Effective Training to Improve Employee Efficiency in Chain Restaurants

Now more than ever, we have seemingly unlimited options when it comes to dining out. With consumers increasingly eating out, businesses will need to leverage excellent customer service to differentiate. You don’t have to look far to see incredible success through unique services: Spotify, Uber, Warby Parker, and Casper are just a few examples of businesses whose product offerings are not revolutionary, but whose product delivery is unique.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-14/americans-spending-on-dining-out-just-overtook-grocery-sales-for-the-first-time-ever

This is why it’s more important than ever before to prioritize employee training. Ensuring food safety and consistent experiences across stores will be the only way to stay relevant in the eyes of the consumer.

The Importance of Training

Employee training is critical for the success of any business. From ensuring safe food practices to maintaining brand standards, it is vital that training is effectively implemented. On-the-ground employees are the first and primary contact with both customers and food products, which makes their work paramount to the success of any chain restaurant. This means that employee training must be prioritized by chain restaurants to meet the growing demands of consumers.

Ensuring Food Safety

Food safety incidents can occur when new employees are not properly trained. From leaving bad reviews that diminish sales to tragic, preventable deaths, restaurants need to prioritize safety above all else.

“Anybody can get food poisoning, but most people don’t think about food safety until they or someone they know gets sick after eating contaminated food.”
— https://www.cdc.gov/features/befoodsafe/index.html

The same can be said about food service organizations. This is not an effective way to manage food safety. Proactive management of food safety is far more effective than reactive strategies, as it stops illness before it can infect customers. By implementing effective training programs and ensuring that standard operating procedures are being met, serious foodborne illnesses can be prevented.

Improving Standard Operating Procedures 

In order for brands to differentiate and stand out from the crowd, they must develop consistent experiences across every store. Poor dining experiences commonly stem from inconsistencies in service, which can be prevented through effective training. By adopting a digital solution to manage training and ongoing tasks, managers can gain insight into opportunities for improvement in brand standards. Visibility into store operations provides additional insight into success (and failures) of standard operating procedures, giving managers guidance for employee training.

Driving Employee Efficiency

Chain restaurants have incredible opportunity to increase their investment into their workforce through more efficient processes. The speed of service at quick service restaurants (QSR) is in direct correlation to overall retail sales, making employee efficiency increasingly important to operating a successful chain. Most consumers expect fast service when dining out, especially if the chain identifies as a quick service restaurant.

Training Best Practices for Quick Service Restaurants (QSR)

The thought of going through lectures, exams, or anything that implies “training” is not something that quick service restaurant employees will get excited about. That’s why focusing on the “why” of training will provide a better experience for employees. Educating the workforce on how their actions impact patrons at large will solidify the reason for their training.

Businesses who ignore the demands of consumers will inevitably fail. Consistency with store operations is key; leveraging digital checklists can streamline training, ensure standard operating procedures are being met, and drive efficiency in operations. By focusing resources on the front-lines of QSR’s, chain restaurants can prevent food safety incidents, increase their ROI, and enable a more capable workforce. Managers can rest easy knowing that their employees are best equipped with the information they need to be successful in their roles.

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