Methods for Training Restaurant Staff

1. Methods for Training Restaurant Staff For the success of the restaurant, its employees play an integral role. Hence it becomes important on how we train the hotel staff. The reason is because, employees are the face of any organization. Day in and day out, they are the ones who interact with the customers hence they can make or break the restaurant. Staff members who are given proper training which is both quantitative as well as qualitative would create a wonderful experience to their customers which would attract them to come back again and again to the same restaurant. Those staff members or employees who are not trained properly or provided poor training would create an experience which would repel the customer from coming back to the restaurant in the future. Below are few steps or methods which can be taken a note of while providing training to restaurant staff. Start with an orientation program: This is the first step in any organization which every employee or staff member would have to go through. In the orientation, the employer or the trainers presented to give the training would provide a basic information about what the business is all about, the practices, policies and all the relevant information which would play a role in the basic performance of their work. Few of the things which the orientation program would include are: information related to the human resource, payroll details, and any other type of formalities which the staff member would need to complete before they actually start their work out there, a brief tour of the facility of the restaurant, history of the business and its philosophy, introduction of the management as well as the other key personnel and lastly an outline of the training process. Provide instruction and educate the staff members: Post the completion of the orientation program, the training process would begin. During the training process, the trainers would provide instruction as well as educate the new staff on all the important elements with regards to the day-to-day work. After all instruction and education is known to be the key foundation with regards to the employees training and it would also provide them with the tool which would help them to move forward and succeed. This is the chance for focusing on the particular things of varied roles in the restaurants which can include the food preparation work, cooking work, chef, bartending, dishwashing, hosting, greeting and waiting. Teach them to be observant and also assist the experienced staff members: It is said that the best way a person can learn is by making them observe the work and also help or assist the experienced staff members in the restaurant. This is how they would learn better and much faster. By carrying out this practice would not only the experienced staff would be able to get them train as well as teach them but the new staff members would also be able to see some of the common policies as well as practices of the hotel. Pair up the new staff member with an experienced member and make them follow, observe as well as assist the experienced staff for a certain period of time. This period of observing and assisting can last from anywhere between a few days or to a few weeks or more than that. In the meantime, let the experienced staff know that they should go about carrying out their duty as they otherwise would. Instruct the new as well as the experienced staff to engage in dialogue throughout as and when it is possible. Also the experienced staff should patiently provide all the answers to the questions asked by the new staff without any kind of hesitation. In case if the time permits then the experience staff should allow for the new staff to shadow in other important work or positions as well so as to provide them with a better understanding on how actually the entire restaurant team works. Communicate with the staff members: Try to take advantage of the experience of the veteran staff and talk to them about the various methods as well as innovative ways in which the training of the new staff

2. members can be carried out. Few of the ideas would include, listing down the problems which the experienced staff views with the current form of training plan, any suggestions which the veteran staff has in terms of the new training approaches, any other form of suggestions should also be taken into account for improvising on the organization effectiveness. The new staff should be taught about all the positions: It is important to provide the new staff members a training on the various positions available at the restaurant. Have them spend some time at the food line, in case if it is legally permissible then spending some time behind the bar, with the dishwashing and also working out with the host or the hostess on how to greet as well as seat the diners. This would make them very much flexible enough in carrying out their duties and also provide them with a better understanding on what it actually takes to run the restaurant successfully. Ensure regular training refreshers are held: Training should never be stopped once the new member has joined the staff. In order for reinforcing the best practices, there should be refresher training sessions held at regular interval. This would not only help the staff to recall what they have learnt before but would also act as an opportunity to train the experienced staff member on the new approaches or techniques.