Essential Service Industry Company Policies

If you’ve worked in the food and beverage industry as a  server or bartender, you must know that every credible business has a “company policy.” The company policy is reviewed during onboarding and explains the rules employees must abide by to continue employment. 

As a business owner, you may see the company policy differently. Rather than something to skim and sign without close inspection, the company policy is the most vital tool in your management toolbox. This policy lays out the most basic protocols by which all employees must comply or risk dismissal. 

Odds are, you’ve signed a company policy as an employee. But, as a business owner, you might have questions about how to implement a company policy for your own business. You may have questions like “Why should business owners have a company policy?” “What is included in a company policy?” or “How do I know that my employees are following company policy?” 

We’re so glad that you asked. In this blog post, we’ll give some background on company policies that you should include in your employee handbooks and tips on how to enforce them for the success of your business!

Why should business owners have a company policy?

Let’s look at Tony’s Pizza. 

Tony works hard and runs a pizza restaurant with his family. He hires cousins and siblings to work in the restaurant and deliver pizzas. They’re decent enough employees but often show up late for shifts, wear inappropriate clothing at work, give free products to their friends, and lack good customer service skills. After a few years of struggling to manage his employees, Tony decided to create a company policy that all employees must read and sign before beginning employment. 

Tony’s company policy included statements about the penalties for showing up late to a shift, the uniform that must be worn while at work, the language that must be used, the quality of customer service that is expected, or the standard of cleanliness that he expects in his kitchen and the rewards for those who go above and beyond. 

Sure, some of his family members were frustrated with this new policy, but they knew that Tony meant business when he mandated compliance with the policies. Tony often reminded his employees about the rules laid out in the documentation they signed and reiterated the importance of compliance. After a few months, Tony could see an improvement in his staff and the quality of service he was providing to his loyal customers. 

This may sound like a plot from a movie (and maybe it is), but it’s the reality for many small business owners around the country. Company policies are not only for the corporate-funded businesses but also for the small mom-and-pop shops in your neighborhood. These policies aren’t created to ruin an employee’s fun but to protect the business and ensure its longevity as an institution in the community. 

What is included in a company policy?

Company policies differ from business to business, but there are some common areas to include in the handbook signed by your employees. The specifics are customizable based on your business model and values as a company. 

Onboarding & Hiring

When new employees are added to the team, it’s a good idea to have a plan for training them and preparing them for success. It’s good practice to include a detailed timeline and list of activities they must complete before working on their own as well as any online training they should complete. 

For example, if you’re training a staff member at your restaurant which sells alcohol products, they should take some form of alcohol compliance training like ServSafe before beginning their first shift. 

Grooming and Attire 

For many businesses, but especially for the food and beverage industry, some standards must be upheld when it comes to hygiene and work attire. For example, all staff at restaurants must purchase non-slip shoes when working in kitchens and bar areas. If an employee were to fall and hurt themselves, the business owner could be held liable. 

Also, a level of hygiene is to be expected of employees interacting with customers and preparing food. For example, hair should be tied back and uniforms should be clean and tidy. This is both for the food safety aspect as well as customer optics. 

Shift Timeliness 

When staff members regularly show up late to shifts, they can impact the work-life balance of their coworkers as well as the success of your business. By implementing a policy that provides clear expectations on timeliness, your employees are more likely to show up on time as well as understand the consequences when they are regularly late. 

For example, a business could enforce a policy that penalizes employees who are 15 minutes late for three shifts within a 30-day span or regularly forget to clock out. Penalties could be dismissal or decreased hours in favor of employees who do comply with the policy. 

Customer Service Standards

Chick-fil-A is an amazing example of great customer service standards. It is a rare day to thank a worker for your sweet tea and not receive a “my pleasure” in response. The employee handbook for Chick-fil-A employees must be a sight to behold and chock-full of great policies. What’s especially interesting is the competition among young adults who aspire to work for Chick-fil-A despite these strict company policies. 

Setting a standard for customer service is essential for business owners focused on creating loyal repeat customers. These standards also help employees grow in their customer service skills which can be applied to nearly every industry. 

Tips and Gratuity 

Many employees in the food and beverage industry work almost exclusively on tips. Businesses that choose to share tips among the front-of-house will require a detailed breakdown of the percentages and process to share tips across all team members. With detailed guidelines, unnecessary tension between staff members is removed. 

Employee Discounts

Employees commonly receive a discount for purchasing products at their place of work. A company policy is important to document the percentage of the discount (or some other arrangement) and who is eligible for the discount. 

For example, if your staff members are regularly using their employee discounts to purchase items for their friends and family, you may need a more restrictive company policy on the use of employee discounts. 

Alcohol Sales

As mentioned by Stinger Compliance Founder, Cliff Crider, in a recent blog post, having an alcohol policy is essential for business owners who sell alcohol products. This policy should include guidance to employees on items like checking identification, denying service to intoxicated customers, over-serving customers, and whether fake IDs should be confiscated or not. The alcohol policy should be customized to the local laws in your area. 

Disciplinary Actions

It’s inevitable as a business owner that you will need to take disciplinary action against an employee who has not acted in alignment with your view of professionalism or ethics. In these cases, you must have a process for handling the disciplinary measures. 

How do I know that my employees are following company policy?

Business owners may have multiple locations or personal lives that prevent them from being everywhere at once to watch their staff’s level of compliance. Business owners will hire management they believe they can trust and who enforce company policy; yet, even with trustworthy management, prudent owners must verify their company policy is followed.  

To increase your confidence as a business owner, private Sting operations can be scheduled with Stinger Compliance. Stinger Compliance offers business owners the opportunity to secretly check in on their staff’s compliance with local laws and company policies through secret shoppers. 

Once a private Sting is scheduled by the business owner or management team, Stinger Compliance’s secret shoppers will visit the location and purchase age-restricted products to ensure that staff members are checking identification and following company policy as requested.

Business owners, when scheduling a Sting with Stinger Compliance, can add custom questions for the secret shopper to answer. Some examples may include, “Did the bartender tell you about our specials?” “Was the bathroom clean?”

After the scheduled private Sting, business owners receive a report from the Stinger with answers to any standard and custom questions. This is an extremely helpful tool for business owners to regularly check on their staff’s compliance. 

Ready to book your first Sting with Stinger Compliance? Become a client today!