Written by: Sam Caucci, Founder & CEO, 1Huddle
Ask any restaurant operator their number one problem and you’ll usually get the same answer.
Labor.
They’re right about the problem. They’re wrong about the cause.
Your people aren’t the problem. Your training is. Because most of it was built for a workforce that doesn’t exist anymore.
Meet Your New Workforce
The person running your floor tonight grew up with a phone in their hand. Restaurant workers are three times more likely than the overall U.S. workforce to be under 25, and 78% of Gen Z adults have worked in a restaurant. This is your talent pool.
And their attention doesn’t sit still. Research from UC Irvine found the average person now holds attention on a screen for about 47 seconds before switching. In 2004, it was two and a half minutes.
Now think about how you train them. A binder. A 20-minute video. A shadow shift. You’re asking a 47-second brain to sit through a 20-minute module. Then you’re surprised when nothing sticks.
LMS = Let Me Skip
Most restaurant training runs through a learning management system. I’m pretty sure LMS stands for Let Me Skip.
Here’s how it works. Watch it today. Click next. Pass the quiz. Forget it tomorrow.
That’s not a joke, it’s science. Data show people forget 70% of what they learn within just three days and within 30 days as much as 87% is gone.
You paid for the content, you paid for the hours, you paid your people to be on the clock, and a month later almost nothing is left.
Nobody ever sold a bottle of wine because they finished a module with the volume off. The LMS emerged as a tool to reduce risk, deploy safety training, and keep people in compliance. It was never built to drive sales, increase service scores or elevate performance.
And, make no doubt about it, the forgetting costs you. It costs you when a server fails to pitch the new LTO or when a bartender doesn’t upsell a guest. It costs you when the hostess freezes on an allergen question. It’s missed upsells. It’s one-star reviews. And, you need up back online with another job posting.
Better Training Sells
Here’s what most miss. Training isn’t an HR expense. It’s a sales strategy.
When people know more, they sell more. We’ve seen it at 1Huddle when we work with brands from WinStar World Casino and Resort to TAO Group to single-location restaurants. Apulia, a restaurant in Hoboken, New Jersey, saw its average check climb 31% within 60 days of launching 1Huddle and using some of the principles I will share as you continue reading.
Faster training means sharper teams which means bigger checks. Ready to find out how?
5 Rules for Training That Elevates Performance
I started my career in sports performance, preparing pro athletes. Nobody ever got faster by watching a video about sprinting. They got faster through reps. Short. Hard. Repeated. Measured.
Your team learns the same way. Here are the five rules the best operators follow when transforming training into a performance elevating activity.
Rule #1: Make it short.
Sixty seconds on a phone beats sixty minutes in the back office. If your people live in 47-second windows, train in 60-second reps. Meet them where their attention already is, instead of fighting where you wish it was.
Rule #2: Make it continuous.
One-and-done is done. Learning happens on day one. Forgetting happens every day after. The fix is repetition: pull the information back out again and again until it sticks. Menu changes, new specials, service standards. Reinforce them weekly, not annually. Fifty-two weeks a year, not just week one.
At 1Huddle, we use AI to build and curate games from your menus and training. It identifies each worker’s knowledge gaps and surfaces specific questions to increase knowledge. Then it shows managers exactly where the gaps sit, by person, by location, by topic, so they can step in and coach.
Rule #3: Make it competitive.
Leaderboards beat lectures. Restaurant people are competitors. They race the ticket times, chase tips, fight for the best section. So, use it. Competition is not something to be feared or shy away from. When used correctly it unlocks effort and effort unlocks retention.
Rule #4: Make it a talent signal.
Your next shift lead is probably already on your floor. You just can’t see them.
Using games can change that. Every rep a worker plays can tell you something new about your people. Who knows the menu cold, who’s improving fastest, who keeps playing when nobody asked them to, and who’s checked out before they quit. A leaderboard isn’t just a scoreboard. It’s a scouting report.
I’ve seen bussers climb the leaderboard and move up to server. I’ve seen dishwashers study the menu and move from back of the house to front of the house. I’ve seen bartenders play their way into a manager title. Stop buying talent at full price and start building the talent you already have.
Rule #5: Reward and incentivize performance.
What gets rewarded gets repeated. Most restaurant training rewards just showing up. The best ones reward results.
Servers already know that the more they know, the more they make. Make that visible by putting points, prizes and recognition behind training and tie winning to things your people actually want: first pick of shifts, the best section, a shot at training the next hire, a path to the next role.
Give people a reason to get better and they’ll show up. Give them a reason to win and they’ll give you more of their talent. Recognition is cheap. Turnover isn’t.
The Bottom Line
Your frontline will make or break your bottom line.
You can keep training to protect. Or you can start training to perform. You can keep paying job boards to replace people. Or you can build the people already clocked in.
The operators who win the next five years won’t be the ones who train the most. They’ll be the ones whose people remember the most.
Stop training people to show up. Start training people to win.
Want to see 1Huddle in action? Through our partner network, operators gain access to innovative solutions designed to address everyday operational challenges. By combining Buyers Edge Platform’s foodservice expertise with 1Huddle’s interactive, game-based training approach, we’re helping operators build stronger teams, improve employee engagement, and create opportunities for increased revenue.
Interested in improving your team’s performance? Click here to connect with Buyers Edge Platform and learn more about how our partnership with 1Huddle and how we can support your business.
Sam Caucci is the founder and CEO of 1Huddle and a keynote speaker on the future of the frontline workforce. 1Huddle is an AI-powered game platform that uses competition to onboard workers faster and drive better sales. Brands including TAO Group, Loews Hotels, Madison Square Garden and the U.S. Air Force use 1Huddle to train their teams, spot their next leaders and turn knowledge into revenue.
Sure. Attaching
