Those of you who have attended our ServSafe® Food Safety Programs know how much stock we put in training. We think that every business should take the time to orient their employees to the business and train them in the correct and proper way to do their jobs. We also believe in "cross-training", training employees to perform tasks that they don't usually do, but which interact with their tasks.

In the 15 years we've been in business we have heard many excuses as to why restaurants and other businesses don't train their staffs.  Here are just a few:

And our all time favorite:

We'd like to turn that last one around:

Study after study in all types of businesses shows that one of the main reasons employees leave is because they don't get trained. An untrained employee:

- Is more likely to believe that their job is unimportant and they are expendable.
- Is less likely to follow standard operating procedures.
- Is less likely to know the efficient way to do their job.
- Is less likely to know the safe way to do their job.
- Is more likely to make mistakes that cost the business money.
- Is more likely to make mistakes that result in them having negative interactions with customers, coworkers, and supervisors.
- Is likely to be given fewer hours or shifts where they earn less.
- Is less likely to receive support and assistance from coworkers.

 

All these factors increase the stress on the employee and disconnect the employee from the company, the job, their coworkers, and the customers.  It is easy for stressed, disconnected employees to leave, with little or no notice, and to seek alternate employment, but before they do they'll have damaged the employer's business and reputation with both customers and other employees.

An effective training program can break the cycle of high turnover, low sales, unhappy staff, and unhappy customers and result in increased sales and profits for the business that trains its employees.

To be effective, training has to address the needs of all concerned: the employee, the customer, coworkers, and the business.

An effective training program provides the participant with information and skills that they can use in their jobs or lives every day. It gives them the chance to practice these skills in a "safe" environment and proves them with coaching so they can improve their skills.  Effective training is repeated time after time until the participant becomes both comfortable and proficient at the skill.  Yes, it is time consuming and costly, but the benefits outweigh the costs, let's just look at how training affects turnover costs.

You probably don't have a line on your profit and loss statement for the cost of employee turnover. Actually it would be difficult to list all the costs of loss of productivity, recruiting, hiring, training, etc., etc., etc. on a single line.  We recently found a summary of 15 studies that were done to determine what it costs to turn over an $8.00 an hour employee. The cost ranged from a low of $3,500.00 for truck stop employees to more than $25,000.00 for hourly corrections officers. Averaging the ten lowest reported costs, which included frontline retail and hospitality employees, resulted in an average turnover cost of $5,505.00!  If you turnover 10 employees, you have more than $50,000 in hidden costs. Better hiring, orientation, and training can reduce turnover and reduce this cost.

During our search for the studies just referenced we came across a report that stated that the average US firm experiences a 12% rate of employee turnover.  Take the total number of employees you turned over (whose employment you terminated, or who resigned) last year and divide that by the average number of employees you had on the payroll to find out your turnover percentage.  How did you compare with the national average of 12%?

Most, if not all, hospitality businesses experience higher than "typical" employee turnover rates. While it may not be possible to bring our turnover rates down as low as other businesses, in part because of the seasonality of our business and the fact that many young people start their employment in our industry, it should be possible to improve on your own past performance.  We believe that training your staff is an important factor in reducing staff turnover and its associated cost.

Training is an investment, not an expense.

If you're ready to invest in your business, by investing in your employees, call us to have us develop a customized training program for your business.

 

www.wheelwrightconsultants.com

It seems like one can hardly pick up a newspaper or magazine or turn on the television or radio without hearing about how this restaurant or that chef is purchasing "locally" grown and processed foods. We are proponents of "buy local" campaigns and encourage you to buy locally as well.

Buying locally may not be as simple as buying from a wholesaler who purchases foods or other products from outside your area and buying locally may be more expensive. It may also be more complicated.

In order for the concept to work, it is important that both the end user and the grower/supplier understand some of the aspects of each other's business and be prepared to accommodate each other.  If this sounds a little like some of the objectives of "cross-training" it is.  You know what you need to operate your business, and the local grower or supplier knows their business. It is unlikely that either of you know the other's business.  Here are just two examples of conflicts that could arise if you don't understand each other's businesses:

By sitting down ahead of time and discussing your needs openly, you can come to a mutual understanding as well as coming up with alternative course of action in case . . .

To compensate for a more erratic delivery schedule, perhaps you have a longer lead time in ordering or increase your par levels a little.

To compensate for less uniform product, you train your staff a bit more on being creative with the preparation and presentation of the food.

To compensate for a few minor blemishes, you market the fact that you are using local, pesticide-free produce that tastes incredibly delicious!

If you are open to the needs of your suppliers, you may well find that they have some interesting and exciting products to offer you, products that you did not even know were available. As with anything new, there may be a bit of a learning curve for you, your employees, your customers, and your new partners.  Your new partners may be willing to grow or produce or pack products to your specification, so you get exactly what you want, and they get a new or expanded source of business. By partnering with local suppliers, everyone wins: they do, you do, your customers do; and Mother Nature does as we lower our carbon footprint.