Ask the expert: Cooking up a storm

Q: I work in a small restaurant and manage six employees in the kitchen. I have one employee who is good at many things but seems terminally forgetful about others.

In particular, he is very tall and he tends to put partially prepared food and cooking pots and utensils up high, on top of shelves or the refrigerators.

We have had to throw away spoiled food, have accidentally ordered more than we needed because of "lost" inventory and have had other staff engage in rather perilous recovery operations for necessary equipment.

When he comes in on his next shift (or the next one after we've found out) we always go through the problem and he promises he will do better, but it only lasts a few days.

A: Everyone makes mistakes occasionally, but patterns of behaviour are particularly hard to change. Assuming that his other wonderful characteristics outweigh his occasional lapses (and I'd suggest you check this assumption and find out exactly how much this problem is costing you), then you are in the position of trying to change his behaviour with more lasting impact.

The place to start is with why this seems to be happening, beginning with how things get up there in the first place. Discuss with him what is happening when he stores food and utensils up there. Is it because he can't reach lower storage, or does it happen when he is in a hurry?

Try to problem-solve with him. What other sources of storage, for example, would make him less likely to put things up so high? Discuss the problems for other staff, costs of extra inventory and spoiled food, etc., so that he understands why his behaviour must change.

You may also implement a checklist or other structure that reminds him and other staff in the kitchen to check upper shelves for stored materials. His checklist should include checking high shelves every night he works.

The last person out should also have a checklist that includes common problems that plague kitchens: gas off, refrigerator at temperature, drains clear, sinks and counters clean and disinfected.

A combination of strategies, and involving him in solving the problem, should help to resolve his pattern of behaviour more than the present "catch and lecture" approach.