Besides serving mouthwatering dishes, there’s usually something about top restaurants that keep diners coming back again and again. For instance, skilled chefs, premium ingredients, and a well-curated menu. But here’s an ingredient to success that’s often overlooked: knowledgeable staff that ensures customers receive top-tier service and an overall positive dining experience.
Fancy cooking techniques and diverse food options may draw in a crowd, but exceptional customer service is key to customer retention. There's only one way to achieve that—with effective customer service training for restaurant employees. Effective training requires a dynamic platform to manage and automate the learning process. That's where a Learning Management System, or LMS, comes in.
Ready to take your customer service training to the next level? Take a seat, grab a cup of coffee, and dig in as we explore all about LMS implementation for your teams' benefit.
You might find yourself asking, "What is LMS software?" Simply put, LMS (Learning Management System) software is a digital tool that serves as your digital mentor, trainer, and organizer, all in one.
Different types of LMS software exist, but their key features remain the same. In a nutshell, it automates content creation, course delivery, and training management across different learning environments. LMS software covers a wide range of applications. The system's features can be tweaked based on your specific training needs, and it can be used to craft and distribute comprehensive and specialized training materials. Using LMS software in a restaurant setting, you can create training modules, track a learner’s progress, and offer certifications—all from one central hub.
A recent survey says 68% of restaurant companies rely on a handbook, 46% on mentors, and 39% use orientation programs for training their teams. For some, this might be enough. However, establishing a formal learning strategy is necessary for consistent service delivery and improved staff retention, among other benefits.
Next, we'll look at the most common restaurant employee training challenges and how you can leverage a learning solution for your restaurant training program.
Let’s explore why restaurants should consider investing in an LMS for employee training:
A restaurant's employee roster often feels like a revolving door. One moment, you might have an excellent waiter, but the next day, they might resign to pursue other opportunities. According to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 164,000 individuals quit their jobs in the accommodation and food services sectors as of September 2021.
Like an orchestra, your kitchen staff, servers, and management team need different learning paths and skills to excel. Think of preparing a five-course meal—each dish requires a different cooking and plating technique. Your sous chef might need to learn advanced culinary methods, while your host should be brushing up on reservation management.
Maintaining health and safety standards in the food sector isn’t just about acing health inspections. It also means keeping up with the changing regulations. Establishments that fail to follow applicable health and safety laws may be fined or face closure.
LMS software offers multiple benefits for both instructors and learners—whether they’re new or tenured employees. It's a worthwhile investment that provides the following benefits:
Remember the days of shadowing a new hire for weeks, hoping they’d absorb everything like a sponge? This traditional training method just doesn’t work as well in this day and age. With LMS software, you can create standardized training content that’s ready to go once a new member joins your team. This can be especially helpful when hiring seasonal employees.
The restaurant industry demands that business owners think quickly on their feet. Whether you need to update your menu, use the new point-of-sale system, or overhaul your customer service approach, you can update your training materials as soon as possible. Promptly editing and adding online training courses to your LMS means you don’t have to deal with outdated manuals or conflicting information—everyone gets the latest information quickly.
The best learning management systems let you tailor your training to each role, ensuring everyone gets the service and product training they need. This means you never have to deal with skill gaps, allowing you to stay ahead of the competition.
Keeping track of who’s completed which training and when is crucial for compliance. Your LMS software does the heavy lifting for you. HR professionals can track learner progress, monitor completion rates, send reminders, and check certificates. Automating these tasks lets you stay on top of your compliance training requirements to protect your customers and business.
Online learning management tools allow your team to access your training materials anytime and anywhere. LMS users don’t need to scramble to find how far along they are in the training module. Meanwhile, training managers don’t have to schedule in-person sessions during busy hours. They can also adjust the instruction based on users’ preferred learning methods.
With so many options available on the market, how can you find the best LMS platforms that fit your specific needs? Here’s what to look for:
Look for LMS software with a clean and intuitive learner interface. For example, user management shouldn’t feel like walking through a maze. The system should be as easy to navigate as flipping a menu. Also, an active user must find what they need quickly, whether they’re accessing a training module, checking their progress, or downloading a certificate.
How can you know that your team has absorbed the knowledge available to them? The right LMS software should have robust assessment tools. Practical video assessments, for instance, let your employees demonstrate their knowledge of wine and food pairings. And let’s not forget about certifications. Your LMS software should make it easy for you to issue, track, and renew them.
A good LMS also offers a seamless learning experience across devices. Your staff should be able to review learning courses on their smartphone or tablet during their breaks or while commuting. The goal is to reinforce learning without access restrictions.
LMS software features vary from platform to platform, but it should connect seamlessly with your other systems, including HR software, scheduling tools, or any other system. This way, you can automatically add new hires at orientation training, schedule video conferencing or training sessions during slower shifts, or link training completion to performance reviews.
Whether you’re running a cozy café or a chain of fine dining establishments, you can customize your LMS software to align with your specific needs. Got a new menu item? Cook up a new training module. Need to refresh everyone with hygiene and food handling standards? Serve it up in bite-sized lessons for your staff to digest at their own pace.
Who says learning can’t be fun? Online training courses should focus on creating a rich interactive learning experience. You can mix in videos, quizzes, discussion forums, and gamification elements to keep your team engaged.
Ultimately, the best LMS software for your restaurant is one that fits your unique needs. It should be flexible enough to grow with your business, robust enough to handle all your training requirements, and engaging enough to keep your team motivated.
Finding the right LMS software is like adding a secret ingredient to your restaurant operations. It might take a little time to get the recipe just right, but once you do, you’ll wonder how you’ve ever managed without it. So, if you’re ready to craft the perfect menu for success, consider adding LMS software as your secret sauce. You won’t regret it.
“In the labor numbers, we were reporting about a $300 to $400 difference than what we were getting through Push!”
-Tara Hardie, ZZA Hospitality Group, 16 locations
