It’s a manager’s nightmare: A customer pulls into a drive-thru after a long day at work with children in tow, everyone looking frazzled and famished. After waiting patiently in line, the customer grabs her bag of burgers through the window and happily zips away—until her kids rip open their bounty and wail from the back seat: “Where are the fries?” Disappointment ensues.
The reason for the oversight—and the frustrating customer experience—may have nothing to do with the fast-food worker’s skill level. In fact, new research shows that poor performance on the job often boils down to inadequate communication and rapport between managers and employees. In this case, the manager may not have scheduled the fast-food stations properly, forcing an overtaxed employee to juggle both packaging meals and taking orders. With an improperly managed staff stretched too thin on a busy night, morale dwindles, mistakes happen, and a customer’s fries go missing.
Read more at HBS Working Knowledge.