How Four Restaurants Use 7shifts’ Announcements to Keep Their Teams Connected

Do you feel like your team is disconnected? Does the lack of communication cause misunderstandings and make your restaurant less efficient?

If so, you're probably not alone. Communication is tough in every restaurant, from a handful of team members to dozens across multiple locations. It's a tricky thing to get right, but with the right tools, it can be seamless.

That tool is 7shifts Employee Communication and Announcements App—and restaurants across the country are using it to send one-way messages to their entire team. Here's how four very different restaurants use announcements in creative, effective ways:

Kaldi's Coffee: Hiring Internally

In 2021, the team at Kaldi's is on track to send more than 300 announcements this year, about one each and every day. In addition to keeping staff up-to-date on menu changes, coffee releases, and pricing, the Kaldi's team uses announcements for a unique purpose: hiring.

7shifts Team Announcements Tool

As Kaldi's grew, they knew they needed to add a part-time graphic designer to their team to design, they put it out there via 7shifts announcements. “Some people from the café; applied and we hired one of them. They already know the culture and it's easier that way to fit in, I think,” says Keith Kildron, Kaldi's Director of Operations.

Read More: How Kaldi's Coffee uses 7shifts to schedule and connect with 100+ team members

Pita Way: Keeping Dishes Consistent

Announcements take many forms at Pita Way, with 108 employees over 10 locations. They come through twice a week on average at Pita Way, and the content of the missives varies.

“Sometimes we do a tip of the day, we come across something that works out well at one store and we'll put a tip of the day out there, just to make everybody's life a little easier,” says Holly Megges, Pita Way's Director of Operations.

For example, if a dish on the menu is being portioned inconsistently across locations, the team can send out an announcement blast with a photo to all staff to make sure the Pita Way experience is exactly the same from Clarkston to Brighton.

Read More: How Pita Way Schedules 100+ Employees and Crushes Task Lists with 7shifts

Canyons Fresh Grill: Never Forget Wing Wednesday

Canyons have effectively replaced the traditional all-hands pre-shift meeting with global announcements on 7shifts. Every morning, every team member gets an announcement so they know what's going on during every given day. The subject generally covers events, promotions, or anything that should be kept in mind heading in for a shift. Before September of 2020, the team wasn't using the announcements feature—now they're using it every single day.

“So if it's Wing Wednesday, they can't forget, because we're reminding them. If we're having another drink special, they're getting a reminder before the shift. So your communication between the company and its staff, its employees, is a game-changer.” says Mark Crumpton, Canyons' Owner.

7shifts Roster Announcement and Messaging Feature

Read More: How Canyons Fresh Grill Saves 15% on Labor with 7shifts

Beechwood Donuts: The Pandemic MVP

During the height of the COVID pandemic, Tayler Bock, Beechwood Donuts' co-founder used 7shifts announcements to keep her entire team on the same page. Bock and her management team made roughly seven announcements per month to keep their staff informed.

“Obviously, nobody really had information [on COVID-19]...As a business owner, you've not funneled special information or anything. You get what everyone else gets, which not everyone realizes,” says Bock. “So [we were] watching for any piece of information coming through, any resources that I or any of the staff could use, and posting it through 7shifts.”

Read More: How Beechwood Doughnuts Streamlined Their Operations to Make 10,000+ Doughnuts A Week

D. J. Costantino

Hi! I'm D.J., 7shifts' resident Content Writer. I come from a family of chefs and have a background in food journalism. I'm always looking for ways to help make the restaurant industry better!