How to Onboard Employees in the Restaurant and Hospitality Industries

Your unique approach to the employee onboarding process shapes new hires’ perception of the organization. Prepare ahead of time, by going over the list of tips below and you’ll succeed in onboarding new additions. Without further ado, here is a quick look at the best practices for onboarding new employees to your restaurant or other hospitality industry business.

1. Prepare ahead of time

Do not wait until your new hire’s first day of work to prepare for the onboarding process. Pre-board the employee with preparation for a seamless transition and you’ll reduce the learning curve while boosting the chances of retention.

2. Refine the welcoming process

It is often said that first impressions are the most important. Invest time and effort in perfecting your company’s welcoming process and you’ll make a positive first impression that proves indelible. You can enhance the welcoming process with an introductory package of work-related sundries, prepping the new addition’s workspace and guiding the new addition through meet-and-greets with fellow employees.

3. Take guidance from leaders

It is a mistake to place the entirety of the burden of the onboarding process on those at or near the bottom of your organization’s totem pole. New hires are more inclined to remain with an employer if they feel valued. Involve company leaders in the onboarding and training processes, making it clear that the most valued team members care about new hires. Even if senior leaders only spend a brief amount of time with new hires, their presence will help impart the organization’s cultural values and expected behaviors.

4. Utilize onboarding software

Interpersonal skills are essential to a reciprocal relationship yet denying the world has made a digital transition is to the detriment of every business in the hospitality sector. Recognize the fact that human personnel can only take the onboarding process so far and tap into the power of onboarding software. 

The best onboarding software makes it that much easier to process paperwork, orientate new additions, train them on the nuances of the workplace and streamline the transition process. Take your time when reviewing the different onboarding software options, reviewing the merits of each and selecting the one optimal for your unique hospitality business.

5. Ask questions of new hires!

There is a common misconception that employers have little to nothing to learn from new hires as there is an inherent power imbalance. However, in reality, employers in the hospitality industry have plenty to gain from picking the brains of new hires. In short, it is not the new addition who should ask all the questions. Pose verbal and written inquiries to new hires, asking them what they need to thrive and feel as though they are a part of the team, then proceed accordingly.

6. Encourage the development of a rapport

Trust between coworkers is essential to success on the individual and group levels. However, it takes time and effort to develop a rapport. Give your new hires an opportunity to bond with coworkers and they’ll be that much more likely to develop a mutually beneficial rapport. 

Arrange initial meetings between new hires and employees so they have an opportunity to socialize, ultimately laying a foundation of trust that expands with each passing day. Team-building activities, luncheons, pizza parties and other social activities bolster trust all the more.

7. Plan an onramp to actual work

Few hospitality industry employees are capable of making meaningful contributions on the first day of employment. Instead of asking new hires to start working right off the bat, give them an opportunity to learn the ropes and make contributions as time progresses. In short, it is in your interest as well as that of your new hires to plan an “onramp” that facilitates a seamless transition from the introductory phase to actual work. Gradually implement new information, tasks and responsibilities throughout the onboarding and training processes, allowing the employee to work his or her way up to more demanding work.

8. Implement diverse onboarding activities

Placing a new hire in a room or cubicle and forcing him or her to read through a training manual is not the best approach to onboarding. The best restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses plan diverse onboarding activities. Such activities should keep the new hire fully engaged with the learning process, hiking memory retention and paving a path toward meaningful contributions in the near future. Though reading through the employee manual and training materials is important, it is in both parties’ interest to weave in additional onboarding activities to maximize engagement. As an example, the following help new hires fully understand their role:

• Video tutorials
• Webinars
• Question and answer sessions
• Hands-on learning

9. Conduct a dialogue, not a monologue

New hires appreciate the opportunity to be heard. Invite feedback concerning the onboarding and training processes then implement that feedback into subsequent onboarding sessions. Resist the temptation to resort to authoritative monologues, and engage in constructive dialogues and the conversation will prove productive for both parties.

10. Digitize your onboarding process

Onboarding is that much more efficient when part of it is digitized. Though there is certainly value in face-to-face interactions between personnel and new hires, it is not cost-efficient to dedicate a large portion of employee workdays to onboarding new additions who aren’t yet invested in their newfound employment. The truth is some new hires will jump ship regardless of the efficacy of the onboarding process. However, if the onboarding process is at least partially digitized, it will appeal to those who favor visualized learning as opposed to human interaction.

An added bonus is the fact that digitizing some of the onboarding processes liberates your team to temporarily deviate from showing new hires the ropes to focusing on productive work. Provide new hires with digital and tangible copies of information for easy accessibility. A digital onboarding system automates this important transitory period, albeit only to a partial extent. Digital onboarding enhances the accuracy of the process and also maximizes its efficiency, ultimately providing more opportunities to personalize the experience through one-on-one or group interactions.