1. Create safe spaces
Within six months, UMD Dining Services held four town hall meetings scheduled between peak meal periods and open to all foodservice employees. At the gatherings, department leadership asked staff what would make their jobs better and provided honest answers to their questions. These meetings helped foster dialogue about equipment needs, consistent training, growth opportunities and respect, Mullineaux says. “The No. 1 request for having the right tools to do the job was to have more mops and mop buckets—[which we] fixed the next day,” he says. “We also enhanced our vehicle replacement program, purchased some labor-efficient grills and had training in sharpening knives.” The feedback from the town hall also inspired enhanced departmentwide training programs for food safety, sexual harassment, guest service, and rights and responsibilities.
Aside from the town halls, the University of Maryland also hosts a monthly “coffee hour” with the dining services director. After the first soiree, staff members asked if supervisors could skip the event, so they could be alone with the director. The operation obliged. “I think they wanted to have more of a one-on-one conversation without the presence of the supervisor they deal with day in and day out,” Mullineaux says.