RESTAURANT TRAINING PROGRAM

Expand training to keep staff longer and incentivize your best employees

Manager holding wine glass trains listening staff

Bringing in new staff is one of the most challenging parts of running a small business. On top of getting them up to speed, you must keep daily operations running as smoothly as possible. This consumes valuable time, energy and often money, as you have to allocate funds to properly train them. In addition, training can be made even more difficult without the proper tools to do so; new hires may have only an abstract understanding of how things work until they are put in front of customers.

Training comes with it a wide array of questions, such as:

- Is the new hire trained on equipment?
- Do they know how to seek help?
- How do I know if they need further training?
- How do I best handle ongoing training for all my employees, new and old?

Answering these questions becomes remarkably difficult without the proper evaluation tools to monitor and gauge staff performance. For that reason, modern point of sale (POS) solutions are offering a variety of integrated tools that simplify the training process.

Here’s a brief summary of how the best technology offers features, communication solutions and data analytics to streamline your restaurant training program.

Technology features simplify onboarding

One of the challenges of bringing in new staff is introducing the daily tools they will use on the job. Indeed, this flood of information can be overwhelming for people stepping into their uniform for the first time. In the worst-case scenarios, this slows down daily operations and can potentially ruin customer experiences.

It’s exactly this reason why it is important to take advantage of the POS features provided by modern systems. Since your employees use the register regardless, using that software as a training tool can help streamline the process. They can use that tool as the blueprint for the rest of your store.

Modern POS solutions offer a number of features geared towards training new employees, including:

User-friendly interface

When someone is brand new, they aren’t always going to understand how your systems work. In the worst-case scenario where everyone is swamped, there also might not be anyone available to show them. This is the central concern of new employees—an inability to help customers due to an unfamiliarity with the technology.

That’s why you should consider selecting a POS option that features an inherently user-friendly interface. When working with one for the first time, ask yourself some questions:

- How easy is it to find what I’m looking for?
- How much navigation information am I getting from the system versus the salesperson?
- Can I navigate pages easily?
- Is the payment system/inventory model intuitive?

Unless the answer to all these questions is yes, consider other options. If it’s not easy for you when you sit down with it, you can’t rightfully expect more from your employees.

Mobile service devices

The interface your POS uses should not only be readable, as per the above section. It should also be universally readable across all devices. Modern POS solutions provided through the cloud can be accessed with almost any computer, tablet or smartphone.

This is particularly important for new employees working jobs in which they will be carrying devices with them, such as a waiter using an iPad to take orders at a restaurant. You want to make sure that centralizing your POS doesn’t come at the expense of mobility.

Table mapping software

For restaurants, one of the challenges to new waitstaff is getting them accustomed to which tables they are assigned to. When they get this wrong, it can result in delivering food to the wrong tables. This results in them getting discouraged and a poor customer experience.

Top-tier POS systems combat this problem by using table mapping software. This uses a floorplan on the tablet which shows them which tables they are assigned to. It similarly keeps track of individual customer orders to ensure accuracy within the table in addition to between them.

In modern business, technology is either your biggest obstacle or your biggest asset. Chances are good that, if it’s the former, it’s time for a change. Turning it into an asset streamlines restaurant training programs, providing helpful information to make their transition even easier.

Communication solutions keep you in touch

You’ve gone through the arduous process of vetting employees, so they are likely ready for the job. That being said, every new hire will inevitably have questions or concerns about proper procedure or etiquette. For example, maybe they are worried about the price point on the new shipment that just arrived. Even with a friendly user interface, they are unlikely to have this information available.

When these situations arise, they too can cause disruptions in your daily operations. Work is slowed down as they find help, and customers are left unattended while they figure out the discrepancy. You need to make sure that help is only a step away.

Modern POS solutions offer a variety of features designed to keep your staff in touch with each other, including:

Inter-office communications keep you in touch

In instances where an employee needs help, you want to ensure they get it as quickly as possible.

POS solutions have developed a number of answers for this challenge. By integrating with labor management solutions like Homebase, top systems allow employees to keep in touch with each other on the fly. Associated apps can be installed on company hardware or (if you have a looser business model) personal devices, keeping your employees more connected than ever.

This ensures new hires never feel completely alone, giving them the confidence to tackle whatever comes their way. This also minimizes disruptions when they do happen, as seasoned employees can address concerns quickly and efficiently.

KDS Integrations

For businesses featuring a front and back end (such as restaurants or warehouse setups), communication between the two is a constant source of pain. This is because traditionally, that communication was done in handwritten notes, resulting in incorrect or missed orders. These communications result in poor customer experiences and a frustrating slog for staff acting as middle-man between customer and provider.

In response, POS solutions streamline this process by integrating KDS systems like Epson or FreshKids. Instead of questionably legible handwritten notes, these communications are made digital, reducing the risk of misunderstanding. By improving communications between your front and back ends, you improve your restaurant training program and streamline daily operations.

Shift Management Solutions

The last thing you want to hear from any employee, let alone new staff, is “hey, am I supposed to come in today?”

Last minute scheduling changes happen—it’s the reality of every industry. That being said, having an employee coming in last minute or otherwise unexpectedly can result in a poor training experience.

That’s why modern POS systems integrate with labor management software such as Homebase. It allows employees to get an accurate idea of when they are supposed to come in. In addition, it allows them to work with coworkers to trade shifts, apply for days off and keep in touch with the business.

These solutions ensure that your employees are all on the same page; when they come into work, they do so ready to work. For new hires, this gives them one less thing to worry about as they adapt to their new positions.

A strong communication solution is an absolute necessity for any restaurant training program. Above all else, you want your employees to feel like they have someone to turn to with potential problems. You similarly avoid future problems down the road, as they are less likely to repeat errors as they move forward.

Data and analytics help evaluate employees

Bringing in new employees is a challenge by itself, but how do you know they are doing a good job?

The fact is, most companies don’t. Everyone has worked at least one job with a seasoned employee who, frankly, didn’t belong there. Traditionally, this has been a problem of metrics; with not much data to work with, all an employee had to do was not get direct complaints from customers. Models like this one leave managers essentially guessing at whether or not their restaurant training program is effective at all.

For this reason. POS solutions offer companies more means to evaluate their employees using logged data. This data includes:

Monitoring employee performance

Modern POS options monitor employee performance in two ways:

- Native software tracking sales metrics like sales, voids and returns.
- Third party software integrations that track attendance, employee happiness and compliance.

Combining these two families of statistics gives managers a holistic view of not just their employees, but their business overall. When applied correctly, these tools point you towards which of your new hires are ready for the main stage and which may require a bit more attention.

Issuing commissions and bonuses

What about the employees that do a great job?

You want to make sure you are rewarding their performance as much as you are dealing with your underperforming staff. That’s why most modern POS solutions integrate with accounting solutions like Xero or Sage. They allow you to grant bonuses for good performance when necessary.

This keeps your employees engaged. By offering rewards, you prevent them from sinking to the lowest common denominator keeping your good business from being great.

Regardless of industry, you want to make sure that you have an eye on how well your employees are doing. These new hires represent an investment in your business, and your job is to see that investment grow. POS-based tools grow these investments, bringing your training materials together in a single, easy-to-use interface.

Tailoring a restaurant training program to your needs

Centralizing your restaurant training program into your POS may seem new; truly, it’s a notion that is only possible due to the rapid advancement of technology in recent decades. While it may be unique, embracing innovation is precisely what gives the modern business an edge over its competitors. By bringing your training program onto your POS, you:

- Simplify the process for new hires
- Provide managers with tools to evaluate new employees
- Connect your office like never before.

Companies like talech aim to meet the needs of your staff, providing cloud-based solutions that simplify the training process. We work with companies of every size, providing our partners with solutions that scale as they do. Together, we provide companies with the tools to make them grow, helping you build the business model that will succeed. Reach out today to sign up for a demo and to learn how talech can be your valued POS partner.

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