Are you fed up with old-school training methods in your restaurant? Want to boost your restaurant’s performance and deliver top-notch customer service even in this tight labor market? It’s time to give blended training a shot! Combining online and in-person training can help you lead your team more effectively, ensure excellent service, and measure performance like a pro.

In today’s fast-moving, multi-generational workforce, onboarding isn’t just a checklist item. It’s a moment at the start of their journey that can shape an employee’s entire experience with your company. Yet most organizations are missing the mark. In fact, only 12% of employees strongly agree that their company does a great job onboarding new hires, according to Gallup. That’s a major problem when you consider that 69% of employees are more likely to stay with a company for three years if they experienced great onboarding (SHRM). 

When it comes to upskilling, there’s good news and bad news. The good news? People are more willing than ever to learn new skills at work. In fact, according to the latest McKinsey American Opportunity Survey (AOS), 42% of respondents express interest in upskilling or say they’re currently looking for upskilling opportunities. 

It’s no wonder video-based training is on the rise. Even in their off-hours, people watch, on average, 17 hours of online videos per week. From YouTube to TikTok, video-based content is everywhere. And since watching videos is a preferred method of entertainment, why not include video-based training as a key strategy in your employee development program this year? In fact, according to a 2024 Video Viewer Trends Report by TechSmith, 83% of people prefer watching a video when learning something instructional. 

Store managers tend to wear a lot of hats. One minute they’re putting out a customer service fire, the next they’re crunching numbers for payroll, then rallying the team for a last-minute shift change. With so much on their plate, it’s no wonder the best store managers are part ringleader, part motivational coach, and part operations genius. But those leadership skills don’t just show up on day one; they’re built over time through intentional, consistent training.

Expanding your business can be great for your bottom line. But did you know that one of the most overlooked (and most powerful) tools in a successful expansion plan is employee training?  Whether you’re opening a second location or expanding into a new market entirely, having a solid training strategy in place can be the secret ingredient to keeping operations smooth, customers happy, and your brand experience consistent across the board. After all, a consistently positive experience drives customer loyalty, glowing reviews, and word-of-mouth referrals. Here’s how to make training the heart of your expansion strategy.

A receptionist is truly the heartbeat of your organization. From warmly welcoming every guest and cordially answering the phones to deftly finding answers to hard-to-know questions and keeping the day flowing smoothly, your receptionist team keeps communication, operations, and customer interactions running seamlessly. Without a skilled receptionist, businesses tend to struggle with inefficiencies, missed opportunities, and a disjointed customer experience.

There’s no doubt customers are increasingly using self-serve avenues to get the answers to their pressing questions. From looking up answers online on a FAQ page to chatting with a company chatbot, customers are becoming more adept at finding answers quickly. However, when they pick up the phone to call a business, it’s usually because they need a more personalized, immediate response—one that a website or chatbot simply can’t provide.

It’s an all too familiar scenario: a new employee shows up for work and is thrown into “on the job training” from day one without any foundational formal training for their role. However, instead of efficiently learning on the fly, many employees find themselves fumbling through the day, providing incorrect information to customers, and feeling the frustration of both guests and coworkers. Eventually the stress of the shift becomes too much to bear and the employee quits within a few short months—not because they dislike the job, but because they were never set up for success. 

After standing in a long line, a customer finally steps up to the counter, arms full of items. Before they can even begin unloading their purchase, the cashier smiles warmly and says, "Welcome! I see you’ve got quite the haul—let’s get you checked out quickly." Within moments, the transaction is complete and the cashier even takes a moment to double-bag heavier items. They send the customer off with an intentional and warm “Have a great day!” 

What’s one of the most challenging things about managing your team? Being prepared for the unexpected. No matter how well your business operates, your team will inevitably and unexpectedly face difficult customers. 

Consistency is the backbone of a successful franchise. Whether your guests are shopping for essentials, enjoying a service you provide, or checking in for an experience, they expect the same high-quality no matter which location they visit. For franchise owners and operators, ensuring this uniformity isn’t just about meeting expectations—it’s about building trust, protecting your brand reputation, and driving customer loyalty.

After traveling all day with their children, a pair of tired parents walk through the front doors to check into their hotel room. They’re greeted with a warm smile and a friendly, “Welcome! You’ve had a long day — let’s get you checked in and comfortable.” Within minutes, the front desk staff has not only expedited their check-in but has also shared a list of nearby kid-friendly restaurants and even arranged for extra pillows to be delivered to their room, pronto.

Training employees across multiple franchise locations can feel like trying to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle. You have the near-impossible job of balancing consistent service and quality performance, while getting every team member gets up to speed — all without dropping one of those flaming torches. 

You walk into the hotel lobby and are immediately greeted with a smile, an offer of water, and a friendly lookup of your reservation by the hotel concierge. After traveling all day, you’re ready to kick your feet up and relax. The hotel concierge checks you in without a hitch and you’re off to your hotel room in no time. What you don’t see behind the scenes? The concierge juggling hotel reservation mix-ups. Housekeeping ensuring your room is in tip-top shape. And the bellhop transporting your bags up to your room so they arrive there before you do.

Believe it or not, the number of Gen Z workers is slated to surpass the Baby Boomer workforce this year! Both generations include around 17 million workers in the U.S. workforce, with Gen Z workers on the rise. How exactly does that impact the restaurant industry? As more Gen Zers begin to — or continue to — work in restaurants, managers and leaders need to know how best hire and train this cohort of employees to keep them engaged, motivated, and performing their best day-in and day-out. 

Picture this: you walk into your favorite restaurant chain, craving that mouthwatering dish you've been dreaming about all day. But as soon as you walk in, you notice that something doesn’t feel quite right. The service is sluggish, the dish tastes different, and you can't help but feel a tad disappointed. 

We’re excited to announce that ExpandShare now partners with Push Operations, the all-in-one restaurant workforce management software. Together, our partnership will provide restaurant owners and operators seamless ability to hire, pay, and train restaurant staff in one seamless integration.

It’s no secret that restaurant turnover can be notoriously high. In fact, turnover within the restaurant industry recently rose to an all-time high of 75%, according to The Restaurant Industry Snapshot by Push Operations. In addition to staff turnover, restaurant operators face other pressing labor issues: in 2022, the majority of restaurant operators reported their locations were understaffed by five positions on average.

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