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People come to your restaurant to relax and enjoy a good meal. If your employees make mistakes that mess up the atmosphere or the food, then your restaurant can lose money. Firing employees when they make mistakes can temporarily reduce workplace errors, but these issues are going to happen again with someone else. Reducing employee mistakes at your restaurant comes down to making long-term changes instead of immediate, emotional firings. The following three methods can help your employees and restaurant perform better.
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1. Provide Regular Training Opportunities
Many restaurants and other types of retail businesses only provide training when a new employee joins the team. That employee receives training on what they’ll need to know to work at your restaurant before they start working. While this initial effort will set new employees up for success, the results of this singular training often don’t last.
Your employee may receive training on all workflow areas but only work in one area for the first few months of their shift. When you assign them elsewhere in your restaurant, they may struggle to remember that early training and make costly mistakes. Meanwhile, employees who work their way up into leadership may lead well but forget how to perform certain processes if they haven’t had any hands-on opportunities while they’ve led others.
Regular training opportunities for all employees can reduce the mistakes employees make in these circumstances. Everyone can attend, learning new information or getting a helpful refresher on older information. Writing down the processes your employees learn during these trainings and keeping those records where people can reference them can also help reduce employee mistakes.
2. Install a Point-of-Sale System
You may worry that adding technology to your restaurant will distract employees and increase mistakes. However, most point-of-sale (POS) systems are easy to use and seamlessly integrate into your workflows. These systems allow you to easily assign and manage your employees with the click of a button. They also have tracking software, allowing you to analyze stock, sales reports, shift reports, and time clock reports. If your employees are making mistakes in any of these areas, you’ll learn about the mistakes faster with a POS system in place. You can also track mistake patterns, giving you the opportunity to craft specific trainings that will mitigate repeat issues.
3. Invest in Programmable Logic Controllers
Another way to reduce employee mistakes at your restaurant using technology is with a programmable logic controller or PLC. A PLC is a tiny computer that receives data and produces operating instructions, automating almost any process you give it. Using PLCs in the food and beverage industry allows you to automate processes that cause employees to make mistakes or distract employees from more important tasks. Different types of PLCs are best for different types of processes, especially within the food and beverage industry. For example, compact PLCs are best for temperature control, while modular PLCs are best for product sorting.
No human is perfect, so you’ll never eliminate all employee mistakes at your restaurant. However, regular training and helpful technology can greatly reduce employee errors. While you’ll need to take the time to train employees in new technology, this training can help reduce errors across the board.
