Staffing
5 training tips for restaurant employees
To combat high turnover and rising labor costs in the demanding hospitality industry, restaurants should view employee training as a core investment and adopt modern strategies like comprehensive onboarding, blended learning and continuous development to build a resilient and engaged workforce.
September 26, 2025 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
The rush of a dinner shift — the clatter of utensils, the sizzle from the kitchen, the constant, demanding dance between the front and back of the house — is an environment unlike any other. For a new restaurant employee, this high-pressure world can feel overwhelming, a trial by fire where every mistake can translate to a lost tip, a frustrated customer or a snag in the service chain. Yet, with the right training and preparation, that chaos can transform into a well-choreographed success. Whether you're a fresh-faced server hoping to master the menu or a kitchen newcomer aiming to hone your knife skills, adopting smart strategies from day one is the key to not just surviving, but thriving in the demanding, rewarding business of hospitality.
"When we talk to restaurant operators, I keep hearing the same thing, which is 'We're being squeezed in every direction,'" said Rachael Nemeth, CEO of Opus Training, in a phone interview. "Labor costs are up over the last five years, turnover is still hovering around 80% and everyone's trying to do more with less."
What Opus Training's team has learned working with hundreds of restaurant chains is that training isn't a cost that operators must absorb. "When it's done right, you can actually use to it make it your biggest opportunity to turn things around," Nemeth added.
Consider these five training tips in your restaurant:
Onboarding as a training tip
Beyond initial training, the key components of a positive and comprehensive onboarding experience can significantly reduce turnover and foster long-term loyalty among frontline hospitality workers, especially in high-paced environments like restaurants.
Tyler Afflixio, Beekeeper's senior account executive for Hospitality, said in an email interview that onboarding has the potential to be much more than a formality.
"It's an opportunity for new hires to train, become familiar with the company culture and feel like part of a team," Afflixio said. "When these initial experiences with a company are positive, employees are more likely to feel prepared for the role and stay with the company for a more extended period, which is especially important in high-turnover hospitality environments."
Restaurants should have an onboarding checking to help smooth experiences for new hires, Afflixio added. The most effective checklists outline the training plan, share all essential company information and policies, establish processes for clear communication and pair new employees with experienced mentors.
"Deploying a consistent, repeatable and team-culture-aligned onboarding strategy for each new employee is paramount for effectiveness," he said. "Ensuring that a peer, direct manager, store leader and HR leader are all included in applicable stages of the onboarding plan transforms the experience from an HR task to an integrated operational outcome. Feedback during the process is essential, as it ensures new hires have regular opportunities to share their experiences, ask questions and feel supported throughout their journey, ultimately driving long-term engagement."
Blended learning approach
Nemeth said to choose a blended learning approach when it comes to training tips. It will cut your training time in half if not more, she added.
Rather than doing all training in person or online, smart operators are mixing both, causing a 60% reduction in actual instruction time.
"What you see with blended learning is knowledge retention actually goes up," Nemeth said. For instance, if a new cashier has been onboarded, they'll watch a five-minute video on how to generate a return in Toast. They watch that in their downtime, and then they spend 15 minutes with a team lead learning that hands-on.
"That's way more effective than a 45-minute classroom session or watching a 45-minute video in the back office and it costs you a fraction of the manager time and labor time."
Since 98% of restaurant workers already have smart phones, the delivery method for training videos is already in their pockets.
Nemeth believes blended learning's sweet spot is a 70/20/10 model: 70% should be learning on the job, 20% should be from mentors and peers on the job and the remaining 10% should be digital or online training.
Experienced staff as trainers
Nemeth also believes restaurant leaders should turn experienced staff into trainers because it builds "bench strength." Operators should be developing trainers internally."
Structured peer-to-peer training programs do two things: they reduce the training burden on managers and they create clear advancement pathways that improve employment retention.
"When your experienced server is training a new hire, they're not just transferring knowledge. They're developing the leadership skills that they'll need when they get promoted to GM," Nemeth added.
Other benefits include cultural continuity and managers who already understand your operations.
And this training tip doesn't require a lot of money. Simply pairing an experienced staff member with a new hire can result in everyone becoming invested in each other's successes.
Continuous learning as a training tip
Nemeth believes continuous learning is the next level of training, which has to date been difficult for restaurant operators to deploy. With AI, restaurant operators will see rapid changes in that way of training.
"I think it's happening faster than most people realize," she said.
Training doesn't — or shouldn't — end after onboarding. Forward thinking operators are making it continuous and conversational.
"The thing that's really cool about AI is that it learns from every question, so it just keeps getting smarter about your business in this kind of private, isolated environment," Nemeth said.
Avoid burnout and maximize productivity with training
Given the fluctuating demands of the hospitality industry (busy periods vs. quieter off-seasons), real-time data can be leveraged to continuously refine and improve employee engagement and training strategies to minimize burnout and maximize productivity.
"Engagement shifts when there are changes to workloads, team dynamics and, especially in the hospitality industry, changes in season. The engagement efforts that keep teams excited and productive during busy periods will probably be less effective during off-seasons when workflow and team makeup look different," Afflixio said. "Real-time data from short surveys, analytics dashboards and AI sentiment analysis can track the efforts that are keeping employees engaged and adjust strategies as needed. Managers can make dynamic scheduling adjustments to ensure accurate shift staffing through changing demand periods, assign micro-learning lessons that enable employees to learn new skills during slow times and recognize workers who handle high-stress situations effectively."
Managers can better understand and address their teams' needs — even with varied schedules and locations — by maintaining continuous feedback and direct communication. When employees feel connected and heard, they are better able to thrive in a dynamic, fast-paced environment, whether through development, special projects or seasonal engagement opportunities.
In conclusion
The high-pressure world of restaurant service doesn't have to be a sink-or-swim trial for new hires. Viewing training not as a cost, but as a core investment is the key to conquering the industry's persistent challenges of high turnover and rising labor costs. By moving beyond traditional, one-time instruction and adopting modern strategies — such as comprehensive onboarding, a blended learning approach, leveraging experienced staff as internal trainers and committing to continuous learning — restaurants can build a resilient, engaged workforce. Ultimately, the future of successful hospitality is one where operators prioritize making staff feel connected and supported, using training to transform kitchen chaos into a well-choreographed dance of long-term loyalty and professional success.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living.
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