K-SALT

Earlier we learned about what K-SALT is and how each trainer should embody each characteristic in order to be a successful trainer. This section will dive deeper into each characteristic so you can become the best trainer you could possibly be.

Speed & Accuracy

Speed and Accuracy goes hand in hand. One is not more important than the other. You need both to be successful. To put this in perspective, lets put this into numbers. 

Let's say our order accuracy score is a 98%. That's great right? That is considered an A, a passing score, but that means 2 out of 100 people get something wrong with their order. We serve at around 1500 people on average per day. That means we serve over 45,000 guests a month. If our order accuracy is only 98%, that means 900 people out of 45,000 got their order wrong and left our store disappointed. That is A LOT of people. Have you ever been to another drive through and left with your order wrong is some way? Maybe they forgot something as small as your sauce, or maybe even something as big as your entree was made wrong. How did that make you feel? You paid for something, expected to get it, but didn't. Chick-fil-A has a reputation of being accurate, and we want to uphold that! We don't want to loose their trust. 

As a Trainer, it is important to teach our team how to be both fast AND accurate. When you are training, focus on teaching how to be accurate. Speed will come with time and experience, but accuracy is a learned skill.

Leadership

Being a Trainer means that what you do sets the tone for others and how you train creates our team- their performance level, their attitude, and our culture. You are an influential and important leader. How can you demonstrate leadership as a trainer?

• Have integrity. Do the right thing all the time, even if no one is watching. We want to be an example.

• Take responsibility for your actions, even if when you are at fault.

• Demonstrate professionalism. As a trainer, you should be the last to be out of uniform, show up late, or have inappropriate conversations.

• Have a growth mindset for yourself and others. You have the ability to see the potential in others and unlock it. Look for the coaching moments. The same is true for yourself. Remember, people are always growing, even you. Create a nourishing environment for people to flourish.

• Use your voice. Speak up when you see something wrong. If someone is doing something incorrect, correct it right then. If you don't or wait too long, you are reinforcing the bad behavior.

Training Skills

To be an effective trainer, you need to have training skills. Remember, you need to spend every minute with a Trainee training, which means constant quizzing, spot training, providing feedback, etc. 

Sinking to Drown VS. Sinking to Float- When to step in as a Trainer

When it is a Team Member's first time on a station, it can be difficult to hold it down.At times, they may struggle with keeping pace and that's okay! When this happens, don't get frustrated with them, and remember it takes time for a new hire to get food at it. One skill you need to learn is when to step in and when to let your trainee continue on their own.

You need to be able to distinguish the difference between sinking to drown and sinking to float. Sinking to float means there is stress and pressure and your trainee is learning from it. When this happens, the last thing you want it to take over because this will take away from their opportunity to flourish and get practice time. Once that trainee is on their own, they will need to learn how to handle both the slow times and the rush. This is the perfect time to encourage the trainee to reinforce that what they are doing is good! On the opposite is sinking to drown, which means it is time to step in.  It is important to be kind and respectful when stepping in to not make the trainee feel incapable or dumb. When you take over, say things like "You're doing great, but I'm going to help you catch up for a bit." If you see your trainee visibly upset or stressed, overwhelmed, making mistakes and missing details, it is time to throw them a life vest and help them from sinking!

How to avoid: "I taught my trainee that! They just didn't remember/weren't listening!"

It is easy to assume a trainee was not listening or doesn't remember what they were taught when they make or tells you they don't know how to do something. We want to train a certain way to avoid this from happening. Rather than putting the blame on the Team Member, reflect on yourself. Was the Trainer actively coaching, quizzing, and engaging the trainee throughout the training shifts? It is a lot of information to pick up in a matter of weeks, and we want to make sure they understand each process thoroughly. How can we ensure the trainee remembers everything they learned during training?

• Practice makes perfect! By repeatedly doing something over and over, it helps with mastery. Demonstrate, Imitate, and Repeat.

• Be engaging. If you believe they aren't paying attention, try teaching it in a different way.

• Try again later. There will be times when they just don't get it, and that's okay! Make sure to let the next trainer know where they need to improve and revisit it next time. 

Three Step Training Method

The three step training method is a way to train something new. Each step will help the Team Member retain what they are learning by seeing and doing.

Demonstrate: to show or express through one's actions.

Imitate: to copy or follow as a model.

Repeat: to do again.

If we are showing a Team Member how to make a beverage, we want to demonstrate to them the proper cup size, to the proper ice level, and marking the dimples on the lid. They will imitate the action by making the next drink, and then repeat. Repeat can be interpreted in a few different ways: the Team Member does the action multiple times, they now show someone else how to do it, and then you show them something new or add a new element to it.

The Sandwich Method

The sandwich method, Compliment/Area of Opportunity/Compliment, is used as a way to correct a behavior. When delivering the sandwich method, we want to make sure both the compliment and the opportunity are specific. It is easy to point out what is wrong, but we want to point out the good as well. 

An example of using the sandwich method wrong: "You are doing great, but please make sure to read back orders because we are having a lot of issues with accuracy."

This is good because it states what the poor behavior is and why it is important, but this can leave the Team Member feeling like they did a bad job. When delivering feedback, it needs to be constructive and not deconstructive. We want to build them up and help them grow, not tear them now.

An example of using the sandwich method properly: "Great job on pulling up cars, but please make sure we are reading back orders as this helps with order accuracy. Thank you for using names on each order."

This not only points out what needs to be improved, but also points out on what they did well on.