Picture this: It's a bustling Friday night at your restaurant. The kitchen is humming, servers are weaving between tables, and suddenly—crisis. A large party's order is delayed, and a server calls in sick. Who's at the center of this perfect storm? Your restaurant manager.
Now, imagine two scenarios. In one, your manager fumbles, and the night spirals into chaos. In the other, your manager confidently delegates tasks, smooths over the delayed order, and turns a potential disaster into excellent customer service. The difference? Training.
Effective manager training isn't a luxury—it can make or break your business. But with tight budgets and even tighter schedules, how can restaurants ensure their managers are equipped to handle whatever comes their way? This article will guide you on how to create effective restaurant manager training programs that work with any budget.
Why Training for Restaurant Managers is a Top Need Today
The restaurant industry has faced significant changes in recent years, particularly with the global pandemic. Labor turnover continues to be at levels higher than pre-pandemic, and Gen Z is entering the workforce with different expectations. These shifts are redefining the role of restaurant managers and highlight the need to meet managers where they are, in terms of varied experience levels.
While frontline employee training has been the focus for the past year, the next year will have more budget dedicated to training managers with a 3% increase in investments, according to our joint survey conducted in partnership with CHART. Training budgets are increasing significantly to the amounts of $4,982 for unit-level managers and $6,241 for general managers on average.
Luke Holden, CEO of Luke's Lobster, mentioned, "Investing in the leadership team is relatively new for us, but it's seemingly having a super positive impact on our General Manager base."
Benefits of Effective Manager Training
By recognizing the importance of manager training and committing to ongoing development, restaurants can position themselves for success in today's competitive landscape. Here are some of the benefits:
- Expanded Talent Pool: With a strong training program, you can hire based on potential rather than just experience.
- Operational Consistency: Trained managers ensure consistency across all aspects of restaurant operations, from food safety to customer service.
- Improved Employee Satisfaction and Retention: Skilled managers create better work environments, leading to happier employees and lower staff turnover rates.
- Enhanced Customer Experience: Managers who are skilled in both operational and interpersonal skills can significantly improve customer satisfaction.
- Increased Profitability: All of these factors contribute to a more efficient, popular, and profitable restaurant.
How to Create a Clear Career Path for Managers
A well-defined career ladder motivates managers and provides a roadmap for skill development and advancement. It emphasizes that leadership, communication, and people management skills are key to progressing along the career path.
Hopdaddy Burger Bar has implemented a career ladder that serves as an excellent example for restaurants of all sizes. Their approach provides a clear vision of growth opportunities and breaks down the progression from team member to general manager into clear, achievable steps.
When developing a career path for your restaurant managers, keep these important points in mind:
- Start with a focused approach. Rather than trying to create a comprehensive path for every position immediately, concentrate on key roles and critical transition points.
- Break the career journey into manageable steps. Dividing the progression between levels into smaller, skill-based milestones creates a more achievable and motivating path for your managers.
- Align each step with specific skill development. Make sure each level in your career path is mapped to a clear set of skills and competencies. This will help managers understand exactly what they need to master to progress.
- Share the career path with employees early on. During a new manager's first week, share the career path, so they can understand what's expected of them and how they can grow with your company.
Megan Amodio, Senior Director of Training and Operations Services at Huddle House, said in an Opus webinar, "At Huddle House, many people get promoted from within, and they get developed. They have a solid career path from the minute they step in the door as an hourly team member."
Tips for a Successful Restaurant Manager Training Plan With a Zero to Low Budget
Creating an effective restaurant training program for managers doesn't necessarily require a large budget. With creativity and resourcefulness, you can develop a robust training program that delivers results without breaking the bank. Here are some tips and strategies to help you achieve this:
1. Prioritize Essential Training Components
Start by identifying the most critical skills and knowledge areas for your managers, so your training is invested where it has the most impact. Focus on training that directly impacts your restaurant's performance, such as customer service, basic financial management, team leadership, and conflict resolution.
2. Choose the Right Training Methods for Your Budget
Pick from various training methods based on what your company and team needs. Online learning can be personalized easily, but may not be cost-effective. On-the-job learning builds practical skills and is directly applicable, but can be inconsistently delivered. Coaching and mentorship programs are built on relationships and individual growth but require commitment from both parties and are limited in what you can teach. And peer-to-peer coaching may seem compelling as it builds team cohesion, but the quality largely depends on the peer matches.
You’ll likely need a mixed model depending on the subject matter. Being intentional about the methods you choose for the subject can save money while being effective. For instance, you might choose online training for restaurant management, peer-to-peer coaching for ongoing training, and one-on-one coaching for leadership skills.
If building your own training program from scratch sounds daunting, you could consider bringing in external consultants like Uplifting Leadership with fresh perspectives. It can be more cost-effective than building a restaurant management training program.
3. Standardize Training Materials and Processes
When creating your training program, develop a consistent set of training materials that can be easily updated and reused. This includes standardized training manuals, checklists, and guides housed in a central repository for easy access. Regularly review and update materials to ensure they remain relevant.
4. Train Around Specific Activities or Issues
Tailor your training to address real-world challenges. First, you need to identify common issues in your operations and challenges among managers. Then develop targeted training modules, so when a manager experiences a challenge you can point them to that training module. For example, if hiring is a challenge, offer courses on recruiting and interviewing skills.
5. Implement Module-Based Programs
Break your training into focused, digestible modules tied to a specific learning objective. Incorporate multimedia content to keep employees engaged and appeal to different learning types. Take a note from Levity Live's book: the entertainment company focuses on multi-week microlearning that's full of different content types.
6. Build an On-Demand Library to Empower Learning
Use your Learning Management System (LMS), such as Opus, to create a library of courses that managers can access as needed. With a library, you can organize courses by topic for easy navigation and indicate whether courses are required or optional.
Empower your managers to take control of their development and give them the tools to learn proactively on their own. An on-demand library of module-based courses can give managers a range of optional courses to choose from based on those that align with their career goals.
7. Foster a Culture of Continuous Learning
Encourage ongoing development beyond formal training sessions. You can build a workplace culture of continuous learning by rewarding learning achievements, incorporating training goals into performance reviews, and encouraging knowledge sharing among team members.
As Megan Amodio, Senior Director of Training and Operations Services at Huddle, notes: "The brand and culture of a company can influence how you raise up managers. Companies that move people up the ranks well retain their team and develop those team members that they have on board."
8. Partner with Industry Associations or Educational Institutions
Leverage external resources, such as CHART, to supplement your training program. Most industry associations and hospitality programs have a wealth of free resources, so make sure to share those with your managers.
9. Scale Your Training Program Effectively
As your training program grows, remember to build a program that can scale with more employees and maybe more locations. Technology can help you reach a wider group of managers and continue to improve your training program by collecting feedback.
How to Convince Managers to Prioritize Training
If managers are having trouble understanding the importance of training, you should start by communicating the "why" behind the training. Explain how new skills will benefit the managers personally and the restaurant. You can use examples such as improving customer satisfaction and employee retention.
Start small with short training sessions focused on specific skills to avoid overwhelming managers. Identify respected managers who are open to change, and pull in these "champions" to help convince others by sharing their positive experiences.
With cost-effective training methods and a culture of continuous learning, even restaurants with limited resources can develop strong manager training programs. Investing in managers is investing in the future of the company.
