subject: Training vs Education [print this page] Training vs Education Training vs Education
Lots of people do not understand the difference between education and training. Education is giving out information and communicating to your trainees. Training is all about practice and building skills. Today's younger generation of employees really wants to learn, not educated.
Issue is, if we do not educate them before we train them, it might lead to problems. Think about the way you learned they are driving. You need knowledge of the laws and so the actual training of having behind the wheel. Same can probably be said for researching the birds and also the bees--if the training part isn't done effectively, the training could lead to undesirable results!
Mark Flores, director of ops for Chuck E. Cheese's, uses the macaroni-and-cheese example to show the main difference. Most people have made mac & cheese lots of times in our lives, but when we don't follow the instructions exactly, we may get macaroni soup, crunchy macaroni, or another type other than what we intended. So how do we deliver education and training to ensure consistency?
Manuals. Boooooooooring! We do need documentation, but make it fun! Include tons of photos and minimal text therefore it is more of a comic book strip look. Individuals are more prone to remember what they see versus what they read, so retention of information is better. Additionally, it's simpler to result in other languages.
Videos. Much better than reading for most employees, but they need to be short segments (3--5 minutes maximum) with a lot of visual image changes. Our employees today are used to watching CNN with talking video, a crawler message along the bottom, and the weather forecast about the side--all while having four online chats with their friends. Long, drawn-out videos lose their attention quickly. Watch a segment and go practice what you learn. You can view the next segment next.
Online. Golden Corral, White Castle, Sea Island Shrimp House, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chuck E. Cheese's are using or testing e-learning. Since it is self-paced, it is going at the speed from the learner. Be careful: As we have seen with e-books, it's not too comfortable to read a book on the PC, so keep the text low. Review questions can be built-in like a checkpoint for that learner to succeed to the next section. Great way to replace video and print, but it is still not "training."
Tests. All of us hate tests! To make sure consistency in tests, keep them simple and visual (use as numerous pictures as you possibly can), and use multiple-choice, ordering, or true-false format to make sure consistency in grading. The majority of our employees no more take fill-in-the-blank or essay tests. Ensure they've the basics down. Do all of your trainers actually grade tests exactly the same way?
All of the above types of "training" are really just education, yet most managers think it's training. We didn't get our driver's license after reading it, watching the video, and passing a test--we had to demonstrate our skills to the authorities before we received permission they are driving. Education may be the necessary evil that has to come first, though.
Do we follow the same format with this employees? Many companies do not--we just memorize a bunch of useless information the guest cares little about after which we're ready. You need to be validated on the skills it requires for the job and re-validated periodically in the future. Understanding the job and doing the job are two entirely different things--and the guest notices.
Skill Validation
Having the new employee demonstrate skills for any manager teaches you two things: how good the trainer was, which the worker can perform the functions of the job. We all may think we have exactly the same definition of "greet the guest" or "suggestive sell," however when we have seen our employees for action, we discover it's all regulated overall. If we do not coach them through the skill, they will function the things they see at other restaurants (which frequently isn't good). Conduct these validations every 90--180 days to maintain standards top of mind.
People train people. Simply because someone is a good employee does not mean they'll be a good trainer. The proper tools to educate can help, however the payoff is incorporated in the trainer demonstrating, coaching, and validating the ability of a brand new employee. To illustrate this time for your team, ask your trainers to coach yourself on how to tie your shoes or placed on a shirt. Behave like you realize nothing about it. Point being, it is a simple task we are able to all do in our sleep--like ringing up orders or making burgers--but it's incredibly hard to train another person how you can get it done.
