As a restaurant or hotel owner or manager, your days are a whirlwind of decisions, demands, and dilemmas – a constant balancing act that leaves little room for anything else. From ensuring your guests have a seamless experience to managing staff schedules, it can feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. But have you ever found yourself delaying or avoiding something crucial (e.g., dealing with customer complaints or scheduling required staff training) because it feels overwhelming or unpleasant to deal with right now? If so, you might be experiencing the Ostrich Effect.
The Ostrich Effect is a cognitive bias where individuals avoid or ignore information they perceive as negative or inconvenient. It’s named after the (mythical) idea that ostriches bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger. While this avoidance might bring short-term relief, it can lead to significant long-term problems.
How the Ostrich Effect Shows Up in Training Decisions
When it comes to food and alcohol safety training, the Ostrich Effect can play a big role in delaying decisions that are essential to your business. Here’s how it often manifests:
- Avoiding Required Food Manager Training: The thought of finding time to complete a multi-hour training program or send a staff member to do so can feel daunting, especially when schedules are tight and staffing is constrained. It’s easy to put it off, hoping it won’t become an issue when the health inspector shows up.
- Ignoring Food Handler Training Needs: Maybe the health inspector forgot to request your hourly BOH/FOH Food Handler certificates last time, so you avoid diving into whether your new staff has become certified and ensuring all staff’s certification is up to date.
- Postponing Responsible Vendor Alcohol Training: This training is vital to reduce liability and ensure compliance with alcohol service laws. Yet, managers often avoid it because they perceive it as another “thing to do” on an already overflowing plate.
Why Avoidance is Risky
While it’s tempting to avoid these tasks, this approach can lead to serious consequences:
- Fines and Legal Issues: Non-compliance with training requirements can result in hefty penalties, lawsuits, or even business closures.
- Reputation Damage: A poorly trained staff can lead to foodborne illnesses or alcohol-related incidents, which can harm your reputation and drive customers away.
- Operational Disruption: Addressing issues reactively (like a failed health inspection) is far more disruptive and costly than handling them proactively.
Breaking Free of the Ostrich Effect
The good news is that acknowledging the problem is the first step to overcoming it. Here’s how you can proactively manage your training needs:
- Start Small: Focus on one training need at a time. For example, schedule Food Manager Certification for your key staff first, then move on to other areas.
- Work with Experts: Partnering with organizations like Serve It Up Safe simplifies the process. We provide streamlined, in-person, and online training options tailored to your schedule.
- Think Long-Term: Remember that training isn’t just about compliance; it’s an investment in your team’s competence, your customers’ safety, and your business’s success.
Take Action Today
At Serve It Up Safe, we understand how overwhelming it can feel to manage all the moving parts of your business. That’s why we make it easy to stay compliant with training for Food Managers, Food Handlers, and State Alcohol Training requirements. By tackling these needs head-on, you can avoid the risks associated with avoidance and build a safer, more successful business.
Don’t let the Ostrich Effect hold you back. Contact us today to schedule your training – because the sooner you act, the sooner you can breathe easy knowing your business is on the right track.
Need to schedule ServSafe Food Manager training, Florida Food Handler training, or Florida Responsible Vendor of Alcohol training for you or your team today? Contact us!