Restaurant training is multi-faceted. It’s not a single event, it’s an ongoing process. It’s not one thing you do on one day, it’s many things you do every day. It solves immediate needs, such as teaching servers product knowledge on the day’s specials, and it also solves long-term needs by boosting morale and reducing turnover. Take a look at these five restaurant training strategies that can improve employee retention.
New Hire Training
Employees are never more open to learning than during their first week on the job. New hire orientation should set expectations, familiarize employees with operations, and identify specific team roles. Online restaurant training is a good application for orientation topics because it ensures that every new employee receives a consistent message, leveling the playing field and setting employees up for success.
Learning through Doing
Orientation is the foundation of a solid staff training program, but it’s not the end-all. For long-term results, blend online restaurant training with hands-on practice. To successfully implement any training concept, your employees need to learn about it, see it done, then do it for themselves. That’s where on-the-job training comes in. While employees are learning new skills, provide them with constructive feedback to inspire continual improvement.
Career Progression Paths
As employees hone their skills and become comfortable with their day-to-day tasks, it’s time to broaden the scope of their restaurant training. Career progression learning paths focus on developing overall competencies rather than mastering specific skills. Instead of learning product knowledge facts, for example, an employee might take on topics such as time management, effective communication, and problem solving. If you use a learning management system to assign training courses, you can create custom training paths for each employee based on their long-term career goals.
Refresh & Review
There’s no such thing as a one-and-done training topic. Restaurant employees complete tasks every day that are regulated by federal, state, and local guidelines. For your restaurant to operate within these laws, compliance training that is reviewed and updated regularly is a must-have in your overall restaurant training program. Tracking and scheduling refresher training is another benefit of using a learning management system.
You!
The most important training tool in your restaurant is you. As a restaurant manager, you’re always on stage. Your employees watch how you communicate, solve conflict, and coach other team members. Creating a productive work environment and being a positive role model is the best training you can provide.
Gears to Your Career®
Programs like Gears to Your Career, that lay out career paths for your employees, can have a huge impact on retention rates in any industry. Employing custom learning paths and the Gears to Your Career philosophy with the trainingGrid® LMS can prepare employees for promotion and leadership roles, making transitions much easier on both you and your team.
