Twelve easy-to-implement QSR onboarding tips to reduce employee theft and error

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 $3,000. Not only can this dramatically impact 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? You can find better QSR employees.

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.

Here are 12 ways you can enhance your restaurants’ training and onboarding program:

1. Follow your brand’s training program (employee handbook, brand tools, video programs, skill observation checklists, etc.)   

2. Hold orientation sessions in small segments over the course of several days. That way, information can be more clearly understood and your new team members’ questions can be answered more thoughtfully.

3. Meet one-on-one with team members to set your expectations and commitment to your brand’s policies and procedures.

4. Provide 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. Instead of spending hours pulling and analyzing reports, use web-based software like Delaget Coach and Delaget Detect to provide the data and guidance you need to identify meaningful coaching opportunities in just minutes.

 6. Require food safety training for all new staff before they handle food.

  7. Double check your managers-in-charge have received or are in the process of receiving their Food Safety Certification.

  8. Review proper use and techniques of the portioning tools and give feedback to new team members.

 10. Review the brand’s company cash and discounting policies at the end of every day.

 11. Have cashiers role play and use the practice mode on the register.

 12. Only put new cashiers on the floor when they feel comfortable using the keyboard, handling cash and credit cards, and explaining your brand’s menu items.

 13. 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. For quantitative performance data, utilize a reporting tool like Delaget Coach to monitor their transaction speed.