There’s not a day that goes by when I don’t think of Michael O’Grady. I can’t forget the creative ways he coached and mentored so many to new heights. In this series, Lesson’s Learned from the Magnificent Manager, I’ll share my insights, breakthroughs, tools, and techniques which honor Michael’s legacy of helping others grow and succeed.

Training is teaching people the knowledge and skills to be proficient at their jobs. Great training builds confidence, lowers stress, creates a sense of pride and purpose, improves morale, and develops valuable life skills. Training sells, too. It creates positive wordof-mouth advertising and attracts and retains the best. It’s a critical piece in building your company culture.

Yet, many restaurants are riddled with template training. Participants work from rehashed manuals that are mere shadows of the practices of companies they attempt to emulate. Manual-based training that’s high on lecture and written tests and low on skills practice sabotages success. Great training is not just completing a checklist of mundane tasks. It’s a series of well thought-out steps and strategies that let participants experience and fine-tune the skills necessary to achieve star performance.

“Your training practices are vital to individual, team and organizational success,” says Kathy Stewart, former training director of Great American Restaurants. Kathy, my training design expert, and I have put together 15 key practices to ensure success.

1 Be clear from the get go.
Begin the interview process by telling candidates anything that might surprise them about heir job. Perhaps you require uniforms be dry cleaned. Or, you might have to say, “Your biker goatee has to go. And guess what? The trainer gets to keep the tips.” Being clear upfront lowers stress and helps avoid unwanted surprises. It also prevents an employee from saying, “No one ever told me that.”

2 Schedule flexibility.
With hospitality lifers, scheduling should be easy. If, on the other hand, you have college students working for beer money or teachers needing extra cash, offer night and weekend classes. If orientation is conducted only once a week, you run the risk of someone missing the class. Ouch! Now you must deliver a one-on-one make-up. This isn’t the ‘60s when you had gobs of professional waitertypes pounding down your door.

3 Provide a first-class new-hire packet.
Start off on the good foot. In your welldesigned intro kit, describe everything a trainee needs to know for their first day: schedule and locations, that logoed designer shirt they need to buy, training pay, and a contact number.

4 Make orientation memorable.
With I-Pods, cell phones, and Blackberries, there’s lots of competition in the attention department. So, please, no boring lectures. Don’t just read your mission, vision, and values from the Power Point. Have attendees write down two ways to make your mission come alive. Show how the architecture, music, lighting, and artwork blend together to create a seamless branded experience. Jazz it up with icebreakers. Put on the video of your founding fathers breaking ground. Introduce and describe the personal side of your chef and GM. How about Q&A with two players from your A-Team?

5 Design with the end in mind.
List everything your trainees should know and do: upon hire, upon completion of training, after 30 days of completing training, within six months of completing training.

For example, upon hire your bartender should know the basic lingo—“up, on the rocks, and neat.” He should have the gift of gab and be able to charm a crowd. By the end, he should know all of your vodkas, from Belvedere to Chopin, be skilled in the art of the free pour, have a command of the POS, and work your smallest station solo. After 30 days, he can work that same tiny station with one arm behind his back. Within six months, he should not only have a crowd of raving fans, but also balance his bank to the nearest buck.

6 Start with exciting classroom sessions.
Before you send the troops out to train on the floor, set the stage with engaging classroom sessions. Mix and match your methods. Review menu descriptions while engaging the senses with “raw, prepped, final” food shows. Play the “name your greatest experience” game to spark a discussion about your service philosophy. Deliver a wine demystification class to teach the difference between Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Show videos. Role play your service game plan. Now, when your candidate hits the floor, your trainer won’t get hammered with a million questions.

8 Shadow two ways.
In most restaurants, the trainee passively follows a trainer around like a cocker spaniel with its tail between its legs. How can you have faith a trainee can do the job until he performs? Gradually move the new hire from shadowing a trainer to working a station solo while the trainer coaches and evaluates.

9 Test often and well.
After each session, debrief and test. This reinforces the importance of mastering each skill before moving on. And, while written tests are helpful, performance tests are better. Getting 100 percent on a written test is far inferior to having a trainee knock one out of the park with a verbal presentation of your NY Strip. Grade and give the results immediately. The best tests test people on what they do, not just what they know. At the end, have trainees pass a final exam by waiting on a manager from start to finish.

10 Let go when things don’t work out.
If someone isn’t cutting the mustard, let him go. Too many restaurants let underachievers stay, sending the message your standards aren’t all that important. Remember, it’s always better to let someone go who’s miscast. You’ll save thousands, and do your team, and your trainee, a favor.

11 Explain why.
Less and less we train those from the WW II or Baby Boomer generation who are eager, compliant, and rarely question. If you want buy-in from the Generation X and Y workforces, demonstrate what’s in it for them. Why fight it when they want to make their cash and bolt? Teach them how to consolidate and prioritize so they can be the first ones out. Plus, does this sound familiar? “Why do I have to take my tongue ring out? Why can’t I say, ‘Hey guys?’” Help them understand your policies are not designed to stifle their individuality—but to create a professional image that will benefit them.

12 Seek feedback often.
The single most powerful way to improve training is to have employees complete written evaluations. Ask hard questions. Was the training too fast or slow? The best part of the training was? The single worst thing about this class was? Preparing for a recent major presentation, I delivered two practice sessions with the tough question evaluation approach. The feedback helped me improve so much, I was rated #1 out of 45 presenters. You can stand the pain when the brutal truth brings great rewards.

13 Make sure managers participate.
Every manager needs to go through the entire training program of the employees they coach. They must perform as well, if not better, than their best employee. As a result, managers understand why and when performance slips and what to do about it. And, when you bring in an outside trainer, make manager attendance mandatory. Don’t accept the “I’ll be checking in from time to time cop out.” Managers must learn the techniques taught to keep the skills alive.

14 Reward your trainers.
There’s nothing worse than a trainer telling an employee how much he hates to train. In some restaurants, training is perceived as a burden or even as punishment. Ensure the trainer holds a desirable and enviable position. Offer enticing benefits and rewards. Pay them more per hour, have them write their own schedules, pick their own stations, and release them from side work. Don’t forget to thank them for helping your people and your company grow.

15 Make training an all-the-time thing.
Keep your staff sharp. The pre-shift is the perfect platform for ongoing learning. Create “one-a-day” training vitamins on various topics. As part of the curriculum, have everyone taste your newest Pinot Noir. Have your chef deliver a mini class on beef. Give verbal pop quizzes. My partner, Kathy, created a Masters program for Great American Restaurants. It included field trips to wineries and farmer’s markets, guest speakers and in-depth interactive classroom training. Though voluntary, it created a cadre of interested and passionate employees who spread the spirit. Talk to employees about their career paths. Discuss their skill sets and suggest areas to explore. Caring creates a dedicated and loyal team of believers who care about doing things the right way.

Bob Brown, president of Bob Brown Service Solutions, www.bobbrownss.com, pioneered Marriott’s Service Excellence Program and has worked with clients such as Disney, Hilton, Morton’s of Chicago, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster. He has appeared on the “Food Network” and “Hospitality Television” and is author of The Little Brown Book of Restaurant Success and The Big Brown Book of Managers’ Success.