When a restaurant brand plans growth—particularly rapid growth—onboarding new talent efficiently and effectively becomes one of its top priorities. This is why it’s so critical for restaurants to design robust training programs that can help crew members get up to speed quickly while ensuring consistent food quality and guest experience across a chain. However, building these programs from scratch while also focusing on everything from site selection and construction to closing franchise agreements and keeping existing stores up and running can be a challenge even for the most talented leadership teams.
Just ask Jim Bitticks, president and COO at Dave’s Hot Chicken, formerly chief restaurant officer and executive vice president of operations and training. There, he saw this first-hand as the fast-casual pizza chain expanded, which used a folded-up piece of paper as its recipe and training guide. Over time, these paper materials expanded, but they quickly fell out of date, and it was difficult to tell who was really compliant with training versus simply marking training as completed. Additionally, paper materials didn’t leave room to adequately demonstrate how to complete routine tasks, nor did it appeal to younger Gen Z workers, who tend to be digitally oriented.
“It’s the same challenges at every brand,” Bitticks says. “Paper isn’t reliable, and even when you complete a five-day training program to open a new restaurant with your corporate team there in person, you’ll see the same gaps from store to store.”
In order to solve these issues, the team turned to video to ensure crew members received the same consistent training messages each time. Yet in-house attempts at managing videos led to buffering issues and frustration. After looking for a solution that could help them manage video training more effectively and reviewing several options, Bitticks and his team landed on PlayerLync.
“We talked to other players, and while their systems and platforms were attractive, the functionality wasn’t there,” Bitticks says. “Their systems had the functionality we needed, but they had too many bells and whistles we didn’t need, and which might get in the way of us delivering content efficiently, effectively, reliably, and economically. PlayerLync gave us the flexibility to design exactly the program we needed.”
While franchise partners initially worried about the added expense of PlayerLync, the platform actually generated savings for them. Bitticks says that prior to PlayerLync, franchisees spent an estimated $1,200 per year on printed training materials, but that cost was reduced to roughly $420 per store while significantly improving training.
The PlayerLync platform was so successful that when Bitticks joined Dave’s Hot Chicken in 2020, he knew he needed to roll out PlayerLync right away.
“We were asked by Dave’s leadership if we would use the software again, and, since Dave’s only had four stores at the time, we were also asked if we would recommend starting it early to get ahead of growth,” Bitticks says. “I told them I’d absolutely use PlayerLync and start early to build a strong foundation for growth.”
When Bitticks joined Dave’s, he applied what he’d previously learned and began designing a training program that would help the brand scale up and achieve its ambitious growth plans. Dave’s is now planning to open 100–110 locations by the end of 2022, with 700 signed franchise agreements in the works. Yet while this expansion may seem exceptionally rapid, PlayerLync’s is providing training and onboarding support that will allow Dave’s to manage this growth effectively.
Bitticks says one of the most attractive features of PlayerLync is the fact that the content downloads automatically to an iPad and updates in real-time, even when Internet connectivity is weak. Even more so because content is compressed and stored locally on the iPad, there is no video buffering. Additionally, the system allows administrators to link files, so they can point employees to other documents from within a lesson without needing to recreate the information.
With two PlayerLync iPads loaded with the Dave’s library of videos in each restaurant—one to help back-of-house staff with food preparation and one floating iPad that assists managers with their daily duties—the brand has the tools it needs to help franchise owners get their teams trained quickly, as well as to develop highly skilled managers.
“PlayerLync has a daily forms tool we have managers use to track their quality assurance daily checklists,” Bitticks says. “There’s also a large selection of training tools to help employees and managers learn soft skills—things you really can’t get anywhere else or that you’d have to pay tons of money to get access to. These materials are really great for helping people transition from employee to manager.”
Though training can be a challenge for any brand—especially for those growing quickly—building a program doesn’t have to be as difficult as it traditionally has been. The right platform and digital tools can both enhance the quality and efficiency of employee training while preparing a store for expansion.
“I know first-hand how scary it is to switch up a training program, because it feels like you’re already deep into a process,” Bitticks says. “But our employees and franchisees have loved watching training videos on a small, portable screen, and they have been far more engaged in the training. That proved video was the right step, and now we’re seeing strong results at Dave’s.”
“Because we’re starting with it early at Dave’s, it’s simple to set up and saving us time,” Bitticks adds. “We’ve done this twice now. PlayerLync has given us such a strong foundation, we know we are ready to franchise like crazy, and that’s exactly what we plan to do at Dave’s.”
To learn more about how to streamline your training program, visit the PlayerLync website.
By Peggy Carouthers
