Image Source: mobile-cuisine.com
Sadly, many food truck owners limit staff training to cashiering, cooking, and taking inventory. There is so much more to running a food truck successfully and unless you have staff you can count on to take on some of the work, you could end up over-fatigued, over-stressed, and possibly extremely cranky. Also, you are not maximizing the money you pay to your staff if you refuse to let them take over most of the work load.
The first tip on staff training is to hire people who have experience in:
- Working in a food truck
- Sales
- Handling money
- Inventory management
- Frontline service
They don’t have to have all these but they should have experience in at least one area. This will ease the burden of training. However, not everyone who says he or she is experienced automatically means that they have been trained properly. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to hire an applicant for a day to see how he or she works and gets along with the others. If this isn’t possible, then hire them as a temporary on probation.
The second tip is to make sure you are organized before you start training anyone. This refers not just to the kitchen and operations but also with a training manual with FAQ , confidentiality clauses, expectations, and rules.
Tip number three is to never take anything for granted. You may assume an employee would know how to greet customers and take orders but you would be wrong not to check them and correct the errors. Your training manual should have explicit instructions on simple tasks like greeting, order taking, giving the change and receipt, serving, packaging, handling complaints, explaining menu items, FIFO (First-In-First-Out), and cleanliness.
A good tip is to shadow your employees after you ask them to shadow your movements. They should be able to mimic your business style instead of trying to enforce their own personality in your business.
Finally, be patient during training but be strict and demanding once training is over. Be ready to answer their questions because a trainee employee that is openly asking questions shows signs of wanting the job and a willingness to learn.
