Restaurant orientation manual

In fast-casual, or quick-service restaurants, employees are often trained in several areas, rather than one particular skill. For instance, employees are often trained to use the cash register, make food, take orders through the drive-through, and clean. However your fast-casual restaurant operates, your training manual must encompass all the information needed to complete any job in your restaurant.

Rather than being an independent establishment, corporate restaurants expand to include other locations. Sometimes, franchisees manage these other locations. However, because there are multiple locations, corporate restaurant manuals need to be comprehensive, detailed, and uniform. In other words, people at each location should be able to follow the clear instructions in the manual to ensure that each location has the same standards.

Much like the fast-casual training manual, corporate manuals should include details about every position in your franchise. This way, jobs are performed the same at each location for a uniform, organized operation. The COVID pandemic has led to many changes in the restaurant industry , from smaller diner capacities to increased handwashing.

Many of these changes are long term and, therefore, should be in your training manuals. Create a section in your training manual that details COVID cleaning and physical distancing protocols, what to do if an employee tests positive, all city or state regulations, and any other pertinent information. Keeping both your employees and diners safe and healthy is paramount, so be sure to update your restaurant training manuals and job aids frequently so that they reflect all current regulations and safety advice.

If your restaurant operates in multiple states that have different COVID protocols, you can either customize your training manuals for each state, include all guidelines for every state, or refer all employees to an online resource that contains up-to-date information for each state. Great training manuals are updated regularly to ensure that information presented to new employees is current, reflecting up-to-date industry standards and company procedures.

An outstanding restaurant training manual should incorporate both high-quality design and company branding.

This helps employees feel that they are part of the organization, which reduces turnover and improves company standards. In addition, well-prepared materials reinforce the same messages and themes to all team members, communicating the company vision to everyone. When you add branding and professional design to your training manuals, your team members will notice the difference.

They are more likely to actually read the materials presented this way and absorb what you are communicating. In other words, well-presented materials are more likely to get the job done!

A great training manual includes high-quality design and printing, clearly presented messages, and company branding. Many times, the home office changes restaurant training systems to better articulate how to prepare food properly and take care of customers. When these rollouts occur, restaurants may choose to transition from using manuals to binders or vice versa. They may even print laminated or plastic sheets or posters in the kitchen for staff to reference regularly.

Today, there are many different binding options for printed manuals, making it more efficient than ever for you to create a functional manual. However, binders may offer more opportunities for organization and change. For example, you can place dividers and labels to separate sections of the training material binder.

Or perhaps you plan to update your training manuals regularly. After submitting your information, you will receive a confirmation email. Just open and click the link to receive update notices and our Restaurant Best Practices email. Login Close Print Preview. Close Print Preview. All Topics. View All Topics. Language Spanish. View All Financial Resources. View All Growth Resources. Brand Expansion Commissary Expansion.

Franchising Increasing Sales Makeover - Remodel. Volume Purchasing. Productive conflict can lead to Human Resources , Management. Performance is driven by behavior, and behavior is driven by four factors: communication, training, measurement, and rewards. Incentives and contests will do little to improve attitude, but they can work wonders to change or enhance behavior and therefore improve Restaurant hiring can be tough under any circumstances.