Most restaurant owners believe they have a training problem.
New hires take too long to get up to speed. Standards slip after a few weeks. One shift performs well, another completely unravels. Mistakes repeat, even after they’ve been corrected.
So training gets repeated. Meetings are called. Instructions are restated.
And yet, nothing really changes.
That’s because training is being asked to do a job it cannot do on its own.
Training Is an Event. Performance Is a System. Training is temporary. Systems are permanent.
A training session happens once. A system operates every day.
Most kitchens rely on onboarding moments to carry weeks or months of performance. They expect people to remember details under pressure, fatigue, and distraction.
That expectation is unrealistic.
When performance depends on memory, it will always decay.
The Real Role of Onboarding Onboarding is not meant to create consistency. It is meant to introduce expectations.
Consistency only comes from what people interact with repeatedly.
Think about how new staff actually learn after day one:
They copy whoever is next to them They adjust based on speed, not accuracy They follow what gets corrected and ignore what doesn’t They optimize for survival during service
If the system does not reinforce the training, the training disappears.
This is why two people trained the same way can perform completely differently within a week.
Where Training Quietly Breaks Down Training usually fails in predictable places. Most kitchens just don’t label them.
1. Instructions Live in People’s Heads “They should know this.” “I already explained that.” “It’s common sense.”
These phrases are signals, not solutions.
If a process is not written, visible, and referenced, it does not exist. It exists only as an assumption.
And assumptions do not scale.
2. Standards Are Interpreted, Not Defined When standards are vague, people fill in the gaps themselves.
What does “clean” actually mean? What does “ready for service” look like? What does “properly prepped” include?
If two people can do the same task differently and both believe they are right, the system is missing.
Training cannot fix ambiguity. Only definition can.
3. There Is No Feedback Loop Most kitchens train forward, but never loop back.
Tasks are completed, but not verified. Checks are done, but not reviewed. Mistakes are corrected verbally, but not prevented structurally.
Without feedback, people default to whatever is fastest and least resisted.
This is not a motivation issue. It is a design issue.
Why Consistency Cannot Be Taught Once Consistency is not a skill. It is an environment.
You do not get consistency by telling people to “be more consistent.” You get it by removing variation from the process.
That means:
The same task is done the same way The same checks happen at the same time The same standards are visible every shift The same expectations apply, regardless of who is on duty
Training introduces the system. The system enforces the behaviour.
Repeatability Is the Real Goal Most owners say they want better training. What they actually want is repeatable outcomes.
Repeatability only exists when:
Tasks are documented Steps are sequenced Accountability is built in Visibility exists without supervision
When systems are strong, training becomes easier, shorter, and less emotional.
New hires do not need to “figure it out.” They follow what already exists.
The Owner Dependency Trap Here is the uncomfortable part.
If your kitchen runs well only when you are present, you do not have a training problem.
You have a system gap.
Your presence is currently acting as the system:
You notice what others miss You correct what drifts You reinforce standards informally
That works. Until you step away.
Systems replace presence. Training alone never will.
The Shift in Thinking That Changes Everything Stop asking: “Have we trained them?”
Start asking: “What makes the right action the easiest action?”
When systems are visible, simple, and enforced, behaviour follows without reminders.
That is when training finally sticks.
A Question Worth Sitting With If a new hire started tomorrow and followed your systems exactly as written, would they succeed without constant correction?
If the answer is no, training is not the problem.
Systems are.