Organizational Structure

Organizational structures are not standardized in school food service, and many departments might not have a finalized structure. Some districts post organizational charts on the district website, but these rarely show much hierarchy detail at the department level. However, it’s really useful to chart out current structure and examine the roles and tasks associated with each position.

In the sample organizational structures below, the size of the district and type of operational model are the most important factors. Of course, the department must be able to support the proposed organizational structure financially. Laying out a detailed organizational chart is an excellent tool to help you assess what it will take to move your program toward your goals.

ABOVE: Organization Chart for Food Services—Site-Based Production Model, Small-Sized District

ABOVE: Organization Chart for Food Services—Central Production Model, Large-Sized District

Job Descriptions

Job descriptions include all the details that flesh out the organizational chart. The descriptions in every district will vary depending on the district size and staffing history; there truly is no standard. A few school districts will list directors and assistant directors, but many districts have only a director and a few managers on the administrative team. Other districts have clearly defined divisions between operational positions and jobs involving accountability and financial analysis.

We have developed a variety of sample job descriptions to provide some of the language to describe the breadth of positions required for your proposed operational model. It’s generally a good idea to simplify the number of job titles to create a more efficient workflow. Position descriptions that assume multiple tasks will help you meet the bottom line. It’s also essential to create job descriptions and roles that emphasize accountability, which can be evaluated over time by managers or supervisors. Titles like supervisor, coordinator, manager, lead, and assistant will vary significantly from district to district. The most important distinguishing factor is whether the position involves directing, supervising, or evaluating other staff.

Check out this new Food Service Employeee handbook: Food Service Handbook

Interview Questions

When interviewing potential candidates, it’s important to take time before the interview to establish exactly what you are looking for in an employee. You can use that information to create interview questions that will help you choose the individual that is the best fit for the role. Be sure to ask questions that are specific to the position you are interviewing for to highlight key characteristics that are essential for you, the job, and your program. In addition, try to use open-ended questions rather than questions that only require a yes or no response to ensure you are getting as much information as possible about the candidate and their qualifications.

See below for sample interview questions created for a variety of positions. For each question, be sure to take notes throughout the interview. Use your notes to determine the score of each answer and highlight if the individual gave a response that included key qualifications you are looking for. Taking these steps will help guide you during the decision making process and allow you to be able to choose the candidate you feel is best suited for the position and your program.

Practical Tests

When shifting to a fresh, whole-foods approach to school food, it is essential to hire qualified candidates. Because the skill-set needed is so specific, it’s a good idea to evaluate applicants for food production positions through both written and practical tests. School-site staff candidates can also be tested for math and practical questions that relate to site-based tasks. Take a look at the sample testing materials we’ve developed for this purpose:

Employee Handbook

In addition to streamlining your hiring process, having an organized onboarding process is equally as important. Providing new hires with an employee handbook upon starting their new position provides them with all essential departmental and job information they need to set them up for success. Employee handbooks will vary district to district, and it is important to work with your district’s Human Resources department to create an effective handbook. Generally, these handbooks should include a general overview of the food service department including your mission and vision statement, federal and state guidelines, standard operating procedures, job responsibilities and expectations, and other general policies and procedures. See this example Food Service Employee Manual for reference.

Recruitment Strategies

With the rise in staffing shortages, we understand how difficult it can be to find prospective employees. Careers in school nutrition are important, rewarding, and offer a wide variety of benefits. It’s important to highlight these positive aspects, know where to post your job listings, and how to effectively marketing your amazing programs. Here are some recruitment tips, strategies, and resources to do just that:

Job Postings. Job postings are an effective tool to attract potential employees so it’s important to strategically plan what you write in the listing and where you post them. Knowing who you would like your target audience to be can help you know which benefits to highlight that will be attractive to potential candidates and can also help you narrow down where to post your job listings. For example, stay-at-home parents might be a great fit for your program and you could highlight things such as the hours of the position, not working on holidays or weekends, and having the same vacation schedule as their children.

Suggestions for where to post your job listings include:

• Local Facebook groups
• Local town bulletin boards
• Social Media
  
• Local radio channels
• Bus stations and on the back of buses
• Newsletter to parents
• Within District Communications
• School lunch menus

Enticing benefits to highlight in your postings:

• The hours of operation: No overnight or late night shifts and following school hours.
• Stipends or retirement plans.
• The time-off schedule: Having all holidays and vacations off that schools follow.
• The quality of life and positive work-life balance.
• Positive work environment.

Marketing your program. Marketing your program and emphasizing the positive aspects of your department is essential. Think about all the reasons that you entered the school nutrition field and all of the reasons you love your job. Use these reasons to come up with creative ways to market your program to the community. Suggestions for how to market your program include:

• Using Social Media: Post team pictures, highlight your employees, show off a great recipe you served your students, post reels or videos of your employees as they work.
• Ask your employees to provide testimonials on reasons they love working in your department to share with your community.
• Send out monthly parents newsletters.
• Be sure you are on your district’s website.
• See our Marketing pages for more information.

Partner with others in your district or community.

• Your district’s Human Resources department can be a great resource for you in your recruiting process. Depending on your district, they may be able to help you write and post job descriptions or help you come up with creative ways to post your listings.
• Consider asking if your district hosts job fairs or if they have considered hosting one.
• Build relationships with PTO’s in your district’s schools and pass along information that your department is hiring.

Active recruitment strategies.

• Recruiting potential employees in stores, restaurants, etc.
• Advertise on monthly lunch menus.
• Research and attend job fairs in your local area.
• Host a booth at a college job fair - Research colleges that have food service, nutrition, and/or culinary programs.

Additional Resources:

• State of K-12 Foodservice: Rethinking Recruitment
• 4 Ideas to Improve Your Hiring Process
  
• Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
  

Staffing Shortage Tips

It’s important to be proactive and have a plan in place for when sudden challenges hit your school, like the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are some tips for how to navigate staffing shortages and ways to stay prepared:

• Cross train your staff. Make sure your staff at each site knows how to complete various jobs such as cooking, serving breakfast, and operating a POS. Keep procedures at each site as similar as possible. This enables your staff to cover for one another, be helpful where needed, and fill in at another location if the opportunity arises.
  
• Communicate with the school office. Make sure that there is a daily open line of communication between the kitchen staff and the front office of your school. This way, if there are a high number of absent students, the kitchen doesn’t over produce food. Alternatively, if the kitchen is short staffed, the office can recruit additional staff members from the site to help with service.
  
• Develop standard operating procedures (SOPs). A standard operating procedure (SOP) helps inform staff to what tasks need to be done, how to complete the tasks, and when various tasks need to be completed. This also creates accountability so that all necessary procedures are being followed and staff are serving food safely. Make sure all staff are aware of the SOP and that it is posted in the kitchen.
  
• Create a phone tree and sub procedure. It’s important to have an established procedure that staff follows when they need to call out, whether that is a sub line to call or a phone tree to follow for school closures. This way, all staff can stay informed and all phone numbers are shared in case of emergency.
  
• Post the schedule for each day in the kitchen. School schedules and lunch times can change daily. Make sure these are clearly posted in your kitchen so that a sub knows exactly what time to have meals ready and is prepared accordingly.
  
• Have a back up menu item or two in your freezer ready to serve. Whether it’s a supply chain issue or a staffing challenge, it’s a good idea to have a back up plan/menu item ready to go in the freezer. Prepare this item at a time when you are caught up and fully staffed. Make sure it is an item that freezes well and can be quickly heated and easily served. Some ideas for this may be pizza or homemade chicken quesadillas.
  
• Encourage parents to volunteer. Many school food programs are relying on parent volunteers now more than ever. Be proactive in your approach with this. Have a list of approved parent volunteers and connect with them weekly. Stock up on extra hair coverings and aprons for sanitation purposes. Make sure your permanent staff is aware that you may need to rely on volunteers to serve kids. When informed, your staff can look forward to the extra help and be prepared to lead the volunteers.
  
• Invite students into your kitchen. When adults are not available to work, utilize student labor. Many high schools offer catering, pro-start, hospitality, or life skills courses. These students can be a great addition to kitchen staff, plus they’re getting hands-on experience!

Performance Evaluations

Regular performance evaluations are commonly overlooked. No matter how much time is spent on human resource issues, a lack of regular reviews and consistent standards for staff performance contributes to a time-consuming negative cycle of retaining employees whose performance is marginal.

Cooperating with the human resources department to establish clear protocols that address the breadth and variety of positions is invaluable. In many cases, this requires the development of specialized review forms that are compatible with food service positions. We have provided some samples that can be used as models when developing your own. Completing meaningful performance evaluations will help prevent non-performing employees from hindering the success of your programs, as well as provide an opportunity for growth and recognition for above-average employees.