Restaurant Innovation Begins with Investing in Your People

No matter how long they’ve been in business, quick-service and fast-casual restaurants know how critical it is to keep an eye on the future. From introducing advanced equipment to implementing technology that streamlines backend operations, restaurant enterprises are always looking ahead.

While there’s a lot of focus on innovation in the restaurant industry, true transformation starts at home. Branding, machinery, and fancy drive-thru designs are all important, but in order to build a sustainable and forward-thinking culture, these businesses need to put equal emphasis on developing their people.

Keep reading to learn three ways learning and development helps some of the world’s most innovative restaurants drive their businesses forward.

Learning Designed for the Future of Work

Restaurants with hundreds or thousands of employees across multiple continents need to deliver the same quality of training to employees at every location. This ensures operational efficiency, as well as a consistent guest experience no matter when or where a customer visits. These kinds of businesses need a learning management system (LMS) that can deliver various types of customized training to different groups of learners—while keeping things simple and organized for admins.

A one-size-fits all solution simply doesn’t work for restaurants with frontline employees, kitchen professionals, corporate leadership teams, and others. Different groups have highly unique learning needs—some employees might need extensive on-the-job training, while others might benefit from self-paced online learning. Restaurants need an LMS flexible enough to deliver whichever kind of training is best suited for a given situation, whether that’s in-person instruction, video tutorials, online training, or a combination of multiple learning methods.

Most importantly, restaurants should strive to make training available to employees whenever and wherever they need it. For most employees, especially those who work on the frontlines, this means training must be accessible via their own mobile devices. A mobile-first approach to learning eliminates learning curves typically associated with new technology. It’s also more appealing to employees age 35 and under, who comprise a whopping 60% of the foodservice workforce.

Personalized and Engaging Experiences

Restaurants are people-centric businesses, which means success depends on personal connections. Infusing a personal touch can go a long way in making customers—and employees—feel a genuine sense of belonging, encouraging them to invest in ways that ultimately contribute to business growth.

A platform that delivers personalized content based on the preferences and progress of each individual learner helps restaurants keep employees engaged and enthusiastic about continuous learning. An engaging learning platform is one way enterprises with thousands of employees can foster meaningful connections at scale, especially when directly communicating with each employee is impossible.

Social features like wall posts, group chats, and message boards go even further to establish a sense of community across an otherwise siloed organization. When one location is hundreds of miles away from the next, the power of technology can help bridge the physical distance. The right platform can bring employees together, spark new opportunities, and encourage different parts of the organization to learn from each other. And leadership can rest assured knowing that all digital activity is reviewable, removable, and secure.

Talent Development for the Teams of Tomorrow

Restaurants are some of the world’s largest and most complex organizations, and they’ll need the dedication of many talented people to remain relevant and thriving for generations to come. Future-oriented restaurant organizations are already looking for ways to cut through the noise, adapt, and stay ahead of the curve.

Investing in resources and technology that empower your people to reach their highest potential is one of the best ways to future-proof any organization. Not every employee will stick around for the long haul, but there should be a clear path forward for individuals who express interest in growing with the organization. For top talent, however, trust is a two-way street: the best employees want to see their employers making an active effort to help them move up in their careers, or they’ll simply take their talents where they’re appreciated.

For sprawling enterprises where one-on-one mentoring isn’t an option available to everyone, online learning and professional development opportunities can help level the playing field and ensure everyone has a chance to get ahead. By investing in tools and technology that give every employee a chance to level-up, restaurants kickstart innovation from the inside-out, ensuring every employee has the skills the organization needs to keep growing.

True innovation in the restaurant industry goes beyond technology and aesthetics; it begins with cultivating a people-first workplace culture that emphasizes the importance of continuous learning and professional development. Creating a learning-centric environment empowers employees to excel and propels the entire organization forward. To learn more about how the right workplace learning platform can help your restaurant innovate and prepare for the future of work, connect with us today.