Barista Magazine

DEC 2012-JAN 2013

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Gu ara n t e e d R e t u rn s Invest in t ra in i n g y o u r s ta ff to se e expo nent ia l re w a r d s By Tracy Allen I RECENTLY HEARD ABOUT a casual conversation between two baristas that, though not particularly surprising, got me thinking: The pair were discussing how their boss doesn't think training is a good investment because baristas can just take that training and leave—and go to work for a competitor. Of course, this coffeehouse owner surely provides some training. But he or she might not offer continuing development beyond making coffee and counting change. Despite the costs involved in training, not doing it is even more costly. You'll quickly end up with a staff of bored, restless underperformers—a far worse fate than really training someone on the finer points of coffee, even if there's a chance they'll eventually quit and take their skills somewhere else. Benjamin Franklin may have said it best: "An investment in education always pays the highest returns." (Fittingly, Franklin's face appears on the $100 bill.) Academic studies and profit-and-loss statements show that companies reap substantial benefits from investing in training their employees. Tr ain ing imp rov e s e mp lo yee pr odu cti vi ty —in ev e ry way im ag ina ble . Quality, speed, safety, attitude, problem solving, ethics, motivation, leadership, and communication: All of these things improve with training. Performance problems arise when employees 1) don't know what they're supposed to do, 2) don't know how to do it, and/or 3) don't know why they should do it. Tr ain ing imp rov e s c u st omer s ati sf act ion . Good work creates good coffee and service, resulting in happier customers. Tr ain ing inc rea se s yo u r prof i ts. With your staff 's aforementioned speed, problem solving, attitude, etc., and the resulting happy customers, your labor costs will go down, while your customer base will be more likely to grow. Hence, profits will increase. In her book Profiting From Learning: Do Firms' Investments in Education and Training Pay Off?, Laurie J. Bassi says companies that invest $1,500 per employee in training compared with those that spend only $125 experience an average of 24  percent  higher gross profit margins and 218  percent  higher revenue per employee. More than twice the revenue from each employee? That is a serious payoff, people. If $1,500 seems like a lot, consider the cost of your own hourly time put into training, plus that of a senior barista showing a newbie the ropes. Looking at it that way, the $1,500 can mean little more than a week in labor costs. Tr ain ing imp rov e s e mp lo yee s ati sf act ion and re ten ti on. A big reason for turnover is boredom. You might think that once employees are trained, they will be more likely to leave your business for other opportunities. But in reality, a well-trained staff is happier and more likely to stay put because training improves self-esteem, which in turn improves morale and employer loyalty. 70 barista magazine

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