Some small businesses accommodate World Cup fever

A t Kilkenny House, workers are peering out of the kitchen, catching glimpses of World Cup games on the restaurant’s TV screens. At Edmunds.com, employees and their bosses are gathered in a large room to watch.
Many small business owners are accommodating or even indulging employees’ passion for World Cup soccer, either giving them time off to watch the games, or making it easy for them to follow the matches while they’re working. And not just for the U.S. games. Owners are aware that the diversity of their staffs means many employees are interested in games from a variety of countries.
Still, there is work to be done, and most owners aren’t giving workers unlimited time to watch World Cup. Owners face some of the same issues when March Madness arrives. During the first two days of the NCAA basketball tournament, games start at noon Eastern time.
Employees wanting to watch sporting events is nothing new. Decades ago, World Series games were all played during the day, and stadiums were filled with people who took time off. In Chicago, the Cubs didn’t play night games until lights were installed in Wrigley Field in 1988.
Here is a look at how some companies are juggling work and World Cup:

BEING AN
UNDERSTANDING BOSS
At Ocean View Landscaping in Delaware, owner Mitch Boyle had to cancel jobs the first day of the games, when Mexico and South Africa played to a 1-1 tie. Several of his workers, who are Mexican, told him they wouldn’t be working that day.
Boyle was an understanding boss. “It was important to them,” he said. The workers also took some time off when Mexico played Uruguay.
At Tasty Catering in suburban Chicago, a number of employees are also of Mexican origin. The company’s management made satellite radio available to the kitchen staff, which is often at work at 5 or 6 a.m., so they could listen to games, spokeswoman Julie Baron said.
Baron said managers know that there are a lot of soccer fans in the company, including two who play for professional teams. “They knew that given their culture, that employees would be interested and wanting to follow it,” she said.
Of course, there are many businesses where employees can’t watch because there is no down time.
At Kilkenny House in Cranford, N.J., owner Barry O’Donovan said the restaurant’s busiest times right now are when the U.S. is playing. “We’re standing room only,” he said, and the staff has to keep serving customers.

A COMPANY’S OWN WORLD CUP CENTRAL
Many owners have decided to make it easy for staffers to see their favorite teams.
Avi Steinlauf, president of auto information provider Edmunds.com, realized during the 2006 World Cup games that many staffers wanted to watch. This year, the company decided, “let’s get ahead of the curve and really endorse all the matches of all the different countries and facilitate people’s ability to do that,” he said.
The plus for the company: “It’s been a great camaraderie builder,” Steinlauf said. “As long as they get their work done, we’re happy with it.”

MAKING WORLD CUP A TEAM-BUILDING EVENT
Management consultants have long advocated that small companies hold gatherings such as picnics and lunches to create goodwill with employees. Ashley Morris, owner of Capriottis Sandwich Shops, has organized breakfasts at 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. at a restaurant near his company’s Las Vegas headquarters.

THE TECHNO-DOWNSIDE
Some small companies might find their computer networks slowing when employees watch games that are streamed on websites like ESPN and Univision. That makes it harder for anyone to access the Internet or use applications that are run by the company network.
Andrew Rubin, CEO of Cymtec Systems, a St. Louis-based computer networking company, said small businesses typically “don’t have the tools in place to manage the overload.”
Rubin said his company has set up a monitor, and told employees they can’t watch at their desks.

TIME OFF FOR THE WORLD CUP
Owners need to remember that if they give staffers time off to watch World Cup games, they have to offer similar flexibility to all their workers who might want time to attend something that’s important to them.
“People take breaks if they’ve got family commitments. This is just an extension of that,” said Edmunds.com’s Steinlauf.