With the country continuing to open back up after lengthy COVID shutdowns, many industries have found themselves needing to adapt to this new post-COVID era. Offices have enacted precautions including social distancing and limited social interactions to prevent the spread of COVID. However, even as restaurants have opened back up, restaurant owners have found it difficult to find staff. Restaurant employees have left the industry in droves, in part due to inadequate COVID precautions in the workplace. Without secure precautions to ensure the safety of restaurant employees, it will continue to be difficult for restaurant owners to find staff. In this regard, owners can improve training manuals for current and new employees to assure staff that correct precautions are being taken to assure safety in the workplace.
The CDC has recommended its own set of guidelines that the restaurant industry to prevent the spread of COVID. That includes employee hand washing, the use of masks, and using gloves during cleaning, disinfecting, and taking out the trash. Although CDC recommendations are not required by law, restaurant owners help create an environment of trust among their staff by updating training manuals. This ensures that these steps help maintain worker health and safety.
Although it can be a bit tedious to update and possibly completely rewrite training manuals, it is necessary as COVID continues to pose a threat to public safety. Hiring a technical writer to update training manuals for your restaurant can help save time and assure that quality and thorough documentation is produced.
The Need to Improve Restaurant Training Manuals
With poor safety precautions among the reasons many restaurant employees are quitting in high numbers, restaurant owners need to do what they can to help employees feel safe in the workplace. Owners must enforce safety precautions via training manuals. This ensures the protection of all staff. Additionally, a high turnover rate can prove to be quite costly for restaurant owners. High turnover rates mean increased costs in the process of hiring new staff. This includes screening potential employees, interviewing, and training. Training new staff can cut down on productivity and lead to poor service, especially when training materials are lacking.
Given that losing an employee costs about $5,000, it is in an owner’s best interest to invest in strategies that help retain their workforce, including improving training materials. As COVID safety concerns are of high importance to restaurant employees, restaurant training manuals must cover all procedures.
Restructuring Training Manuals in the COVID Era
Apart from the usual restaurant training manual section including job responsibilities and health guidelines, newer training manuals should include COVID procedures. Ideally, this section will include government hygiene standards in regards to COVID safety. Also, there are steps to take if a staff member is feeling unwell. Closing crews will also be in charge of disinfecting procedures and how to properly clean. Keeping employees informed on COVID safety procedures helps develop trust between owners and employees. This also helps maintain diners’ safety.
States have also imposed their recommendations and requirements when it comes to COVID safety in restaurants. For instance, in Arizona, restaurant owners must train employees on appropriate cleaning and disinfection procedures, hand hygiene, and respiratory etiquette. In California, employers must have a worksite-specific COVID-19 prevention plan. Employers train employees on this plan along with other COVID guidelines including social distancing and hygiene.
Not all states will have the same requirements for COVID safety procedures in restaurants. Restaurant owners must be aware of federal, state, and local requirements. However, it can be difficult to keep up with changing requirements as the status of the pandemic continues to change. COVID variants continue to be on the rise. Technical writers are a valuable asset in this regard as they can help to update training manuals to stay current on COVID safety guidelines and produce documentation that is accessible to all restaurant staff.
How EDC can help
As COVID continues to affect public health, restaurant owners need to ensure that they have adequate training manuals. Restaurant training manuals need to incorporate COVID precautions. This includes disinfecting procedures, COVID safety precautions, and steps to take if a staff member contracts COVID. This helps to create a level of trust between staff and employers; as well as helps customers feel secure that restaurants are safe. It can be difficult and time-consuming to completely revamp restaurant training manuals. Technical writers can help restaurant owners in rewriting training manuals so they thoroughly address COVID safety guidelines and precautions. EDC’s technical writers have decades of experience producing technical documentation including training manuals for financial services companies, software companies, and manufacturing companies. Additionally, they are well able to produce documentation that is accessible to all staff.
Whether you need a team of consultants to produce a complete line of documentation or a single technical writer for a brief project, Essential Data’s Engagement Manager will lead the project from start to finish. At Essential Data Corporation, the quality of our work is guaranteed. Contact us today to get started. (800) 221-0093 or sales@edc.us
Written by Diana Guerra