How to Write Shift Notes

Shift notes help keep everyone updated and provide a record of what happened. Knowing who, what, when, where, how, and why something happened is crucial for your shift-to-shift business' success. It's an easy way to record everyone in one location for managers to review. There's an old saying for someone starting their shift, "don't go looking for the fire until you've read the daily log notes." Something may be happening for a reason and before jumping right into a shift to take action, take a moment to absorb the information and get a sense of what's happening and why.

The Importance of Daily Log Notes

Daily log notes could be equated to eating your vegetables. You could get by without eating them, but really, you'll suffer the consequences down the road. Properly logging daily activity gives managers and other team members an overview of what happened, what's happening, and what's going to take place. They also help hold people accountable for items throughout their shift. Keeping high-quality log notes isn't just to keep everyone updated, it provides a written record for your team to reference at any time.

What Types of Log Notes You Should Record

Just logging notes will never be enough. It won't provide your team with any value. If someone writes "customer at table 12 told me they had a delicious meal." That's nice, but it raises more questions than answers. What did they eat that they loved so much? Who was their server? Was it their first time ordering that dish and they said they'd come back specifically for it? There are certain in-depth elements that should be logged.

• Daily notes of what happened, by who, how it happened, why it happened, where it happened
• Customer feedback - what was an awesome tidbit that you can share with your team to continue to improve upon?
• Employee feedback - if an employee provides a suggestion on how to improve a certain element or that there is something slowing down their efficiency. That should be recorded and tracked.
• Maintenance and repairs - if something broke, who will fix it and when.
• Training information - is a new hire thriving at one element over another? Is there something that they can't grasp that should be reiterated in the next training session?
• Inventory - if something is running low, does the right person know about it?
• Meeting notes - if you have a meeting, who is keeping track of the notes? There's nothing worse than having a productive meeting only for no one to record the conversation.
• Events - is there an upcoming event that your team needs to prepare for?
• Promotions - is there an upcoming marketing initiative that people need to be aware of. Is there a new idea for a promotion or results from one that shouldn't be tried again?
• Personnel tracking - did someone show up late, did someone do something to brighten everyone's day? This information should be tracked internally to prepare for next time.

It All Comes Down to Organization and Communication

At the end of the day, it all comes down to organization and communication. Logging daily activities means nothing if nobody is tracking it and utilizing it to their advantage. The goal is to observe what happened, report what happened, and take action going forward. This is crucial data that your team has access to every single day. Use it to your advantage!

One way to help your team improve logging daily activities is with ShiftForce. ShiftForce is an all-in-one workforce management solution designed for shift-to-shift businesses. Included is a digital log book, employee scheduling, task management, team communication, and more. Start logging daily activities more effectively and improving your team's efficiency today.