Did you know that training restaurant employees is a real investment for your restaurant business? Not only is it a real investment for the restaurant but well-trained employees help to build a better reputation for the business.
These days people need everything instantly, even food. They love their food delivered to them at their doorsteps. Moreover, you cannot ignore the online food ordering market which is skyrocketing.
Let’s look at some facts about online food ordering & delivery:
So, If you want to serve the takeaway demographic, then you need to adopt new ways of ordering food. The most popular among them is ordering food online.
Online food ordering system benefits your restaurant in many ways such as:
- Increases your restaurant efficiency.
- Allow you to prepare ample dishes in advance.
- You don’t have to rush to prepare food, instead, you can prepare them as per your time.
All you need to take care of is delivering the right food at the right place. Before you rush into online food ordering, you need to train your staff on how to use the new technology. Simply, train them on how to process online orders.
Here is the restaurant staff training plan that will help you to train your restaurant staff to process online orders:
Create a restaurant staff training plan:
First of all, create a restaurant staff training plan and list the objectives of the training. Make an outline of the whole process. Don’t forget to add important points. Customize the plan by keeping track of what worked and what didn’t for your restaurant. This will help you to create the best plan for your staff.
When you have done all the analysis, create a training manual. It is the basic version of your policies and practices. Your employee can anytime go back and get an insight into the process. Here are the things that you can include in the manual.
Restaurant Operations and Instructions:
You can add basic restaurant facts like cuisine type, kitchen checklist, busy times, restaurant menu, head chef information, ideal customer, average guest.
Also, the roles and responsibilities of each staff and how front-end and back-end work together. This will give a clear idea to your staff how each operation needs to be carried and it will boost their efficiency.
Technology:
People mostly rely on food ordering mobile apps. To ensure good returns, you need to train your staff about the latest technology. Make your team familiar with the POS system, mobile ordering, feedback app and more. This will make them efficient in performing their duties.
Set Timeline:
Set a timeline and follow it. Time each phase as per the steps involved, so that you don’t lose time on a particular area. However, you can devote more time to the key areas to streamline your training process.
You can also use visual training modules to train your staff. This saves time and money.
Demonstration:
If you are the trainer then you can perform tasks in front of your employees. You can also ask your experienced staff to demonstrate their skills and make new staff observe. Trainees will observe and can later replicate the same.
You can create a group of three to four people and assign them a mentor. Trainees will observe them and later replicate the same. Moreover, the demonstration should include:
- Simple orders.
- Custom orders and orders with special instructions.
- Station duties and their Impact.
Tell them the Benefits:
Be transparent with your employees and tell them how they will benefit from the restaurant’s new technology. They will accept it with open arms when they will see it will simplify their work. They can expect online orders to provide them faster turnover, call-in orders, satisfied customers and more.
Practical Training:
Gather your staff and let them use the restaurant online ordering system so that they can understand how it works. This way it will be easier to walk them through the process of ordering food online. Make them place test orders to understand more about customization orders. This will make them confident in handling customized orders when needed.
Conduct Multiple Training Programs:
Introduce more than one training program. In the online ordering system, different stations will be involved, so you need to prepare everyone to handle the orders.
Create a Script:
Create a script for your staff that they can use with customers. Keep the printed script handy at cashier and service stations, so that your staff can refer it anytime. Also, train your delivery drivers to inform your customers about your online food delivery option.
Differentiate Between in-house Tickets and Online:
Your staff should know how to differentiate between an in-house order and an online order placed via an online food ordering system or website. If your ticket printer cannot differentiate between the two, then you need to highlight one type of order. For instance, you can color the in -house orders.
Shadowing:
Shadowing allows your staff to learn from one another. Your old staff can help your new or underperforming staff. This way, a new staff member can get familiar with the working of your restaurant, and see how tasks are performed in the best way. This improves the skills of the trainer as well as the trainee.
Cross-training:
You might think that it will be a waste of time to train your staff about all the positions. But, it will be beneficial for your restaurant. This way, they will come to know each other’s responsibilities, which would promote teamwork and make them more efficient. For instance, if the designated person is on leave, then another person can fill that person’s position.
Take Help:
If you can, then get in contact with restaurant owners who have already gone through the process of training their staff for an online ordering system. It is always good to learn from the experienced ones to make your training module a success.
Host Training Sessions:
Apart from this, it is important to host regular restaurant training sessions. This keeps your team updated about the new technology coming to your restaurant.
The online ordering market is expected to grow more in the coming years. Getting your hands on the new technology will help you in the long run. This restaurant staff training plan will help you train your staff to fulfill online orders with ease. So, implement these in your training module and prepare your team to meet the demands of the generation X and millennials.
RestroApp can serve as a one-stop destination for all your restaurant industry needs like mobile food ordering app, restaurant management systems, restaurant POS systems, etc. The years of expertise in mobile app development has made us a pro at it. Drop us a line at info@restroapp.com and we can discuss the details regarding your customized food ordering app.
