Apr
The Saratoga Institute in the US conducted a survey and it revealed that 89% of managers believe employees leave for more money. But, in fact, the survey found that 88% of employees leave for reasons other than money. What a disconnect!
In reality, most employees are leaving because of poor induction, poor training, lack of development opportunities and bad management.
Experts have estimated the cost of replacing an employee to be between 29 and 45% of an employees annual salary when lost productivity, training and advertising costs are taken into account.
When your employees start working for you, how thorough is your training process?
The first impression your employee gets will either set them up for failure or success and you want to ensure it’s the latter.
Orientation shouldn’t end with details about where to hang your coat and how to sign in and out. In order to give your staff a proper start, you should provide them with a comprehensive training package.
A good orientation and training package contains:
- New employee form
- Company information
- Job description
- Employee Handbook
- Manuals & Menus
New Employee Form
The new employee form should contain their contact info, position, availability, payroll and tax information, workers compensation information. If you do direct deposit for payroll, you will need their banking information or a void check. It is important to get all of this information before they start their first shift, and to keep it all together in their personnel file. Nothing will annoy an employee more than not getting their hard earned wages on time so use this form to get it right.
Company Information
You should provide the company name, address, phone number, email address, and website contact information. Other items to include are business hours, a description of the bar or restaurant concept, and anything else that is important for a new employee to know. If it’s a large establishment, it might be a good idea to provide a management chart (who is the boss, who are the supervisors, who reports to whom, etc.) so that the employee knows who to go to when they have a question.
Job Description
This is something that sometimes doesn’t get passed along to a new employee, especially if they are an experienced bartender, and they are going to be bartending for you. However, it’s important to list the details of their job, so that they are aware of your expectations. Keep the job description to a single page if possible, but list their regular duties and immediate supervisor on it.
Policies and Procedures
If you don’t have a policy manual, you should put one in place. Basic policies about employee conduct on and off shift, details about scheduling, on-calls, shift covering, illness and so on can differ from bar to bar, so it’s important to put your rules down on paper so everyone knows them. Writing things down also ensures that all employees get measured with the same stick. An Employee Handbook is the ideal way to document this information in one easy place and allows an employee to refer to it at anytime.
Manuals & Menus
Be sure your employees have copies of each menu you use – lunch, dinner, happy hour, cocktail, wine, specials, etc. Ensure that they have had adequate training on the items that you sell, and that they are comfortable with the menu options and pricing. This will ensure that their POS or order training goes smoothly.
Now that your new employee has their new training package, don’t leave them on their own just yet. Proper training should contain shadow shifts in the various areas of the restaurant or bar so that the employee learns your way of doing things. Staff turnover can be decreased by ensuring that your training process is solid.
Taking the extra time from the start to train your new employees thoroughly is an invaluable step in the success of your employees and the success of your bar or restaurant.
If anyone wants these forms and templates they can visit ManageYourBar.com
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Barry Chandler is Managing Director of ManageYourBarOnline.com, the complete online resource for independent bar and club owners and operators, designed to assist bar owners manage their business more effectively and provide all the tools/downloads/templates/articles for prospective bar owners to research and plan their new bar.