Introduction
Cafe Co was one of the top five coffee houses in the global market. Due to many competitors grew rapidly, the business of Cafe Co was slipping down to the number five position in recent years. So, Ben was decided to relaunch Cafe Co to be the number one coffee house across the globe. In order to co-operate in this new vision, Kim decided the 2-day training program for the new baristas.
Aim and Objective for the Training Course
The aim of the training course was to let the new baristas know more information about the company history and organization goals, through the training to enhance their working performance.
Kim should use the SMART objective (Drucker, 1954) for the training course. Specific was to be the number one coffee house across the globe. Measurable was through the reputation to increase the market share. Achievable, was to provide excellent customer service and use the best products quality to attract more new customers. Realistic was provided suitable training to new baristas to increase their product knowledge and skillful for excellent customer service. Finally, was told them the time-bound.
How the Training Course Will Improve Performance
Normally, in the 2-day training course, the new baristas would know more information and the organization’s goals about Cafe Co, they could build up a good relationship between another barista, It would easily let them put into their jobs. Moreover, through the training, they would learn more critical techniques for coffee preparation, understanding customer needs, trained up how to provide excellent customer services and all the things about their duties.
Therefore, when they first time on duties in the stores, they had good enough knowledge and to be a skillful barista. Then, it should be the first step for Cafe Co to become a successful coffee house.
Timetable for 2 Day Induction Programme
Cafe Co would behold the 2-day training course the new baristas in a small group around 12-16 people, the date would be arranged on 1st July 2007 and 2nd July 2007 in 09:00-17:00, the venue would be in Cafe Co Head Office Function Room, all trainees must wear a formal dressing when they attended in this training course, and Kim would invite the top line manager to be one of the trainers.
Training Timetable for Day 1
Time Contents
Welcome 0900-0930 speech system Leaflet, To introduce company history, Company 0930-1045 introduction, and lesson recorder, System 1045-1100 Break Line managers would share Experience 1100-1200 Line manager PA system, their working experience in PA goals and company structure Training video projector, DVD market share, an organization for this training Methods Resources mic and Purposes PA Let the trainees know the aim share form a line and managers video raining projector, DVD Cafe Co, career paths for the recorder new baristas and how to handle the case Welcome lunch hold by Cafe Co, the aim was to give the 1200-1400 Lunch chance to all trainees for built up a good relationship and rapport between each other. Through the video, let trainees Technique providing 1400-1530 excellence customer for know Projector, DVD customer service skills and Training video recorder, system, customer service was most PA why to provide excellence how to improve the service (Part 1) important in Cafe Co. -5- 1530-1545
Break Gave them a case study, through the group discussion to Technique providing 1545-1700 excellent customer service (Part 2) for Group Pens to find out the best way to solve and the case problems. Then Discussion and papers, Role Play system PA through the role play, they could know which kinds of sayings and behaviors were easier to make the mistakes and how to do the best.
Training Timetable for Day 2
Time Contents
- Methods
- Resources
- Purposes
To make sure trainees after these Notes, pens To introduce all and papers, 0900-1000 products in the company projector, PC knowledge.
Coffee Illustrating how to make a Technique of 1000-1100 coffee making Demonstration list, coffee cups for different kinds of coffees and teaspoons 1100-1115 1115-1230 Coffee making Game Break Coffee After the demonstration, machine, drink flavorful coffee and ingredients Lesson PowerPoint, enhance their products in the company, and the session would know all kinds of -6- machine, drink trainees could try to make their ist, coffee cups own coffee under the trainer and teaspoons 1230-1400 Introduce coffee house 1400-1445 daily operations Coffee house Gave trainees a case study and 1445-1530 daily operation. Roleplay practices 1530-1545 Break Gave an idea to trainees how to Brief introduction for 1545-1630 Point-Of-sell (POS) system based training PowerPoint, projector, PC be operating be senior baristas so that trainees only need to have the basic concept. Trainees could raise out all Questions and 1630-1700 Answers papers understood.
Trainees need to fill up the Evaluation 1650-1700 Evaluation forms comments before they left. evaluation and wrote down their Pens and questions if they did not Technology Notes, pens, and papers, operate the POS system, but normally POS system should Mic they need to perform the role. Lesson PowerPoint, projector, PC Lunch Notes, pens and papers, instruction.
Training Methods and Media Explanations
Referring to the 2-day training timetable in Cafe Co, it was use the several training methods in the captioned training course.
The methods were including lesson, demonstration, training video, group discussion, game, and technology-based training. The lesson was always used in training courses, it could present the information, direct instruction, theories, and ideas to trainees. Through the lesson, they got a basic concept for those subjects. In the captioned training course, it was used a lesson to introduce the products and coffee houses operation, that information did not change frequently, trainees could following the guideline later on. The training video, one of the advantages of using training videos should be let trainees feel a little bit of humor.
Difference videos had different aims, the video showed them Cafe Co introduction and experience sharing from line managers were let them knew more history and career opportunity in Cafe Co. recording to those videos, they would know the company how to grow up and the organization goals of the company. On the other hand, when they watched the video for providing excellent customer service, they could feel more interesting, because the video was shown them case studies and they could find out some mistakes showing in the video.
Group discussion for providing excellent customer service was set up after the training video, the aim was to encourage them to think more about how to provide excellent customer service and teach them which was the right way. Roleplay was the face to face training, it can be built up trainees confidence, through the role play, they could more understand the real situation, and it could make their job smoothly. At the same time, trainers would observe how much knowledge they got and could they know how to use in reality the environment through their group discussion and role-play. The demonstration would be used in the technique of coffee making, it could be illustrating trainees how to make a cup of coffee and coffee machine operation. If only through the lesson told them the issue, they were difficult to understand all of these, so that uses the demonstration, the trainer could indicate them which were the better way to do these. Following the demonstration, it decided a game for them to practice how to make it by themselves, then they would be to know what were the well making methods and sometimes they could find out the useful solutions by themselves, meantime they could raise out the problems and unclear procedure when they felt in.
The last method in the training course was the technology-based training, it used in the Point-Of-Sell (POS) system in the training. First of all, this system should be a computerized system, and trainees only want to have a basic idea of this system. Because of most of the stores in Cafe Co, this system would be operated by the senior baristas. Under the reason, trainees had more chance to learn in the future. Due to the new baristas with different characters, for that reason, it would be used a different kind of training method to make them easier to learn.
Experiential learning was the method to help trainees built up relations between thinking and doing. It could be seen as a learning cycle in 4 styles, there were Activists, Reflectors, Theorists and Pragmatists, Honey, and Mumford’s (1992) learning styles. Probably, the training methods would be defining in these styles. Activists were fit for the outgoing, optimistic and enthusiastic people, normally they tended to be looking for new experiences and opportunities, they like to be a center of attention, working with other people in team tasks or role-playing, and they would jump in the deep end with a difficult task.
The philosophy of them was they would like to try all the new things and at least one time. Roleplay and the game should be suit for this kind’s people. The strengths of activists would be flexible and open-minded, trainees would feel happy and easier to build up good relation, and they would enjoy and put into the training. Reflectors were thoughtful, analytical, and good listeners, they were careful, thorough, and methodical, and they could observe individuals or groups at work. They were good at listening and assimilating information, reviewing what has happened, and thinking about what they had learned.
Training video and group discussions were most suitable for reflectors, trainees through these training methods to find out and clarify where were the problems occurred, and they would think about how to improve when they in those situations. However, the weakness of them would be they likely to procrastinate and properly they could produce analyses and reports without tight deadlines. Theorists were logical, objective, systematic, and analytical, they would be a perfectionist and they were approaching to ask the scrutiny questions.
They were good to analyze and handle the rational objectivity carefully, but not any subjective or equivocal thing. They were difficult to accept the subjective judgment and horizontal thinking. Though the lesson could teach them a theory and gave them a clear instruction, they would produce step by step analysis in the subject. Pragmatists were the people care about in practical, realistic and technology. They dislike discuss in a long period and impatient to thinking repeatedly. They would look for practical applications, experiments in new ideas and new things, questions, and the chance they would look like a new challenge.
Using technology-based training was a good for them.
Evaluation for the Course
The accurate evaluation report was very important for building up a systematic training cycle, it could summarize many suggestions from trainees, and trainers could through those reports to do some improvement for the next training program. Therefore, the trainer should design a useful evaluation form for trainees to fill in at the end of the training course. Referenced from Kirkpatrick’s learning evaluation theory, Kirkpatrick (1956), it could define in 4 stages.
Firstly, was Reaction. The trainer could care and feel all about the reaction from trainees, such as if the training process was very silent or quiet, that means trainees feel boring or not interesting in the subject. Contrarily, trainees would raise out some questions or gave trainer some reaction when they interesting in the subject. Second, was Learning. The trainer could decide a quiz or test at the end of each training session, then the trainer would know trainees learn how much knowledge in the captioned training courses. Thirdly, was Behavioral.
Following the training, trainers could communicate with line managers, recommend line managers fill in an appraisal form for the trainees who attended in training, then the trainer would evaluate the improvement for their performance and job behavior. Moreover, the trainer could compare with another barista did not join in the training, following this research, the trainer could do an analysis for the captioned issue and know how effective for the training course. Finally, was Results. Trainer needed to take time to observe the organizational performance within the designated period.
Then, the trainer would be evaluating the outcome for the training.
Conclusions
When Cafe Co starting to hold the training course for the new baristas, Kim should be kept on monitoring how effective all the time, because setting up the training would use a lot of money and manpower. Therefore, if it was not effective, Kim must review the training contents, methods, and trainers as soon as possible. Such, the company would not waste money, manpower, and materials when doing in this way.
List of References
- Banfield, P., and Kay, R. (2008) Introduction to Human Resource Management. Oxford: Oxford University Press
- Beardwell, J., and Claydon, T.,(2007) Human Resource Management: A Contemporary Approach. 5thedition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited
- Bloisi, W (2007) An Introduction to Human Resource Management. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill Education
- Foot, M. and Hook, C. (2005) Introducing Human Resource Management. 4th edition. Harlow: Pearson Education
- Easterby-Smith (1986) cited in Harrison, R. (2005) Learning and Development. 4th edition. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
- Gibb, S. (2002) Learning and Development: processes, practices and perspectives at work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Hamblin (1974) in Harrison, R. (2005) Learning and Development. 4th edition. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. – 14 – 9.
