Barista Magazine

DEC 2012-JAN 2013

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Ju st d on 't t hr ow th e m t o th e wo lve s. New employees are naturally nervous and can feel overwhelmed. Encourage and empower them by scheduling their training during slow or off hours, and have them shadow experienced baristas for a few days. If you throw them into the mix too quickly, their lack of confidence will reflect on you and your business. D on' t s t op w i t h t h e b a si c s . While solid training increases staff retention, continued training can help ensure it. If employees aren't learning, they aren't growing or engaged. A Louis Harris & Associates poll reports that among employees with few training opportunities, 41  percent  planned to leave within a year, whereas of those who considered their training opportunities to be excellent, only 12  percent  planned to leave. Training even ranks higher in terms of importance than salary in some polls. Continued training will not only keep employees engaged, it will improve your competitive edge. Beyond making coffee, cleaning duties, and manning the POS system, it's important to create an environment where learning is a primary objective and career development is a priority. To instill this in your culture is to cultivate creativity and productivity. Train to brush up on skills and develop new ones, and to keep up on innovations and trends. Take advantage of webinars, classes, books, podcasts, etc., and always push product knowledge. In a field like specialty coffee, this should be never ending. The more your employees know about the coffees you serve and why, the more confidence they'll have in establishing relationships with your customers, and the better they'll represent your brand. A sk yo u r e mp lo y e e s wh at t he y w a n t. Talk with each employee, and help him or her set goals that he or she finds meaningful and reachable. It's also important to make the results measurable: It could be calibrating the grinder in one or two touches of the dial, remembering customers' names, taking charge of inventory, training new hires, or bringing their eye and skills to decor. C ross-t ra i ni ng s h o u ld be a g ive n . When everyone can open and close the shop, your talent pool will remain broad enough that filling shifts when someone is sick or on vacation is no sweat. It also helps you create appreciation and cooperation among Illustration by Eleanor Davis Yo u m i g h t t h i n k t h a t o n c e e m p l o y e e s are trained, they will be more likely to leave your business for other o p p o r t u n i t i e s . B u t i n r e a l i t y, a w e l l trained staff is happier and more likely to stay put because training improves self-esteem, which in turn improves m o r a l e a n d e m p l o y e r l o y a l t y. coworkers, reminding them that they can and should rely on each other. E n g ag e th em in y o ur g oa ls . Giving employees context for their work can be motivating, and help them feel they're making a difference. Tell them about your business goals, and help them develop individual goals that align with your vision. It will increase their performance and get them more vested in your operation. R e a d up on trai ni ng. There are plenty of great learning materials to help you train a talented staff. You might want to build a small library of books, magazines, and DVDs for you or your designated trainer(s) that offers manuals, supplemental materials, and ideas for workshops. Store these resources in a central place, and encourage employees to add to them and check out items to read on their own. Remember, your success is largely dependent on how well your employees do their jobs. Invest in your employees and reap the rewards of a well-trained and highly motivated staff. If you give them the opportunity to enhance their skills with training, they'll be more likely to stick around, they'll reflect well on your brand, be more likely to work toward your vision, and your business will have a better chance to grow. www.baristamagazine.com 71

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