Up to Speed: The Importance of Creating a Training Schedule

Restaurant new hires should receive a detailed training schedule on Day 1. They need to know how long their training period will last and what it will cover. If training seems haphazard or unnecessarily drawn out over a long period, your newest team members will question how well your concept is managed and if your restaurant training program has any real value.

The number of days or shifts for your restaurant server training program will depend upon several factors, such as the complexity of your menu, your wine list, service procedure, server job functions, or POS training. Keep in mind, though, that servers work for tips; most cannot afford to make minimum training wage for an extended period.

The schedule should follow the training procedure established in the training manual, ensuring that all phases of the training process can be completed in an orderly fashion.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to assign a trainee to an employee who has not been given proper instruction on how to train. When choosing trainers, select staff members who have patience, want to be trainers, are good at being a server, and are willing to teach according to a set of training guidelines rather than off-the-cuff methodology.

That said, you do not have to create your entire “curriculum” from scratch. Take advantage of training resources, such as the training manual templates and training videos offered by RestaurantOwner.com.

The only thing worse than training your employees and having them leave is not training them and having them stay.
- Henry Ford

A trainer's guide can be a useful tool in helping the trainer stay organized and to ensure all the training material is covered. At a minimum, the trainer's guide should provide a step-by-step process that coincides with the training schedule and the material in the server training manual. 

A more advanced trainer's guide might include in-depth "train the trainer" instructions that help the trainer to be more effective. For instance, it might include an overview of various training techniques and how to apply your preferred training style to different training situations and content. Advice on how to deal with the various personalities of trainees can be useful to the trainer as well. The better you equip and "train the trainer," the better trained your new employees will be. RestaurantOwner.com's Trainers Notes can expedite this process.

Use a server training checklist. These forms can be used to verify that all key training objectives established in the training manual and training schedule have been met. It includes a list of activities in which you want your trainee to become proficient or to have completed. Typically, both the trainer and trainee will sign off on each activity. Use RestaurantOwner.com’s Server Training Checklist as a tool to track training progress.

If you’re interested in fortifying your restaurant training program and streamlining your training schedule, look no further than RestaurantOwner.com. The RestaurantOwner.com library is filled with training guides, templates, videos, and checklists so you can continue to instill restaurant operations best practices that fuel your employee’s success.

Have a profitable week!

The RestaurantOwner.com Team