Purpose
Turn the day's real conditions — who's on the schedule, what's low in inventory, and what sales are expected — into a ranked, time-blocked task list a shift lead can execute without guessing what matters most. Solves the problem of managers walking into a shift reacting to whatever's loudest instead of running the day by priority.
When to Use
Invoke this skill when the user asks to:
- Plan the day or the shift before doors open
- Decide what to tackle first when staffing is short or sales are heavy
- Build a pre-shift task list from current inventory and staffing
- Prep for a rush, holiday, promotion, or known busy daypart
- Triage a shift where equipment is down, someone called out, or a key item is 86'd
- Write a pre-shift huddle to brief the team
Inputs Required
Before starting, collect:
- Daypart / shift window: e.g., open–2pm, lunch rush, close
- Staffing on hand: Number of team members by station (line, register/counter, expo, dish, prep) and any callouts
- Sales forecast: Expected covers or dollar volume vs. a normal day (up/down/flat)
- Inventory flags: Items low, out, or requiring prep before rush; any 86'd items
- Known events: Promotions, catering orders, deliveries arriving, equipment issues, health inspection, VIP
- Open carryover issues: Anything unresolved from the prior shift (cleaning gaps, broken equipment, cash discrepancies)
If sales forecast is missing, assume a typical day for that daypart and flag the assumption. If staffing by station isn't given, ask for the total headcount and distribute against a standard fast-casual line.
Instructions
Step 1: Assess the Day's Risk Level
Classify the shift so priorities scale correctly:
- Green (normal): Full staffing, flat forecast, no major inventory or equipment issues
- Yellow (strained): One of these true — short one station, forecast up 20%+, a key item low, or one equipment issue
- Red (critical): Two or more strain factors — e.g., short-staffed AND forecast up, or a fryer down during a lunch rush State the risk level in one line at the top with the reason. The higher the risk, the more the brief front-loads coverage and prep over non-essential tasks.
Step 2: Diagnose the Constraint
Identify the single biggest limiter on the shift:
- Labor constraint: Not enough hands for expected volume → prioritize cross-training assignments and cut non-essential tasks
- Throughput constraint: Enough people but a bottleneck station (expo, line, register) → prioritize station support and pre-portioning
- Inventory constraint: Item shortage risks 86'ing during rush → prioritize prep and substitution decisions
- None (capacity available): Use slack to knock out deep-clean, training, or carryover tasks Name the constraint explicitly — the task ranking flows from it.
Step 3: Rank the Task List (P1–P4)
Generate a ranked list of 10–15 tasks tagged by priority tier and time block. Every task must have an owner (station or role), a deadline relative to the shift, and a one-line "why it ranks here."
- P1 — Do before doors open / must-not-fail: Opening checklist, prep for the first two hours, staffing coverage for the bottleneck station, resolving any 86 risk, safety/health items
- P2 — Do in the first hour or before rush: Secondary prep, station stocking, register/float setup, delivery receiving, carryover fixes that affect service
- P3 — Do during lulls: Restocking, mid-shift cleaning, cross-training, prepping for the next daypart
- P4 — Do if time allows: Deep clean, non-urgent maintenance, admin, organization
Rank by impact on service and safety first, not by ease. When two tasks compete, the one that protects the rush or a health/safety standard wins.
Step 4: Flag Staffing Coverage
For the assessed staffing, call out:
- Gaps: Any station under-covered for the forecast — name it and recommend a reassignment
- Cross-cover plan: Who backs up the bottleneck station when it backs up
- Break sequencing: When breaks should fall so they don't hit peak volume
- Cut point: If forecast is down, when to cut a position to control labor cost
Step 5: Set Prep Quantities
For the flagged inventory and forecast, give concrete prep guidance:
- Which items to prep and a directional quantity (e.g., "portion for ~1.3x a normal lunch")
- Substitution or 86 decision for any item that won't last the shift — decide now, not mid-rush
- Sequence: what to prep first based on when it's needed
Step 6: Write the Pre-Shift Huddle Script
A 45–90 second script the lead reads to the team covering: the day's risk level in plain terms, the one thing that matters most today, station assignments and the bottleneck plan, any 86's or subs, and one motivating close. Keep it spoken-word, not a memo.
Output Format
- Structure: Risk level and constraint at top → ranked task list (P1–P4) as a table → staffing coverage flags → prep quantities → huddle script
- Length: 600–900 words
- Format: Ranked task list as a table (Task | Priority | Owner | Deadline | Why); coverage and prep as short bullets; huddle as a spoken script block
- Sections: Shift Snapshot (risk + constraint) → Ranked Task List → Staffing Coverage → Prep Quantities → Pre-Shift Huddle
- Tone: Operator-to-operator — direct, decisive, no fluff; reads like a strong GM handing off a plan
Quality Checklist
Before delivering output, verify:
- [ ] Risk level (Green/Yellow/Red) is stated with a specific reason
- [ ] The single biggest constraint is named explicitly
- [ ] Task list has 10–15 items, each with a priority tier, owner, and deadline
- [ ] Every P1 task genuinely must not fail before doors open — no P3 tasks mislabeled P1
- [ ] Staffing coverage flags name a specific reassignment or break sequence, not "make sure you're covered"
- [ ] Prep quantities are directional numbers tied to the forecast, not "prep enough"
- [ ] Huddle script is spoken-word and under 90 seconds when read aloud
Notes
- On Red days, the brief should say what NOT to do — cutting P4 tasks is a decision, not an oversight
- The bottleneck station in fast-casual is usually expo or the make-line during lunch; default there when the constraint is unclear
- If the same carryover issue appears across multiple shifts, flag it as a systemic problem to fix off-shift, not a daily task to keep re-assigning
- A good brief lets a lead run the shift by exception — everything ranked and owned means they only manage what breaks from the plan
How to use this skill
This file is a Claude Code skill in Anthropic's standard format — markdown with YAML frontmatter at the top.
Installing in Claude Code:
~/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads in every session anywhere on your machine (recommended for skills you'll use across multiple projects)<your-project>/.claude/skills/<folder-name>/SKILL.md— auto-loads only when working in that project (recommended for project-specific skills)
Restart Claude Code or open a new session to register.
Using in Claude.ai, ChatGPT, Gemini, or other AI tools:
- Drag this file into a new chat, or copy and paste its contents
- Send your task or request as your next message — the AI will apply the skill where it fits
For Claude Code skill details: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/skills