3 Tips To Get Your Staff Fully Engaged With Training

We all know that training inexperienced staff members takes time and dedication – on both sides.

For employers, there’s hiring, onboarding, paperwork; all before the “on the job” training begins. For staff members, they’ll be walking into a kitchen they’re completely unfamiliar with. They might even be working as a chef for the very first time.

There’s a lot to learn fast.

If you don’t focus on staff training, you run the risk of ruined orders, slow service and inferior quality food. So, what’s to be done?

Here are three important tips for keeping your staff fully engaged with training and working as a valued member of your ghost kitchen team.

1. Fail to plan, plan to….

Yes, it’s that familiar adage. But planning and preparation really are key to a well-oiled kitchen brigade!

Before your new hire even steps foot in the kitchen, write a checklist of everything you want them to know by the end of their training. What are the milestones along the way? How will they (and you) assess their performance?

This will help you (or your senior staff members) organise their onboarding and orientation, as well as giving your employees confidence and oversight.

A thorough checklist will also empower your new staff member to know if there are any gaps in their skills that haven’t been covered – able to take active steps to remedy this.

2. Mentoring and shadowing

Shadowing is one of the most common training methods used in the restaurant industry – and for good reason… it works!

Most senior chefs have spent their fair share of nights working as KPs and Commis, building skills and knowledge over time.

With this in mind, pair your new hire with an existing senior staff member. Let your team know what you expect them to teach (this is another opportunity to share your training checklist).

In addition, make sure your new hire feels truly welcome and not scared to ask questions during training. Setting the appropriate company culture from the start is vital.

As well as shadowing, also consider a mentoring scheme – assigning another staff member as someone to turn to, if the new hire has any questions or concerns.

3. Make learning a constant

Even after initial training has finished, remember learning shouldn’t just be for new members of staff!

Try to organise a short meeting before shifts (say, once a week). You could prepare key lessons or reminders during these meetings, as well as talk about any changes going on in the kitchen and motivate your team.

A great way of promoting engagement is encouraging each staff member to take a turn presenting. It’s all about inspiring staff to take control of their own learning and share knowledge with others.

Just make sure you’re appropriately rewarding participation and enabling continuing professional development opportunities where appropriate.

Peckwater Brands provide kitchen operators with fully-serviced food concepts. This includes all aspects of branding, staff training, technology, platform listings, packaging and more. Discover what we do and how we can supercharge your operations.