The training provided by Burger King is free of charge however the trainees are expected to fund themselves regarding normal living expenses such as commuting and accommodation costs etc.
Although managers are given a longer period of training Burger King ensures that all other employees such as till staff and kitchen staffs are offered ‘Right Track Training Programme’. This training programme includes a comprehensive induction and training i.e. covering all areas such as Health & Safety, working in the dining area, front counter or kitchen and how to make each product effectively. This additional programme helps to ensure that all of the employees have the finest start to Burger King as possible.
I believe that by providing an induction to all new staff it allows them to see where and how they’ll be working and also who their fellow employees are. By doing this efficiently it will rapidly help them to fit into the work environment.
Burger King considers that all their employees will learn what they need to know by shadowing which is when they work alongside others as well as using other sources such as handbooks, company manuals etc.
I think that although the current training and development system at Burger King is well organised, and gives clear indication to all of their employees what their roles and responsibilities are, the company’s system stills lacks quality control checks i.e. the measurement of employees performance is not at a high standard, and there seems to be a reluctance or maybe the firm is just oblivious to fact that they need to offer the workforce more tools and opportunities for growth in their roles/careers.. I think strategies that can aid and be very beneficial for Burger King is to carry out a monthly or every fort-night appraisal system instead of just annually. I strongly believe that this would help employees to see what areas they are working well at and what areas need addressing, and then these negative points can be made into targets, consequently resulting in success and even promotion or pay rises. It is clear that the quicker the employees feel wanted, the earlier they are earning money for Burger King, because motivation affects productivity of workforce.
Furthermore by reviewing progression of staff more regularly, it may give employees more incentive to stay working at Burger King, for a longer period of time as they will acknowledge that they have objectives and goals to achieve, which could improve their career prospects. This could also mean less training costs for Burger King because if staffs stay on, they will already be fully trained, thus no need to train many new staff.
Another strategy that can be advised to Burger King is Benchmarking more frequently i.e. reviewing there productivity/service output against competitors. By examining and questioning how rivals generate higher quality or lower rate of waste, will help the firm to stay on top of the market. However not all companies are willing to divulge information or details about their methods of practice, nonetheless if successful benchmarking is employed then there definitely will be improved quality performance in all sectors of Burger King, and therefore improving customer satisfaction.
On the whole I believe that the procedures that Burger King is using to train and develop their managers and employees, such as Right Track/Induction programmes and shadowing are effective in a number ways, yet still if Burger King want to make sure that the current employees stay on for a longer period, it could be constructive for them to do utilize the training methods mentioned previously and other techniques, for example staff training weekends away. This will help build up team skills and allow the workforce to interact with staff members from other areas, who they do not usually communicate with. Also by having these bonding sessions it enables the workforce to realise the philosophy and importance of team work. This strategy will help Burger King immensely, because once the employees practice working more collectively then the results will be very welcoming for the company. The reason being the teamwork concept brings together different skills and expertise all employees, in order to resolve minor or complex issues.
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Daft, R.L. 2003, Management, 6th Edition, Thomson South-Western, Ohio, pp 423/392/424.
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Daniels, J.D, Radebaugh, L.H, Sullivan, D.P, International Business, 11th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall 200, New Jersey, pp 720-721/729-732.
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Campbell D., Stonehouse G., Houston B., 2004, Business Strategy, 2nd Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, Cornwall, pp 13/47-48/195/244-458
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Jobber D. 2004, Principles and practice of marketing, 4th edition, McGraw-Hill International (UK) Ltd, Maidenhead, pp 489.
King Homepage [Online] viewed April 17th 2009, <http://www.burgerking.co.uk/>
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Training & Development [Online] viewed April 19th 2009
< http://www.businessballs.com/traindev.htm>.
Chapter 11: Employee Development & Training [Online] viewed April 19th 2009
< >
Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Managers and Specialist [Online] viewed April 18th 2009
<http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm>
Published Article Relating to Training & Development:
Halo Affect: [ONLINE LINK] viewed 17th April 2009 http://www.ansi.org/news_publications/other_documents/halo_effect.aspx?menuid=7
- Short-term meditation training improves attention and self-regulation :
[ONLINE LINK] viewed 16th April 2009 http://www.pnas.org/content/104/43/17152.full.pdf+html
- Article 38 Training and Development
[ONLINE LINK] viewed 18th April 2009
http://atyourservice.ucop.edu/employees/policies_employee_labor_relations/collective_bargaining_units/clerical_cx/contract_articles/article_38.pdf