For restaurants already dealing with millennials in the workforce, you understand how tricky it can be to effectively communicate and train them. And it makes sense. Millennials—the generation of people born between 1980 and 2000—have developed into a group known for many things: impatience, technological savviness, optimism, entitlement, and more.

One of the hardest pills to swallow may be millennials’ reluctance to stay put at a job. According to a recent study by RecruitiFi, they found that millennials have a very different way of approaching their careers than previous generations:

• 86% are not turned off by the idea of job hopping in order to pursue different career opportunities.
• 53% have held at least three or more jobs over the course of their career.
• 20% have plans to leave their current job after one or two years.

For an industry that already has a large employee turnover rate, the last thing you want to hear is that the (upcoming) majority of your workforce is so flippant about job hopping.

“The millennial generation continues to be at the forefront of every recruiting and hiring discussion. By taking a deep dive into the key drivers behind millennials’ career decisions… organizations must evolve to adopt more strategic approaches to HR and talent management.” – Brin McCagg, CEO and Co-founder of RecruitiFi

Millennials in the Restaurant Workforce

There is no doubt that millennials are changing the way restaurants look, whether they come in the form of your customer or your employee. However, there is a lot known about what they do and do not like, so it’s simply a matter of adjusting your business models and processes to better align with their expectations.

The first place to start (at least as it pertains to your workforce): An online training software.

Millennials love their technology. Chances are, you probably hired them off of an online job application. If you continue to give them the technology solutions they crave, you’ll have a better chance at holding onto them in the long-run.

It is important to remember that the learning process is different for everyone, so investing in a digital training solution isn’t just a smart investment for millennial employees, but also for a diverse workforce. With an online training software, you get the added benefits of:

• Mobility: Employees can take required training when they’re ready and from whichever device they are most comfortable using.
• Self-control: For those who prefer to do things at their own pace or who prefer to teach themselves, digital software gives them the option.
• Creativity: Training no longer needs to be relegated to reading pages of menu descriptions and ingredients or to watching outdated videos. Online training modules allow you to incorporate interesting and interactive visuals (photos of your menu, educational infographics, gamification, training clips, etc.) into the learning process.
• Consistency: For management, it’s important that all team members across all locations receive and complete the same training, which can be achieved through a digital training software.
• Education: While the move to an online training platform is important for better connecting with and training a millennial workforce, the digital training management system you use on the backend is important for you as well—for creating a consistent training plan, for monitoring team progress, and for learning about what’s working, what’s not, and what you can do differently.

Regardless of what your workforce looks like now, millennials are coming to your restaurant soon enough. Nothing can ever completely replace the value of hands-on, in-person training with your veteran staff, but getting your restaurant set up with the proper technology solutions to support it now will keep your business moving in the right direction.

The Better Chains Learning Center platform was developed to help you do just that—for your entire workforce. If you’re ready to get your training program in tip-top shape, let’s talk.