By Deagon Williams
A solid restaurant training manual is key to good employee relations. I’ve written before about this topic, and am returning to the subject with some more tips. Here are some good rules of thumb to follow when creating a training manual for your restaurant:
1) Any good manual has two halves: a part that covers the mission and brand of your restaurant (welcome letter, mission and vision statement, history of the company, etc.) and a part that covers legal issues (performance expectations/ reviews, compensation/benefits, schedules and vacation policies, health and safety, drug/alcohol policy, sexual harassment policy, emergency procedures, etc.).
2) The training part of the manual fits into the second half under performance expectations and may be job specific. Opening and closing checklists, safe food handling, cash policies, recipe protocols, etc. may be appropriate for different staff positions.
3) Upon hire, give all employees a copy of the manual and let them read it. Ask all employees to sign a release that they have read and understood the terms and conditions of their employment at your restaurant before they begin work.
4) Manuals need to be updated regularly- laws and public policies change, and so do the practices at your restaurant. Don’t let your manual get out of date.
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