Restaurant trainers can make a difference in improving the operational efficiency of various dining establishments. They teach, coach, mentor and prepare management trainees for front line roles in restaurants. Restaurant trainers can work as in-house employees in restaurants or find jobs with professional training companies.

Doing the Work

Superior speaking and active listening skills are crucial to the effectiveness of restaurant trainers. They spend most of their time interacting with trainees, issuing verbal guidance to trainees and answering their questions. Restaurant trainers also require excellent leadership and interpersonal skills to organize, motivate and develop positive relationships with trainees. Enthusiasm is also an asset to restaurant trainers. They must have a great interest in developing inspired restaurant workers.

Evaluating Training Needs

Like most training and development specialists, restaurant trainers assess a restaurant's performance to identify the training needs of its managers. They may review the job descriptions of the managers and interview chefs, food servers, waiters and other junior workers to gather their views of the restaurant's management. With this information, restaurant trainers are able to develop training programs that can help meet a restaurant's specific needs.

Delivering Training

Restaurant trainers instruct workers using suitable instruction techniques. For example, when a restaurant's supervisors lack adequate job knowledge, trainers may schedule classes and prepare training manuals on sanitation, nutrition, record-keeping and food preparation. When workers lack the skills, the trainers can demonstrate how to perform specific tasks, such as welcoming customers into the restaurant. Restaurant trainers also conduct on-the-job training programs to help new hires become familiar with a restaurant's operational procedures.

Getting There

Restaurant trainers are usually professionals with hands-on restaurant experience and an associate or bachelor’s degree in human resource management, hotel management or business administration. Vast job experience, professional certifications and advanced education are the best career advancement avenues for restaurant trainers. For example, some can qualify for training jobs in big hotels and resorts after gaining about five to 10 years of restaurant training experience. However, it is the restaurant trainers who earn a master’s degree in training and development and obtain relevant certifications from the International Society for Performance Improvement or American Society for Training and Development, who have the strongest prospects of becoming training and development managers or directors.