Breaking in the Rookie

Learning the procedures and systems in a new job can be difficult, but you can make a new employee's transition from rookie to knowledgeable staff member by remembering the mind-set of a new employee.

Even though your new employee may have many years of experience in the restaurant business, even at a restaurant similar to yours, routines are different from restaurant to restaurant. When you remember what it was like the first day of a job you held, you could tailor your training to make it more effective.

New employees may feel overwhelmed

Even trying to know everyone's name at a new job can be a daunting task. You know how you feel at a party or business meeting when you are introduced to a group of people all at once. If you're lucky, you'll remember one or two names and the rest are a haze. At a new job, too, everything has to be learned. Even the simplest, routine tasks such as ordering drinks from the bartender or filling out a timecard can seem complicated. Every good server knows shortcuts to help get the job done. They know the personalities of the kitchen staff and how to work with them.