Working in a restaurant can be an incredibly demanding job, requiring a wide range of skills and abilities. Restaurant employees need to be able to communicate effectively with customers, work quickly and efficiently under pressure, and always maintain a high level of professionalism. To ensure that restaurant staff can meet these demands, it's essential to provide them with proper training. In this article, we'll provide you with a comprehensive guide to training restaurant employees in the right way.
Understanding the Importance of Training
Training restaurant employees is crucial for several reasons. Firstly, it can help to improve the overall customer experience. Staff members who have received proper restaurant training are more likely to be knowledgeable about the menu, attentive to customer needs, and able to resolve any issues that may arise. Secondly, good training can increase employee satisfaction and retention rates, as employees are more likely to feel valued and supported by their employer. Finally, a well-trained workforce can help to increase revenue, as customers are more likely to return to a restaurant where they have had a positive experience.
Designing an Effective Training Manual
The first step in designing an effective training program is to identify the essential skills and knowledge that employees need to learn, and what overall role and responsibilities they will have. This may include everything from menu knowledge to customer service skills, communication skills, and conflict resolution skills. Once you have identified the skills you wish to train, you can set clear goals and objectives in the training program. This will help to ensure that employees understand what is expected of them and are motivated to achieve these goals.
A key principle to follow while making the Training Manual for restaurant staff is avoiding misinformation. Misinformation refers to the spread of false or inaccurate information and is often unintentional. It has the potential to be a silent assassin in the restaurant industry. This is because wrong information can cause inconsistent results during production and service. Wrong ingredients may be used for a dish, or telling a customer some dietary or allergen information which ends up being incorrect. These mistakes can be overlooked for a long period of time and cause a lot of frustration for both your staff and your customers.
Another notable feature the “Training Manual” could include is time-based deadlines or “timestamps”. For example, a new rookie has joined your ranks, and is showing great progress for their first few days in the restaurant. After two weeks go by, their growth has stopped, and they no longer feel the need to learn. This is a very bad situation because even though they have only been with the company for two weeks, they are no longer open-minded or do not wish to absorb new material. A way to avoid this is to set some standards and say that within the first four weeks, the rookie should be able to not only perform well during service, but also help with serving clients, prepare the dishes for cleaning in the dish pit area, etc. This keeps the individual engaged with their work for a longer period. There can be several of these “timestamps” set in place, such as first week, first month, three months, six months, one year, etc.
Techniques for Effective Training
Technology
Technology can be an effective partner to incorporate into your training. Technology has the benefit that it is automatic, is always readily available, and is efficient. Teaching things such as technical skills through videos or online learning management systems are very common ways to teach with technology for restaurants. An example of this is learning how to operate the POS system in a café or fast-food type of establishment. This can be done through quizzes, providing reading materials or videos. This helps the staff members learn the sequence of actions they must take to handle customer orders, keep track of payments and so on. Real-world examples include YouTube, TalentLMS, and spoon.tech 🤓.
Hands-on-Training
Hands-on-training can be a very effective method for real-time training. Experience is the best teacher, and learning by doing is not only the most realistic way of learning but the most practical. A hands-on-approach allows the individual to see what steps need to be taken in order to complete a certain task – preparing, making, baking, cutting a pizza for example. At each stage the person can learn something valuable or improve their skills and technique. The process of repetition of their actions, with an open mind for learning is what allows humans to improve over time.
Here are some benefits you can expect:
- It links theory and practice
- It empowers employees to develop other skills
- It increases engagement, attention, and focus
Role-Playing
Role-playing can help employees to practice their customer service and communication skills in a safe and supportive environment. For example, an employee can pretend to be an extremely disappointed customer, their order was not only late, but also incorrect. This scenario allows the learning employee to see if they can handle the pressure, and can still be polite, and find a resolution for the disappointed customer. This promotes learning for the employees and helps them theorize potential obstacles they may face in the future.
Here are some benefits you can expect:
- It prepares participants for real-life situations
- It indicates current skill levels
- It improves communication and empathy
Here are some tips you might find useful as restaurant trainers:
- Being patient with learners
- When providing feedback on something a staff member did poorly, outline something they did right
- Package the knowledge to be easily remembered – The rule of three
Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Limited Resources
Limited resources and time can be categorized as one of the biggest challenges restaurants face during employee training. Restaurants often operate on tight budgets, with limited staff and equipment to dedicate to training. At the same time, there is often pressure to train new employees quickly to keep up with business demands. To overcome this challenge, restaurant operators must prioritize their training efforts, focusing on the most critical skills and tasks first. Dedicating a set amount of time each day/week to training can also be considered when overcoming limited resources.
High Staff Turnover
High staff turnover is a common challenge in the restaurant industry, particularly in roles such as server and line cook. This can be costly for restaurants, in literal terms because of onboarding fees and the required materials to train new employees, as well as the impact on customer service and team morale. To address this challenge, restaurant operators should focus on creating a positive work environment and culture that fosters employee engagement and retention. This can include offering competitive compensation and benefits, providing opportunities for career advancement, and investing in ongoing training and development for existing staff.
Resistance to Change
Resistance to change is another challenge that restaurant operators may face during employee training. Employees may be resistant to new processes and technologies or may struggle to adapt to changes in job responsibilities/expectations. To address this challenge, restaurant operators should focus on effective communication and education, helping employees understand the rationale behind changes and providing ongoing support and coaching as needed. They can also involve employees in the change process, soliciting feedback and ideas to help build buy-in and engagement.
In conclusion, to train your the right way, you should understand the importance of training, design an effective training program, understand various techniques for effective training, and take note of common challenges and learn how to overcome them.
If you found this blog helpful and would like to discuss or learn more about how spoon.tech can enhance your staff’s skills and increase their productivity, please fill out our contact form , alternatively, you can reach out to us via phone at (+43 670 655 56 82) or email us at hello@spoon.tech.
