Creating a Restaurant Training Program that works in the 'Real-World'

If you run a restaurant, you may already have a staff training plan in place. Almost all your employees have a copy of the training guide, yet small mistakes keep happening. Those mistakes may have already cost you valuable customers. Maybe your employees never worked through the training guide you gave them. So the real question is how to create a restaurant training program that is effective and won't be locked away to gather dust.

In an ideal world, things always work the way you planned them on paper. In the real world, they often do not. Even the most detailed restaurant training program is a work in progress. It has to be tweaked and modified to meet the changing needs of your restaurant business.

What to expect

The objective of this guide is to help you create an effective restaurant training program for your employees.

• It will help you evaluate and organize tasks so the effectiveness of your training program is maximized.
• It will help you find areas in your existing plan that can be modified to work better, or build one from scratch.

Steps to create a restaurant training program that makes an impact in the real world

Identify the purpose, and do not lose focus

Ask yourself what the purpose of this training program is. In most cases training programs are designed to put people on a schedule and not the other way round. A clear purpose helps you analyze whether your employees can handle stress, and whether they are a good fit for your work culture. Designing a training program with this in mind becomes relatively easy. It helps you identify the employees who are the right fit, and you do not lose sight of the end goal.

Take baby steps

Don't aim for a 100-page training guide from the get-go. When starting out, have a basic training plan or employee handbook that gives an overview of the restaurant, its vision, and its service standards. As you get deeper into the day-to-day nuances of running a restaurant, you will identify the areas that require training and the kind of training to implement. Aiming for a detailed manual for every position from day one can hold your restaurant back, so start small.

Make the training program inclusive

You will always have a mix of experienced staff and freshers on your team. Experienced team members carry preconceived notions and their own ways of doing things. A fresher may not know the technicalities of the job yet, but they may bring a great attitude or a leadership spirit. When creating a training plan, be open to including good practices your staff bring from past experience. Design it to account for different personality types: visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic learners. Planning for all of them helps your employees feel valued and heard, and they adapt more easily to your working style.

Use varied learning methods

Include both active and passive learning styles when creating a training plan. Reading manuals, watching training videos, and sitting through classroom lectures are passive forms of training. On-the-job practical work, shadow training, group discussions, and team-building exercises are active styles. Aim for the right mix of both to make a restaurant training program engaging and effective.

Bring certified trainers on board

Getting your employees trained by someone unqualified to train can be more damaging than no training at all. Bring certified trainers on board to set the right tone. For a new hire, trainers are the brand ambassadors of their workplace and a beacon of excellence. They set the standard for how employees show up at work. A good trainer welcomes and greets new hires well, stays focused on excellence, dresses appropriately, and comes prepared with the necessary paperwork. Most importantly, they have the willingness to train and the eye to identify the positives in every trainee.

Make learning enjoyable

Handing over a training manual on the first day and running shadow training does not qualify as an engaging program. Going through page after page of instructions, and watching your buddy go about routine tasks day in and day out, can be both boring and intimidating. Being too strict can cost you good employees. Training programs need to be interactive and fun. They should help form bonds between team members, support an open and safe work culture, and instill a sense of pride and belonging in the job.

Write a training manual

A training manual alone is not enough, but it is an important part of your restaurant training program. The purpose of the manual is to give your staff a ready reckoner they can refer to whenever they need it, and to revise what they learned over the day. When creating a restaurant training manual, make sure to include:

• An overview of the training duration
• The modules to be included in the training plan
• A step-by-step walkthrough of the training course

An effective training program is an investment

A training program is not an expense. It is an investment. Untrained staff lead to poor service, a poor customer experience, and a bad reputation, which eventually leads to loss of business and, in some cases, closure.

You have probably heard the saying, "you reap what you sow." It holds true for a restaurant business. A good training program produces well-trained employees, a low attrition rate, and a healthy work environment. The other outcomes, like stellar service, memorable customer experiences, and a good name in the market, follow naturally once the foundation is set right.

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read our thoughts. Let us know your ideas on what makes an effective restaurant training program.