Sooner or later, someone on your food truck team is going to screw up. Hopefully the stakes won’t be high when it happens. Either way, be prepared to say three words: I forgive you. As a food truck owner, it’s part of your job to hold your staff members accountable. But you also need to know when to forgive employees. Letting go of peoples’ past wrongs will help you build a brighter future for your food truck team.

Why Food Truck Owners Need To Forgive Employees

It is tempting to hold a grudge against an employee who went behind your back, or one who failed to meet his goals and tarnished your truck’s reputation. But don’t go around settling scores. Forgiveness restores hope and productivity in the workplace.  Not forgiving creates separation.

Sometimes forgiveness is withheld because you may think it means that you are condoning a behavior.  Issues that could easily be resolved become personal and create unnecessary conflict in your food truck. Forgiveness, of course, doesn’t mean you excuse hurtful, inappropriate, or unprofessional behavior.

Forgiving employees does not mean excusing, forgetting, or pretending that an offense never occurred. Forgiveness also does not imply that you trust the person who hurt you. Forgiveness can be very difficult, and it can be a long process. But the rewards of forgiving can be great.

Show your staff members how to deal with conflict, name it, do it kindly, acknowledge wrong, change behavior, learn from it together, and move on.

It’s best to acknowledge the reality of what happened, without sugarcoating it. Tell them that you believe they can change or make up for their mistakes. Anger and blame are unproductive emotions. Giving people a second (or even third) chance is better for you, and them in the long run.

RELATED: The Complete Human Resources Guide For Food Trucks

The Bottom Line

Food truck vendors need to build a means to forgive employees into the fabric of your business culture. Think of all the experiences in your life and work that you miss when you withhold forgiveness.  With forgiveness comes compassion, humility, and gratitude, which are easy ways to create positive outcomes in your food truck business.

Forgiveness must be seen in everything you do and should be recognized by those who work with and for you.  If this can be done, you’ll find that people stay on-board at your company is that they know that when they make mistakes, you will help them overcome and learn new skills to avoid making the same mistake again.

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