January 9, 2009
Created in cooperation with the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers
John C. Alexander is Director of Sales for the National Restaurant Association Solutions and is a board member of the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART)
Restaurant operators have been expressing concern about the economic outlook and are looking for ways to cut costs. A recent survey of members of CHART (Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers) revealed that 46 percent of trainers from casual dining companies anticipated cutbacks in their training programs. While there is a need to save money, removing training can result in a vicious cycle that looks like this: less knowledgeable staff, lower standards, decline in customer satisfaction levels, and drop in guest count, negative word of mouth, and loss of high-performing staff. Sounds rather bleak.
The key to beating the odds in a flailing economy is to pay attention to three key areas: staffing, training programs, and standards.
Start by training your managers to interview properly and to become more selective. Wise companies involve their key staff in the hiring decision—winners want to be associated with other winners, or at least candidates with the right attitude. Several outside firms offer services to screen job candidates, and many companies have reported that this process has improved their retention. Most importantly, get rid of the deadwood. Slackers drag down your top performers. In the battle for "share of declining consumer dollars," you want to put your best team on deck every day.
Curt Archambault, CHART's President and a regional training manager for Jack in the Box, recently said, "Now is the time to inject new life into your brand and service through training, not cut training programs. Savvy operators realize the connection between engaged employees, delighted guests, and operational performance. Trainers are at the core of hiring and creating engaged employees."
Does that mean training should be done the same way it always has been? Not if you expect to get different results. Start by conducting a needs analysis on all of your training programs. Determine the purpose of each program. If it's not meeting a measurable result, scrap it or update it.
Provide "pinpoint training"—not every employee needs to be in every class. Determine each employee's current skill level. You will find by conducting this type of assessment that many employees have already learned many tasks, and they simply need to know your standards of operation.
Don't eliminate people skills training. Help both your managers and staff learn how to build internal and external customer relationships. Understanding how to work as a team and interact with guests might be the key to survival in the next few years. Creating an atmosphere of respect, cooperation, and mutual accomplishment helps retention. Enhancing the guest relationship creates repeat customers.
Develop a culture of training—offering programs that deliver an ROI (return on investment). Get buy-in from upper management. Make training fun, but also timely and useful to all involved.
Offer a balance between high-tech and high-touch. There are many options for delivering compliance training electronically. Save your trainer's time and energy for the programs that require observation and individual feedback.
Streamline your content. Consider using companies such as podTraining (www.podtraining.us) to get to the heart of your training program and serve it up in a fun way that connects with your staff.
Now is not the time to be "penny wise and pound foolish." Give the customers good value with every meal. Maintain staffing levels—nothing drives customers away faster than slow service or an improperly prepared entree.
Engage your staff. Ask for their suggestions on how to improve the efficiency of the operation. They know and are willing to contribute if you just ask for their help, be up front and fair with them, and let them share in the rewards. They might have the exact ideas that you need to build sales or control costs.
By properly selecting staff, training to develop skills, and maintaining standards, you can not only survive the current economic challenges, but actually become the destination of choice for your loyal customers.
