Training is a crucial component of success in the hospitality industry. Greg Gorgone, co-founder and president of Pineapple Academy Inc., discusses how training supports operators facing labor shortages, a competitive labor force and the need to keep operating budgets under control.
Q: What is the biggest challenge when setting up an operator for success with training programs?
A: The biggest training challenge we tackle for operators, in partnership with their company’s leadership, development, human resources and operations teams, boils down to accessibility. Plenty of organizations already make the human resources and onboarding training available, but we’ve found that there’s a significant dissonance between the training that operators need to perform their job-related tasks and the medium and consistency by which the training is delivered.
To bridge that gap we collaborate with content creators to produce short-form, video-based training material designed to be consumed in the moment it’s needed. That way, operators can access on-demand training for whatever content they need and trust that the training will be consistent and clear. We have also built in captions and live translations to reduce as many barriers of entry as possible. Successful comprehension is a matter of timeliness, relevance and clarity. We’re trying to address these challenges for frontline staff members so they can become proficient and add value without feeling excluded or intimidated.
Q: What obstacles may get in the way to success?
A: The most frequent stumbling point in successful training programs is the tension between instant gratification and sustainable implementation and adoption. We love moving fast, and pride ourselves on our ability to do so, but what stands in the way of successful training implementation is a lack of scalability, glazing over little details that tend to be the most critical.
Q: How is technology playing a role in successful training outcomes?
A: It’s no secret that video content, particularly short-form videos, is one of the most engaging types of media today. With the rise of TikTok and Instagram Reels, this format has exploded in popularity and, interestingly, the audience driving this trend overlaps heavily with the demographic entering the workforce in recent years. So we explored video as a solution. When people can see training information in motion, interact with it and experience it in a more dynamic, visual way, their what they need to know, moving and being understanding deepens far more than it would from reading through documents. We also leverage QR codes to provide quick access to training materials in the exact context of when it’s needed. After COVID, the world became much more comfortable with using QR codes for things like scanning menus at restaurants, allowing a new era of technical fluency for on-demand availability for digital content. With our solution, Time of Need training, we help strategically place QR codes near or on the areas they address. For example, “How to clean this deli-slicer” is placed on or right next to the equipment. This blend of video and convenience significantly improves the accessibility of training.
