4 Reasons why Video-based Training is the future of People Development

• Proximity of training to application
• Better standardization of time expectations
• Enriched Experience
• Overcome Language Barriers

1. Proximity of training to application

In many cases, people attend a training session and do not get a chance to apply what they learn straight away and when the time comes to apply the learning they cannot recall the solution in detail. By having videos kept online, employees can access the training videos just before they need it in real life rather than attending training class weeks/ months before they need it to complete the job. 

2. Better standardization of time expectations

By using video-based training, companies can also limit and track the time employees spend in training, i.e. a 2 minute training video will take only two minutes, not more than that. This permits better organization of the trainees time. 

3. Enriched Experience 

Videos make it easy for a trainer to demonstrate how a product/ procedure works in the real world. Photos and animation can always be helpful but a video can bring the product/ procedure to life for learners. A video showing how to handle an angry customer is substantially better than reading about it.

4. Overcome Language Barriers

According to a study conducted by Cisco, 90% of users, who use video conferencing technology very often, reported that a lot of cross-cultural and language confusion can be avoided with the help of this technology. Surely a picture speaks a 1,000 words!

In conclusion, video-based training is a powerful tool for any organization to train their staff and allow them to learn in-house. It will allow for saving resources while delivering a superior result.

To learn about the 4 Key Benefits of Video Based Training, click right here. 

The 4 Key Benefits of Video-based Training

Training through Video is quickly becoming the medium of choice for many restaurant organizatios because it is cost effective, has long lasting positive effects and allows everyone to learn at their own pace.  The result is a more productive, proficient and profitable work force. [You can watch a sample restaurant training video here.][1]

The 4 key benefits of video-based training are:
* Video based Training is Cost Effective
* Video based training has long-lasting effect on motivation and learning
* Allows everyone to learn according to their speed of learning
* Increase employees’ productivity and profitability

1. Video based Training is Cost Effective – Traditionally, staff need to travel from one site to another to attend/ conduct training and this generates a lot of investment for the organization in terms of cost and time. This investment could be a huge loss for the company given the high attrition rates in the hospitality segment. This is the reason that video based training, is preferred compared to traditional face to face training. Once created, the video training is available at any time and any place. Trainers can create materials that can be centrally housed on the web so employees can access it any time they need. This allows an organization to save a lot of time and expenses and invest the same in any other activity (John C. Boling). 

2. Video based training has long-lasting effect on motivation and learning – People watch television / video on a daily basis for entertainment or educational purpose and can easily remember what they have seen. One of the main advantages of video based training is the ability to connect with trainees on an emotional and cognitive level. Visuals and graphics used in a video training can have a long-lasting effect on trainees. Trainees can connect themselves with videos on an emotional level and it can have solid effect on trainees’ cognitive learning as well as motivational learning. Training videos with legends and self-explanations can improve the trainees’ confidence to learn and imply the same on work (Lin, 2003).

3. Allows everyone to learn according to their speed of learning – Each individual has a different pace of learning and understanding. Individuals need a certain amount of time to understand the training material and this differs from person to person. Video training allows the individual to go through the training material at a pace which is most appropriate for their learning. 

4. Increase employees’ productivity and profitability - According to a whitepaper written by Dave Boggs, founder of SyberWorks, online / video training programs help employees to increase their knowledge and skill levels. These video trainings will help them to become better at their jobs, more productive and efficient.  

There will always be a need for face to face or one on one training in any restaurant, but solely relying on this traditional training format would be detrimental to the organization.  It would be down right negligent to ignore the areas where Video based learning delivers a stronger result.   

Industry experts agree that of the many trends expected to affect the restaurant industry this year, these eight will leave the biggest impact on quick service.

1. Ingredient Transparency - People increasingly want to know about the ingredients and their origins in food. While that has been the case for a few years, 2014 should see the trend garner more mainstream attention. “Customers’ definition of value is fresh ingredients, quality food, and good-tasting food at reasonable prices. But fresh ingredients is No. 1,” says Bonnie Riggs, restaurant analyst at NPD Group, a Chicago-based consulting and market research firm. Riggs says. “Customers want to see that the ingredients and the food are not just holding somewhere.”
2. Bold Flavours - “People love flavors that take them somewhere,” says Sharon Olson, executive director of the Culinary Vision Panel, a Chicago-based group that looks at culinary trends. “Young people have grown up with various ethnic styles, but everyone is looking for new things.”
3. Food Costs will Stabilize - Climbing commodity costs shouldn’t hurt restaurants in 2014 as much as they did last year. SpenDifference, a purchasing cooperative for mid-sized chain restaurants, estimates food costs will rise 2 percent this year, a slight reduction from 2013.
4. Tea as a drink and an Ingredient - “Tea has been an object of fascination by devotees, but always an also-ran to coffee,” writes Michael Whiteman, president of New York food and restaurant consulting company Baum + Whiteman, in an e-mail. “Now that the mass market has some basic idea of coffee connoisseurship, curiosity is luring people into exploring the virtues of tea.” Many people don’t like tea by itself but “are drawn to it because the industry has added such strong sweetened fruit flavors that the bitter tannins disappear,” he adds.           “It is also a naturally healthy beverage with none of the calories of fruit juices,” says Kazia Jankowski, a culinary consultant who helped create the annual trends list for Denver’s Sterling Rice Group, a brand strategy and communications firm.
5. Mobile Technology will become the new norm - Mobile technology, both for customers and for operators, will continue to open new doors in the quick-service industry. “Mobile is clearly at the top of our trend list and at the top of our research and development,” says Jon Lawrence, director of product marketing, hospitality, for NCR Corp., a global provider in consumer transaction technology. “We’re sort of at or approaching that line, where what was once new and exciting is now expected."
6. Better-for-you foods go more mainstream - Better-for-you menu options will continue to permeate the limited-service industry, and more brands will invest in health tweaks as the trend goes mainstream. “Health is an overriding issue for many trends,” Jankowski says. “Foods that play to an audience looking for natural, healthy options are going to do well.” She adds that the better-for-you movement will grow not just through healthy meals like salads, but also through ingredient tweaks that help improve the nutrition profile of existing items. For example, ingredients such as lemons can be used to brighten dishes instead of salt, she says.
7. Flexibility in food and hours - Customers want breakfast, lunch, and dinner at various times in the day, experts say, and they’re also looking for smaller portions to tide them over until their larger meals.“It’s just an evolution of customization, and consumers want what they want when they want it,” says Mary Chapman, director of product innovation for Chicago-based market research firm Technomic Inc. “People get frustrated that they go into a restaurant shortly after 10 a.m. and they can’t get an egg muffin because the menu is now lunch.” McDonald’s is experimenting serving a few menu items from each daypart after midnight. Some restaurants are selling burgers all day. Others are offering items such as yogurt parfaits—originally meant for the morning daypart—anytime.
8. Sour and Tart Tastes - That means more pickled and fermented ingredients, Technomic’s Chapman says. “Consumers’ tastes are evolving, and they want more depth of flavour, kind of adding a sour note or a pickled tang,” she says.

You can read the full article here. 

Cover Page of Report

Mexican Restaurant Juggernaut Wahaca ‘s well publicized takeaway Burrito concept called Burrito Mama introduced their Burritos to the world this past Friday at Uber-trendy Street Feast in the Dalston Yard. Being a Burrito Aficionado by trade, I was invited to come down and taste the goods before things opened up to the public.

There was an appropriate amount of chaos surrounding the Burrito Mama site with the crew putting the final touching on their service line and a handful of PR and marketing folks making sure everyone was comfortable with a cold beer and some well-chosen sound bites:

“The Burrito Mama brand will stand on it’s own and not be directly associated with Wahaca”

“We will be opening our first site in One New Change this October, hopefully to be followed by more” - In what I understand is the old Sumo Salad space. I wonder if they got a change of use permit and will be operating on an A3 lease (with primary cooking on site)?

“We perfected our recipes and processes using the Burrito Truck on the Southbank”

“We are 100% focused on better burritos, faster. Over the years, we have noticed that around 90% of customers order our burritos without making any bespoke tweaks, but we still go through the process of asking them every ingredient to put in, slowing things down. At Burrito Mama, we’re taking all our knowledge of what people love, making it taste extra special and then using that as our recommended choice for customers." Wahaca and Burrito Mama co-founder Thomasina Miers

They intend to operate with the “Order, Pit, Auction” Model. This means a customer will place their order and pay then be given a receipt with a name or a number. They will then wait in the pit or designated open space for their name or number to be called. There will be a Burrito Mama employee who will be expediting the finished orders into the hungry mob, usually by shouting their name/ number or auctioning their food. This is a common Model in the USA with Fast Casual Mexican brand Baja Fresh being the most well known. Examples here in the UK can be found by visiting new Burger Giants Shake Shack and Five Guys in Covent Garden. All of these brands cook their food to order so it will be interesting to see if Burrito Mama pre-make their Burritos or make each order fresh once placed.

As this was the first time Burrito Mama was offering it’s product to the public, we can assume they will be making some more tweaks along the way. It is likely the Burritos we sampled (which were the first two produced) will evolve over the coming weeks. Unfortunately, Burrito Mama does not yet occupy their Restaurant space so it would be challenging to address the quality of their people and Operations. We can only base our analysis off of what we observed and tasted this afternoon at this one off event.

To read the full analysis - Buy it now!

If your are not using a Managers Diary in your Restaurant, your going nowhere.  I believe a Manager Diary should have 2 sections: Checklists & General Notes I like to have a Checklist for each of the day-parts of the Business.  At most of the Fast Casual Brands I have worked at, we trade over Lunch and Dinner.  On a typical day we will run with an Opening Manager (OM) and a (CM).  Therefore each day has an Opening and a Closing Checklist.

AM Manager ______                    

Opening Check List          

• Complete Prep List for the Day                               
• Complete Food Safety Checklist                
• Complete & Email Weekly Sheet                
• Check Email                                                                       
• Count Safe/ Set Tills                                               
• Order Change                                             
• Complete Deployment Chart
•  Lead Service
• Handover

Notes:

The Managers Log should sit in the office and be a means of communication between the Management Team.  Every person on the management team should start their shift by reading it and end their shift by writing notes in it.  It works particularly well for the CM to communicate to the following days OM without having to disturb them with a phone call/ email.  If filled out correctly, the OM will have no reason to call the previous nights CM for clarification.   The less Managers are disturbing each other during their time off, the better quality time off they can enjoy. Managers enjoying their time off without non-critical communication is an attribute of a strong Team.

These are examples of things that should be recorded in the Manager Log:

• Any problem that has been successfully resolved for the following Manager
• Any non-critical problem that you did not resolve for the following Manager but want them to be aware of
• Anything to do with Transfers
• Marketing Activity
• Vendor Activity
• Non-critical information about people
• Notes from phone calls
• Weekly Manager Meeting Notes
• Something positive that will make the following Manager smile

When I visit sites, I always try to flip through their Manager Log to get a sense of the team.  I feel comfortable making the following assumptions:

• If they are using it to "Bitch" at each other than the team is not functioning well
• If only one person writes in it but nobody else writes in it than the team is not functioning well
• If the entire Management Team is using it, if tasks have been initialed, boxes checked, meeting minutes documents than that team is going places.

MANAGER_DIARY