Restaurant Employee Onboarding: Improve QSR onboarding in 7 simple steps

Improve QSR Onboarding to Increase Retention and Prevent Future Loss 

The bad news: one out of every three new hires quit after six months. And to make matters worse, the cost of replacing a single employee can be more than $5,864 according to DailyPay and the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University.  

Not only can this dramatically affect your restaurants’ bottom line – there’s also the time, energy, training, and operational loss that occurs as new team members learn their roles and make errors.  

The good news? There are things you can do to enhance your restaurants’ training and onboarding program to improve your retention rates and your employees’ performance!  

Implementing a meaningful and welcoming QSR training and onboarding program can help reduce turnover and ensure your team is well-versed in your brand’s policies and procedures.  

The result? Less loss and employee error, and happier employees and customers! Now let’s dive in. 

7 ways to improve QSR onboarding to increase retention and keep loss from occurring:

1. Follow your brand’s training program
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many operators overlook this invaluable resource. These programs are usually developed by leaders who specialize in loss prevention and operations, and they’re full of great insights to help you along the way. These resources might be employee handbooks, brand tools, video programs, skill observations, and so on. 

2. Hold orientation sessions in small segments over the course of several days
The term “drinking from a firehose” is spot-on. Our attention spans are short, and it’s not fair to expect employees to retain all that new information from a 5-hour training. In small segments, information can be more clearly understood, and your new team members’ questions can be answered more thoughtfully.

3. Set yourselves up for success
Meet one-on-one with team members to set your expectations and commitment to your brand’s policies and procedures. In your one-on-one meetings, you can outline KPI goals and personal goals for your employees. 

4. Supply feedback right away during training – don’t wait!
If you see a teachable moment, say something immediately. This will help reduce future losses down the line.

5. Schedule time to monitor new hires’ progress using KPIs
Operational metrics can help you understand how your new hires are performing. Check your metrics on your reporting tools, like Delaget Coach and Detect, to provide the data and guidance needed to identify meaningful coaching opportunities in just minutes.

6. Review the brand’s company cash and discounting policies at the end of every day 
Repetition is key! Especially if your new team members have worked at other restaurants before – ensure that every team member is aware of cash and discounting policies, as well as the reasoning behind them. Let your team know that you’re  

7. Check-in at the end of the week
After a week on the job, check in with crew members to see how they’re doing and how comfortable they are in the role. Refer to performance metrics to share with them how they’re doing and ways to improve, and most importantly, thank them for being there and learning with you! Praise them for their good work and let them know you’re available if they have any questions.