The Line-Up SOP
Five minutes before every shift: the team read, the day briefed, one behaviour chosen, shown and practised, and every person ready before the first guest.
- Who
- Every shift lead and supervisor, with the whole team on duty
- When
- The 5 minutes before every shift, standing, in the back of house
- You need
- The one-page brief, yesterday’s debrief focus, a timer
- Time to train
- 45 minutes, with two line-ups run and observed
What this SOP achieves
Every shift starts with the same five minutes. The team knows the day, the lead knows the team, and everyone leaves with one behaviour to practise in front of guests. The Presence SOP sets what each person checks; this SOP sets how the lead runs the five minutes.
Measured by
- Line-up held before every shift, standing, in 5 minutes
- Brief written on one page by 15 minutes before the shift
- Every arriving VIP and celebration named with title and surname
- Every person checked head to shoes before the first guest
- One focus behaviour named, with its reason, and shown in a role-play
- One question asked to check the brief was heard
- Focus taken from yesterday’s debrief log, or chosen from an SOP
- Every later group given its own line-up from the same page
The procedure
20 steps in 5 phases, in the order they happen.
Phase 1 Prepare the page
- 01
By 15 minutes before the shift, write the brief on one page: arrivals and VIPs by name, groups and events, what is open and until when, what is closed, the weather, any complaint still open.
- 02
Take the focus from yesterday’s debrief (The Debrief SOP). If there is none, choose one behaviour from The Presence SOP or the department’s SOPs that guests will need today.
- 03
Write the focus as something a guest could see or hear: “Every guest at the desk hears their name before the room details.” Never “Be warmer.”
- 04
Keep a copy of the page for the later group and for whoever covers the lead, and file yesterday’s page in the line-up folder.
Phase 2 Read the team (minute 1)
- 05
Start on the minute, in the same place every day, standing, out of guest view and out of guests’ hearing.
- 06
Watch the team arrive for thirty seconds before you speak: who is quiet, who is rushed, who is late, who is covering for an absent colleague.
- 07
Ask each person for their energy, from one to five. Listen without comment.
“Good morning, everyone. Before we begin: your energy, from one to five?”
- 08
If several answer one or two, adjust before the shift: rebalance sections, move a break, pair a new colleague with an experienced one. Speak to anyone you are concerned about after the line-up, in private.
Phase 3 Brief the day (minutes 2 and 3)
- 09
Read the brief aloud. Say every guest’s name with title and surname, as the guest will hear it.
- 10
Name what is closed or changed today, with the time and the alternative to offer, so that no colleague learns it from a guest.
- 11
Check each person head to shoes, as The Presence SOP sets out. Send back anyone not ready, quietly, with a time to return.
“Marco, could you change the shirt and be back by 06:55? I will brief you on anything you miss.”
- 12
Ask one question about the day, to a different person each time, to check it was heard.
“Ana, who arrives for the anniversary this evening, and at what time?”
Phase 4 Show the focus (minutes 4 and 5)
- 13
Name the focus in one sentence, with the reason it matters today.
“Today’s focus: every guest at the desk hears their name before the room details. Eleven returning guests arrive this afternoon.”
- 14
Ask one colleague to show it in a ten-second role-play, with you as the guest. Correct once, then have them do it again.
“Thank you, Elena. Could you try it once more, with the name first?”
- 15
Close with what you will watch for, and when it will be named.
“I will be watching for it this afternoon, and we will name the best moments at the debrief.”
- 16
End on time. Anything that needs more than five minutes becomes a separate training session, with a day and a time given before the team leaves.
Phase 5 After the line-up
- 17
Within ten minutes, speak in private to anyone you were concerned about, with a question rather than a comment.
“Giulia, you seemed quiet this morning. Is there anything I can help with before service?”
- 18
Brief anyone who arrived late or was sent back, beside them, from the same page, before they meet their first guest.
- 19
During service, watch for the focus and coach it beside the colleague, as The Floor Coaching SOP sets out.
- 20
Note each time the focus is done well, with the name and the moment, for the end of the shift, as The Debrief SOP sets out.
What to record
The line-up page
- Date, shift and lead
- Arrivals and VIPs by title and surname
- Groups, events, opening hours and closures
- Weather and complaints still open
The team
- Who is on duty, and who is absent
- Energy check: how many ones and twos
- Changes made: sections, breaks, pairings
- Anyone sent back, and when they returned
The focus
- The behaviour, as a guest would see or hear it
- Where it came from: debrief or SOP
- Who showed it in the role-play
- Time the line-up started and ended
What could happen
- Part of the team starts later
- A second line-up for the later group, from the same page.
- A group arrives before the line-up
- One minute at the desk or the pass: VIPs, one change, the focus. The full line-up follows at the first quiet moment.
- The lead is absent
- The most senior person on shift runs it from the prepared page.
- A colleague arrives visibly upset
- A private word after the line-up; where possible, a back-of-house task for the first half hour.
- A new colleague’s first shift
- Introduce them to the team by name and pair them with an experienced colleague. They watch the role-play on their first day and take part from the second.
- The brief changes during the shift
- The lead tells each person in turn, beside them, in one sentence, and adds the change to the page for the later group.
Common mistakes
- Turning the line-up into a meeting. At minute twelve half the team is looking at the door, and the first guests are waiting at an empty desk.
- Reading the brief without the names. “Two VIPs this afternoon” helps no one at 16:00, when Mrs Laurent gives her name at the desk.
- Choosing a focus no guest could notice, such as “Be warmer”. Nobody knows what to do differently, and nobody can be recognised for it.
- Correcting someone’s appearance in front of the team. The colleague spends the first hour of service thinking about it, not about the guests.
- Asking the check question to the same reliable person every day. The colleague who did not listen is never found out.
- Skipping the line-up on a busy day. It is the day the team most needs to know who is arriving and what is closed.
Check your team
After training (45 minutes, with two line-ups run and observed), each person answers these without the sheet.
- How long does the line-up last, and what happens in each minute?
- Where does the day’s focus come from, and how is it written?
- What do you do when several colleagues answer one or two to the energy question?
- How do you send back a colleague who is not ready, and what do you say?
- What happens when a group arrives before the line-up?
- What becomes of a topic that needs more than five minutes?
The Five-Minute Line-Up
The five minutes before every shift on one card: what happens in each minute and the line the lead says.
Pin it where the line-up is held, beside a timer. The lead runs the five minutes from it; the department head watches one line-up a week against it.
One procedure per department.
No. 166 · Kitchen & Food Safety
The Pass SOP
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No. 170 · People & Training
The Onboarding SOP
A new colleague’s first day and first weeks: expected by name, a buddy assigned, the hotel walked, the uniform ready, and a conversation at day 7 and day 30.