Employee Training Reduces Turnover

Business 101 teaches us that the employer’s obligation to the employee is to provide that person with a good working environment and the necessary tools with which to do the job. In the food and beverage business, much of the support from management comes in the form of training.
    Training is a management function. In this installment, I’d like to discuss some of the ways a manager can assist in training and developing a more professional staff. The end result often times translates to increased sales and reduced employee turnover for the business.

Develop a “Training Attitude”
    One problem most operators have in common today is the fact that good employees are getting harder and harder to find. In recent years, the pool of available people ages 18 to 26 has been decreasing. That group now totals less than 10 percent of the work force.
    Management’s attitude that high turnover is automatic — sort of the unwritten law — must change if we are going to survive and prosper in the years ahead.
    We all know how expensive employee turnover is. Many experts in our industry say that replacing an employee may cost the operator as much as $1,000 per person.
    In the food, beverage and hospitality world, the turnover rate is somewhere between 150 and 300 percent per year. If you have 50 employees, you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to figure out that your employee replacement costs are tens of thousands of dollars a year — and that expense comes right off the bottom line.
    Adopting a policy of reducing turnover, improving your training methods and retaining employees is an idea whose time has come. Here are few helpful tips:

• Put more energy on recruiting. Having productive employees who stay longer begins with the selection process. Devote more time looking at the potential hire from a relationship point of view: Do you really want to work with this person? Does this person really want to work with you?

• Look for a person who has a chance to make it on your staff. Don’t hire someone just to fill a slot. Always think about how this person will mesh with the rest of the crew. Consider if this person has the mental capacity to do the job.

• Be honest. Don’t promise the moon and don’t make the job sound more challenging than it really is. However, it is highly recommended that you sell the merits of your business to all prospects. Even if you don’t hire the person, they may become a good customer.

• Take the attitude that you expect each new employee to be successful. If you believe that they can be successful, most likely they will. And remember, it’s a manager’s responsibility to interview and hire new staff, not necessarily your employees.

• Develop and offer each new employee a good, positive training program. It’s a manager’s job to train employees. You may not physically do ALL the training, but you must take full responsibility for the successful training and development of each employee.

• Have a training game plan. Set up the training so that you and your training staff can train a person without being distracted. Make yourself available to observe the trainee and offer constructive feedback, both pro and con. Resolve yourself to eliminate shoot-from-the-hip training at all levels.

•DJ guru Wyatt Magnum stresses that you “catch employees doing things right.” Offer encouragement daily. Don’t just be critical. Every good coach is a good cheerleader.

• Be honest with feedback and be ready to offer input on how to do the job better. Work at being a proactive — rather than a reactive — manager/trainer.
 
• Schedule quarterly employee performance reviews as a training exercise. Evaluate each employee from the same set of operational standards. This will not be possible unless you have written job descriptions, clearly defined opening, working and closing duties, task checklists, etc.

• Treat all employees like human beings. Put more emphasis on creating and maintaining a work environment that is open, honest and friendly. Listen to what your employees have to say. Stay open to their point of view, especially when it comes to dealing with the guest. Many times they can offer a better way.

•  Be professional at all times. Stick to business and keep your private life private. The coach has to set the example. Though often considered “one of the team,” at times, a manager has to distance him/herself from the crew.

• Be positive, energetic. Management sets the mood for the business. Remember, we’re all in the entertainment business, a FUN business. Every day, we put on a show!

• Communicate often and clearly. Develop a system that keeps the crew informed in advance of all activities and promotions. Get them involved in the marketing process. ALL employees are sales reps.

• Conduct pre-shift meetings on a regular basis. Make them short, upbeat and motivational.

• Commit to making all of your crew superstars. Know that you win big when they win. It’s amazing how many times that genuine concern for each employee is translated into better performance and reduced turnover. NCB

Want to learn more about training? Visit HospitalityIndustryResourceCenter.com.