What's the best digital training program for restaurant staff?

Have you heard? Chik-fil-A is kicking KFC’s tail all across the country! In fact, they are so successful that other behemoths like McDonald’s and Walmart are emulating them. What’s the secret sauce, you ask? Surprisingly, it’s NOT higher wages because they pay only a few pennies per hour more than the national average for quick service restaurants. It would seem their unflagging dedication to training and developing their staff is the secret ingredient that has others flocking to their coop. What you might be asking is, how does this apply to you? Bear with us as we explain.

What are they doing?

To start, McDonald’s didn’t just use breakfast all day to turn around their flagging business. They also implemented new training systems to speed-up drive-thru service and generally improve staff performance. Their CEO, Steve Easterbrook, claims the changes, “have resulted in lower crew turnover and higher customer-satisfaction scores ... and we are gaining share relative to the [fast-food] sandwich segment." Given that their customer satisfaction ratings were up 6% for the first quarter, you can’t argue with the results.

Last year Walmart committed to several billion dollars of improvements, including improved employee training. They, too, have seen same store sales increases with growing customer traffic counts to boot. Walmart US President Greg Foran said, “associates are feeling a little bit more engaged.”

What this all means to you is that training is the answer to many of your execution, retention and profitability problems. Don’t be intimidated by the size of the organizations in these examples. They are using systems and programs that are totally accessible to you and at a cost you can easily justify. 

It’s the Cloud!

The great equalizer is cloud-based computing. Less than five years ago, the resources used by a company like McDonald’s would have been out of reach to your average operator. Cloud-based sharing and e-learning industry standards have given even small businesses access to the same resources used by major corporations. The key to success here is understanding your own training objectives and how you want to integrate digital learning into your plan.

Let’s face it, technology is changing everything we do. Starting with POS in the late ‘80s to today, can you imagine not having the types of digital resources you use daily? Scheduling, background music, inventory/ordering. Training is a perfect place to implement your next.

That is why we are hosting a webinar focused specifically on how to determine what digital training programs are right for your operation. The webinar will completely explain what options are out there and take you through how to choose (or not) the one that fits the needs of your business. There is no need to guess. 

So, don’t let the big guys get ahead of you. Explore what new tools are out there and follow your own path. We’ll be with you every step of the way.

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