Employee Management: POS Checklist for Your New Hire

When hiring new staff, advertising and selection are only half the battle. Your restaurant's stellar reputation for customer service depends on effective staff training. How are you using your point-of-sale system to train and prepare your new employees?

The Right Setup Saves Time Later

Step one begins even before your new hire steps into the building for their first shift: set up their account in your POS system:

1. Set up the system with the employee’s department(s) to define access permissions.
2. Add the employee’s assigned job(s) and pay rate.
3. Flag the employee’s availability for certain days and shifts to simplify scheduling.

With your new employee set up in the system, you are ready for them to arrive!

Train in a Sandbox

After some basic order entry training, let your new hire use the POS system’s training mode to work through common scenarios—and some more unusual variations to avoid common tech troubles. Rather than waiting for an odd order to present itself and inconvenience your customer with a delay, walk new hires through a wide variety of orders (and order changes) in training mode.

Once your new employee is confident in training mode, pair him with a skilled co-worker or supervisor for a day or two for extra backup while making live sales.

Automate Service Cues to Speed up Training

Review your menu in the POS. Is it set up to make it easy for new hires to remember every step of the order process? Guided order entry, automated meal deals, “auto-discover” coupons, and scripted upselling prompts all combine to reduce errors, while increasing sales and service levels. Automate these prompts to ensure even your newest employee is asking the right questions.

Track Training Progress and Certifications

How do you ensure that your new hire maintains their Food Handler certification? Use the POS system’s skills and credential tracking system to document employee training and certifications. This is a critical step to avoid fines, penalties, and limit your liability risk. It can also provide helpful documentation for managing skill-based compensation plans.

Steps for Delivery Drivers

Set up the POS delivery system to track each new driver’s license and insurance expiration dates. With SpeedLine POS, for instance, drivers cannot clock in without a manager’s override if their license or insurance has expired. New drivers need time to learn the most efficient routes, but that doesn’t mean your delivery times should suffer. Train new drivers to use the routes calculated by your POS and mapping software. SpeedLine LiveMaps user? Send routes directly to your drivers’ phones, and even your newest staff won’t get lost.

Don’t just show your employees how to use your POS: take advantage of its controls and capabilities to give your new hire effective, hands-on training while promoting teamwork.

Want to learn more about how to implement a successful onboarding plan that promotes long-term employment? Read How to Reduce Employee Turnover in Your Restaurant.