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Getting staff training right is essential to stay competitive. The problem is often getting your team to remember what they’ve learnt. The “forgetting curve” is steep - experts estimate that we forget about 50% of what we learn within a few days of hearing it. Over the course of a week, the amount we can recall keeps dropping.
So how do you combat this? In the future, 3D video, virtual reality, and business simulations will all be common training tools, giving users more interesting, interactive ways of learning. Currently however, they’re experimental, in their infancy, and not yet affordable for many operators.
Many operators will rely on reinforcing learning with real world practice on the restaurant floor, but letting staff loose on your guests before they’re ready has obvious risks. First, a firm foundation in your operations is needed – but any training has a limited impact without engagement.
Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” We've always encouraged involving team members in their own learning through personalised training pathways, and recognising progress towards key development milestones.
Training is starting to shift from something that is pushed on employees (often in large cumbersome courses), to something that is demanded by learners (usually in much smaller bites). We’re also starting to see the gamification of training, to motivate teams. This doesn’t necessarily mean actually playing games - though it can- but the use of things like badges and rewards to encourage learners and keep them engaged and working towards a goal.
After years of boring compliance training and/or expensive days away from work, the future of learning looks a lot more interesting.
Photo credit: elearningindustry.com
