How to Train Your Staff to Use Restaurant Management Software Effectively

For a restaurant to be successful in today’s market, it requires more than just good food and good service. Restaurant management software is quickly becoming the cornerstone of successful operations. As you may know, restaurant management software can handle most aspects of your operations, including food supplier procurement, inventory management, customer relationships, and point of sale (POS) transactions. 

Nonetheless, no matter how powerful your management software may be, if your employees do not understand how to use it, it cannot be effective in helping you run your restaurant. Here’s your complete guide to training your staff on restaurant management systems.

Understanding the Importance of Proper Software Training

Restaurant management software can revolutionize how you do things, but only if your staff knows how to take advantage of the software applications it offers. Without proper training, staff will avoid using certain capabilities and become frustrated, and productivity will diminish. Studies have shown that restaurants with properly trained staff can see up to 25% operational efficiency improvement within three months of the deployment of the new software.

Once your staff has a full understanding of what the software can do, it will allow them to do what they do best—provide exceptional and memorable dining experiences for your customers.

Creating a Structured Training Program

Phase 1 - Laying the Foundation

Before getting into advanced features, start with the fundamentals. When building your training program, you will want the first experience with staff to be core navigational and introductory functionality:

· Navigation and User Interface Awareness

· General overview of the dashboard and menu setup

· Basic login in and security protocols 

Understanding the user roles and level of access

· Core Module Awareness

· Point of sale (POS) transaction functionality

· Basic order management

· Initial report

Phase 2 - Role-specific training

Team members require several different skill sets. Servers will need extensive POS training, while managers will need access to analytics features and inventory capabilities. Kitchen staff will primarily use order management methods and the kitchen display system in their training.

Front-of-House Training Concept Areas:

· Order entry and modification process

· Payment processing methods and process for splitting bills

· Table management and the reservations process

· Customer preferences tracking process

Back-of-House Training Concept Areas:

· Kitchen display system navigation

· Inventory tracking features and alerts

· Recipe management and costing features

· Supplier integrations features

Phase 3 - Advanced features and optimization

Once your team is comfortable with the basics, it is time to start introducing advanced features you can use to make everyone's life easier:

· Advanced reporting & analytics

· Integration with third-party delivery services

· Automated inventory reordering

· Customer relationship management tools

· Staff scheduling and payroll integration

Best Practices for Successfully Executing Training

Practical Learning Style

Simply showing up to deliver lectures will not develop competent users. Take the practical learning approach to your training, allowing staff to practice in a safe setting. Many providers of restaurant management software have demo environments for training purposes.

Create mock situations that reflect the realities staff will experience when using the system. These might include rush times, returns, or special dietary requests for a customer through the system.

Mentorship and Peer Learning

Establish a mentorship system whereby you, or other experienced staff, pair new employees with existing staff. This not only helps to reinforce learning but also creates synergy between the team. Your staff who are most technologically minded become internal champions, and the same goes for helping others troubleshoot issues or discover features.

Regularly Scheduled Reminders

Both technology and software are constantly evolving, with new functions added to the systems. Set aside a time each month for a refresher session to introduce updates and fix common problems staff encounter concerning best practices your staff discover.

Inspiring Common Obstacles When Training Employees

If staff members are resistant to new technology, you can overcome those objections by:

· Show how this software makes their job easier.

· Be patient and non-judgmental in helping.

· Celebrate their little wins or improvements.

· Allow for different paces for their comfort.

· Training While Busy

You do not have to break your operations just to train. Consider the following:

· Use slow times for some intense training block sessions.

· Implement gradual rollout by department.

· Have quick reference guides when it is busy.

· Have video tutorials for self-paced training when it is slow

Assessing Training Effectiveness and ROI

Make sure you are getting a return on your training effort by monitoring the following key performance indicators (KPIs):

· Order accuracy levels

· Transaction time (Average)

· Customer satisfaction (NPS)

· Staff confidence levels with the software

· Manual error and corrections

Before each follow-up training session, get feedback from your team so you can identify areas for additional training and, if needed, fine-tune your approach.

Keeping Up with Software Updates

There are constant updates and enhancements issued by restaurant management software companies. Establish a routine where you will update or include these developments in your training program. Subscribe to the newsletter on the company's website, allow notifications for the webinars, and utilize the support.

Transform Your Restaurant Operations Today

When it comes to training your employees on restaurant management software, it's not only about technology; it's about training your employees to better serve their customers while operating at their most efficient level. 

If you're ready to take your restaurant operations to the next level, check out the leading restaurant management software systems used by successful companies.

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Don't let a lack of training hold your restaurant accountable for unacceptable standards. Please feel free to reach out to our experts today regarding how the right software and approach to training can positively change your business for the better!