WEST LAFAYETTE IND. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“On-the-job training is still the order of the day,” said Joseph “Mick” La Lopa, associate professor in the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Purdue University here. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
La Lopa partnered with consultant Jim Sullivan, chief executive of Sullivision, and the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers, or CHART, to gauge the state of training in the industry. While the sample pool was small, 58 corporate trainers, they represented companies that had between 200 and 65,000 employees. Forty-three percent of the trainers were from casual-dining chains. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“Other industries, such as retail, automotive and manufacturing collectively track organizational learning and ‘best practices’ in training across companies, but the foodservice industry does not,” said Sullivan, who approached Purdue for help with the study. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
The findings show some of the current trends in training and give some indication of where training methods are headed, according to CHART members. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
CHART is a nonprofit organization with more than 700 members representing more than 400 multiunit restaurant and hotel companies. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“The work Purdue and Sullivision did to put this together is really an invaluable first step,” said Josh Davies, outgoing CHART president and director of training for Denver-based hotel management group Sage Hospitality Resources. “If we want to be seen as true business partners producing results for our organizations, we have to produce concrete results and prove our work.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
That 93 percent of the respondents picked live, one-on-one training as the best training method is not surprising, despite the push to incorporate more technology into training, said Curt Archambault, president of CHART and a regional training and development manager in Seattle for San Diego-based Jack in the Box. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“As much as we say about the new generation appreciating technology, they are still human beings who need to have that live interaction,” Archambault said. “Training needs to have that personal touch on it. Don’t just tell me what I need to do, but give me their personal experience on how they handle it. It creates a comfort level and gives me more confidence.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
The survey indicated that trainers expected their companies to spend more on computer-based or e-learning in the next 12 months. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
To keep employees engaged, particularly young people coming into the industry, restaurants are going to have to rely less on written materials and more on technology, said CHART member Chris Beckler, who is vice president of training for Nashville, Tenn.-based Logan’s Roadhouse. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“We need to keep pace with the resources available and deliver information in a format that is relevant to our core user group,” Beckler said. “If you are not delivering a broad range of learning systems that is relevant to each particular individual, it could lead to frustration and, worse yet, poor performance.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
Other challenges that trainers in the survey said they faced were high employee turnover, followed by food safety and sanitation, service delivery and same-store sales. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
Trainers noted that better employee selection and hiring has a positive impact on training. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
One of the statements most respondents agreed with was “Our HR strategy/training is most effective when we hire for attitude and train for skill.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“Hiring is still the most critical thing we do,” Davies said. “How we get people through the door and keep them in the stores is the biggest challenge we go through.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
While a majority indicated that their companies were spending more on training than in the previous year, the annual training budget was a mean of $1.6 million, and a mean of 2.5 percent of total sales. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
Sullivan noted that the industry appears to be spending less on training than are other industries such as automotive and retail, which have reported training budgets that were 5 percent or more of sales. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
The survey showed that restaurants spend most of their training dollars on managers, and the greatest training need for managers was learning communication, leadership and how to train employees. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“I think one of the reasons a majority of training dollars is invested in management training is because the role is a complicated skill and getting harder every year,” Sullivan said. “Mastering and implementing skills sets that include same-store sales, sexual harassment, food safety, customer service, hiring, retention, budgeting and marketing on a daily basis require thoughtful instruction, guided practice and skillful application. Managers need to be the best trained person in the restaurant.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
The trainers also indicated the greatest training need for hourly workers was learning customer service and suggestive selling. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
Training how to sell is one way trainers can show that training can generate a return on the investment, Davies said. —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
“Training is being seen as a strategic business partner, a driver to produce results,” he said. “We can impact the bottom line.” —Foodservice companies have restrained budgets and still rely heavily on employee handbooks and manuals for worker training, even though they know that the best way to train is by using one-on-one methods, according to a recent survey of restaurant trainers.
