write up can be a startling and emotional experience though. If delivered poorly, one might react unfavorably such as with an unexpected resignation or long term resentment. If delivered successfully, the result might be increased motivation, confidence, and urgency.

Content:
State only facts and indisputable conclusions. Avoid statements like “I think...”, or “I believe...”. If the individual being counseled feels there is reason to dispute the incident, then the counseling session will be less effective. With the right language, the employee will be presented with only one option: to learn and grow.

Delivering the Progressive Counseling form:
Prepare the form, and print two copies.

For serious incidents and terminations, a witness, such as another manager, must be present.

Progressive counseling should always be done in a private area such as the manager’s office, and the staff member receiving the counseling should be invited to the area discreetly.

Documentation:
Conduct violations need to be carefully documented before termination. A conversation is not enough. Any issues should be in writing and acknowledged by the employee. Although you can do this by email, we should have a progressive counseling form signed by the employee and placed in their personnel file. Undocumented issues leading up to termination are a recipe for expensive litigation or a costly settlement.

Termination:

• When is a termination appropriate?
  When an employee hurts service more than they help it and you are confident that your further investment in their development is futile. Conditions to achieve grounds for termination may cover a series of progressive counseling sessions, or a single incident.

• Examples of serious offenses:
  Theft (with definitive proof) / insubordination / sexual misconduct / physical assault / extreme carelessness / alcohol or drug abuse at work / no-call no show

• Staff reactions:
  Staff can react negatively and be influenced by misinformation (rumors). Terminating a teammate will lower morale when it is not clear what happened. Your goal to manage staff reactions is to build trust, communicate policies, and motivate the team to perform on a higher level.
  
  Without discussing personal information about an employee with another employee, take the time to discuss policies, and review decision making with the staff.

• Post termination procedures:
  Consult with HR
  
  Escort the employee to collect their belongings and out the door. It might be uncomfortable, but it will prevent theft and retaliation.

Peer on peer mentoring can sometimes be as effective as a manager giving direction. Imagine a scenario where you say “please use a tray” vs. a peer saying, “we use a tray here”.

Identify influential or socially powerful team members and inspire them to help their less disciplined peers.

Evaluate staff on their relationships, knowledge, tasks, skills, and conditioning.

• Small verbal quizzes, casually or in DUS meetings

• Written / digital tests

Staff will reflect your approach to work, therefore you must always be on. Although you will be compelled to let down your guard and be comfortable with staff, doing so will lead to minimized performance of your team.

Avoid getting too personal with staff. Be extra careful when discussing topics sensitive in nature.

Don’t curse around staff and discourage them from doing so. Communicating inappropriately or too aggressively will distract your audience from clearly understanding your message.

Abide by the same standards we set for our staff.