Guests flock to your restaurant for the tasty food, great service, and one-of-a-kind atmosphere. All of these factors are controlled and executed by your team. Your staff is responsible for connecting your restaurant’s daily operations with your guests. It is imperative that your employees receive the best training possible so that they can provide guests with the best experience possible.
The Importance of Employee Training
Employee training programs will ensure your back-of-house (BOH) team is fully trained and ready to handle any task thrown their way. As a result, your team will lead best practices in food safety, maintain and exceed restaurant standards, and help grow your business. Furthermore, a well-trained team is more likely to stay longer, decreasing employee turnover.
Training Considerations
A well-developed BOH training program establishes each of your employee’s roles and responsibilities during onboarding. Training manuals will clearly outline the basics. Your team can always go back to these documents to refer to at any time. Generally, cooks are trained on-the-job, usually through job shadowing. This is how chefs and high-tenured employees get to observe new hires while they demonstrate their knowledge and level of skill. Job shadowing can be quite intense in a kitchen. However, it is often the best way to teach your cooks how to maximize efficiency.
Training On Equipment
An essential part of maximizing kitchen efficiency comes from wisely investing in time-saving commercial kitchen equipment. Multi-functional ovens are perfect for streamlining the cooking process, offering flexibility for applying custom settings. Also, Energy Star equipment are great options for utilizing anywhere from 10% to 60% less energy. Energy efficient commercial kitchen equipment is designed to perform at the same level of regular appliances with the addition of cost-saving and environmental benefits.
Heavy-duty commercial kitchen equipment is designed to handle the busy demands restaurants are faced with. However, your BOH team must be properly trained before using any of the equipment. Comprehensive training on equipment is vital for enforcing a safe work environment, maximizing efficiency, and saving your restaurant money.
From turning on the equipment, putting it to use, to shutting it down and storing it away – thorough training will teach staff how to get the most out of your restaurant equipment. This includes knowing when to turn off equipment when it isn’t needed, and keeping refrigeration and freezer doors closed to maintain critical temperatures. Training on equipment will also stress the importance of regular cleaning and maintenance.
Enforce Best Practices
Once your team is fully trained, it is essential to enforce job expectations. Daily checklists and communication boards will help your BOH team stay accountable for maintaining operational efficiency during food preparation, cooking, and shutting down the kitchen. Training will also enforce the importance of cost savings through reduction of idle appliance time.
When it comes to finding the right equipment to improve kitchen efficiency, consultation can be beneficial. Babak Food Equipment is your one-stop-shop for all of your commercial kitchen needs. Our experts can advise you on the best products that will improve efficiency in your kitchen.