PRINCIPLES OF FOOD, BEVERAGE, AND LABOR COST CONTROLS

562 � CHAPTER 20 TRAINING STAFF
require some training. Long - term employees may need training to work with
new equipment that is purchased and new methods and procedures that are
developed. For example, a foodservice operator who has purchased a complex
computer system to be used for dining room and kitchen operation must
spend considerable time training servers and others to use the system.
Another consideration for some employers is the extent of the need to
institute cross - training. Cross - training is defined as teaching a worker
to perform the duties of some job or jobs other than his or her own. Some
employers consider it important to provide cross - training so that employees
are prepared to perform the duties of those who are absent or ill or so that
jobs can be combined during slow periods. Sometimes employees are reassigned
to jobs for which they have been cross - trained so that they will not
lose their new skills. In some cases, employers have found it desirable to reassign
employees in this way to prevent the feelings of boredom that can be
experienced by those with routine jobs. Employees may be reassigned for several
weeks and then either returned to their regular jobs or reassigned again.
The process of periodically reassigning employees to other jobs is known as
job rotation .
In well - managed organizations, training is generally required of all new
employees, even those who come to an organization with considerable experience.
Every foodservice operation has its own way of doing things, its own
methods for performing tasks and accomplishing work. It is very important
that people who already know how to perform a job be shown the specific
methods and procedures used by the organization for which they have just
started to work. For those who are inexperienced, more formal training is
likely to occur.
Every new employee needs some amount of training in the methods
and procedures of the foodservice operation. This can range from a mere
tour of the establishment for a highly skilled and experienced professional to
urgently required basic - skills training for some newcomers to the industry.
Once an assessment has been made of the nature and extent of the training
that will be required, a plan for undertaking the training can be developed.
Developing Training Plans
A training plan is a series of elements that constitute a method for teaching
a specific employee the skills required to perform a job correctly and in the
manner anticipated by management when the standards and standard procedures
for the job were developed.