Training Needs Analysis Boston Pizza Training and Development Lynn Buckerfield

By: Arun Dhadwal Manjot Singh Pandher Jasmine Kaur Harpreet Kaur Jaspreet Kaur MBA 2A

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Table of Contents

Introduction ........................................................................................................ Organizational Analysis ..................................................................................... Operational Analysis ..........................................................................................

3 5 9

Employee Survey ................................................................................................ 15 Manager Interview .............................................................................................. 16 Customer Questionnaire ..................................................................................... Person Analysis .................................................................................................. Conclusion .......................................................................................................... Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 18 19 22 24

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Introduction The overall objective of this report is to provide Boston Pizza a proper and thorough training needs analysis (TNA). This analysis will start at an organizational level; explaining Boston Pizzas culture, its mission and goals. The operational analysis will explain the companys internal environment, and the person analysis will bring everything together and indicate the effectiveness of the employee performance at Boston Pizzas Newmarket, Ontario location. Such an analysis will reveal that a performance gap in the serving area is occurring and that some of its employees lack the basic knowledge necessary to be effective in their job. The analysis will subsequently examine the performance gap at both the operational and person level. This is done so that information can be collected about the jobs specific knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) and other qualifications. This will also help in identifying the group of individuals that do not meet the expected performance requirements and that will benefit from a training session. The nature of the need will result to be reactive because the performance gap is occurring in the present and it is already affecting the productivity of the company. As a result, the TNA will need to be completed quickly to ensure profitability. In addition, the analysis is going to confirm that training is an adequate solution for the performance gap found at Boston Pizza. Among the employees, only some of them will need training to correct their performance gap and to improve their knowledge related to the food serving process in the restaurant. After performing the training, it is expected that Boston Pizza will improve its service quality and consequently obtain a higher level of customer satisfaction. A Training Needs Analysis is important and could have a crucial role when a performance gap significantly affects the health of the organization. It ultimately helps organizations understand the root cause of the gap and eventually to formulate the most suitable training to eliminate the gap. This analysis also assists in correcting performance problems and in determining those employees who require the training, as training should be provided only to those who require it as a correction in job performance. Thus, this Training Needs Analysis will help the organization to appropriately invest resources in training to those who will truly receive benefits from it, allowing the Company to be both effective and efficient.
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Organizational Analysis Boston Pizza is a successful North American corporation, operating as a casual dining restaurant and sports bar in one. This concept attracts a large number of customers with varying demographics: from families to teenagers to young and older adults. In 1964, Gus Agioritis opened the very first Boston Pizza location in Edmonton, Alberta. With continued success, the Greek immigrant quickly expanded his business. In 1983 Treliving and Melville bought 44 locations and created more franchises. (Boston Pizza Inc., 2009). The Company is trying to expand the business in other cities within North America in order to capture a greater market share. Today, there are over 300 franchise locations in Canada, and about 60 locations in the United States. (Wikipedia, 2009). As a publicly traded company, Boston Pizzas stock price as of February 13, 2009 is $8.63 CAD. (ADVFN, 2009). It took 12 years for the Boston Pizza chain to grow from $25 million in annual system sales to $100 million in 1995. Five years later the chain had reached $200 million in annual system sales and in 2007 it surpassed $755 million in annual system sales. Growth has been accelerating, and management believes that the necessary conditions exist to continue the level of growth achieved over recent years as the strength of the Boston Pizza brand continues to grow. (Boston Pizza Inc., 2009). By reading the distinguished slogan, Youre among friends at Boston Pizza, it is clear that maintaining a relaxed, comfortable, team-based atmosphere and achieving high customer satisfaction is very important for this large successful restaurant chain. The mission of the company clearly focuses on reaching an outstanding level in the foodservice businesses worldwide, by selecting and training the best people. Management believes that selecting the best people will facilitate the aforementioned goal. Boston Pizzas mission reveals managements belief that the key to success is the people in the company. Thus, management pays a significant amount of attention to the selection and training of employees, ensuring that the best personnel are working for the Company, and therefore providing an excellent service to customers. Boston Pizzas corporate mission statement highlights their values: To be a world class franchisor through selecting and training people to profitably manage an outstanding foodservice business. To achieve this goal we are innovative and responsive in our approach in business. We
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work as a team providing attention to detail but never losing sight of the larger picture. We recognize the need to provide leadership in all areas of operations, marketing and restaurant development. (Boston Pizza Inc., 2009) Boston Pizzas third pillar of their strategies to success expresses their commitment to continually improve the Guest experience. (Boston Pizza Inc., 2009). Without positive customer feedback in the service industry, there is no way the company could continue being profitable. Furthermore, with the absence of the third pillar, the first two pillars to success would not be achievable; these two pillars are the commitment to continually enhance the Boston Pizza brand (and the) commitment to Franchisee profitability (Boston Pizza Inc., 2009). The company further credits its success to serving food with exceptional quality at a great value, its ability to work effectively with partners, and its ability to recognize that in order to gratify the customers expectations, workers need to think like them. The company believes that selecting high skilled personnel with passion and motivation for their jobs is the key. It is very important for such a large company to practice ethical standards and to avoid discriminating against individuals based on culture, age, gender, sexual orientation, racial and ethnic background and mental and physical disability. Photos on Boston Pizzas website reflect on Canadas cultural mosaic, where workers and customers from different backgrounds are pictured happily interacting. Adhering to legislation, recognizing diversity and being an equal opportunity employer is important for Boston Pizzas family/team environment approach. Canada is no longer a two-language nation; millions of Canadians have neither English nor French as their language of origin. Today, almost five million Canadians are referred to as allophones, which literally means other speaking. (Schwind, 2007, p.22) Having teams comprised of employees from various backgrounds with different perspectives allows Boston Pizza to be at an advantage, allowing them to build stronger relationships with their diverse customers. Establishing customer relationships and maintaining customer loyalty through excellent service is crucial to the success of a business in the service industry. The general consensus of the publics perception on Boston Pizzas organizational practices is quite positive. Overall, Boston Pizzas continued profitability hint at its exceptional practices and organizational effectiveness. However, a closer examination at an Operational level can give us a closer insight of a possible need for
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developing a training session. A through examination of the human resources of the Company, which refers to the level of the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSAs) of the employees working for Boston Pizza, has to be conducted to understand what kind of training employees require and whether they actually need it. An analysis related to the policies of the Company and reward system should be made available to the managers, supervisors and incumbents in order to understand and evaluate how this examination relates to the employees in their job performance at Boston Pizza. Questions should be asked if incumbents are aware of what level of job performance is expected of them, and if they receive appropriate feedback in order to determine if their job performance is acceptable and how it can be improved. Boston Pizzas mission and objectives can be summed up with their commitment to improve the Guest experience. Customer satisfaction is crucial in giving the right feedback to the management level, and as a result of many complaints, an investigation between customers, employees and managers has to be conducted, through using specific surveys and interviews focused on understanding the nature of the gap.

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Operational Analysis Serving is a very complex job that requires many different skills and abilities. Through observation, Addie and Tiffanis own experience in the service industry, and job description websites, we have come up with the basis for what is required of a server to perform their job effectively. Serving is a job with a lot of constraints that will affect the type of people who perform the job, and the way in which the job is performed. Most servers a young, 1/5 of workers are between the ages of 16 and 19 years old (http://www.stats.bls.gov/oco/ocos162.htm). As well, the majority of servers are part-time, using the job as a temporary means of cash while they are in school or until they find a more permanent career. Wages in the service industry are mostly comprised of tips, and the hourly wage is therefore generally lower than the minimum wage required for other occupations. It also means that the motivation to work hard is built right into the job, as servers are more or less responsible for their own income. Usually, the better server you are, the higher your tips will be, and therefore the more money you will make. Because of this, many restaurants have a more hands off approach to their servers and do not worry as much about keeping them motivated to do a good job. This also usually works in the organizations favour, because servers are more likely to want to sell more expensive items to increase their bills, and therefore their tips. Most serving jobs also do not have any minimum educational requirements. In order to serve alcohol in Ontario, you have to be a minimum of 18 years old, so most servers are at least 18 and graduated high school. However, most restaurants do not have this as a requirement. Restaurants may require other, more job-related previous experience than educational. Many serving jobs do not even require previous experience, and serving can be a first job for many individuals. This means a trainer could be working with people who have little formal education or other job experience. Serving is a very fast-paced and stressful job. It requires a great deal of multi-tasking, as well as someone with a decent memory. As well, serving demands someone who is great at interacting with people. The number one aspect of serving is customer service, and a servers wage can be dependent on their customer service ability as tips are generally reflective of the service. As well, serving is a job that requires people to be on their feet for extended periods of time, with little to no break. On a busy night, a server can work for up to 8 hours without sitting down.
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The main duties involved in serving include seating people, taking customers orders, serving food and beverages, preparing cheques, accepting payment and cleaning tables. Larger restaurants will have support staff that help servers in terms of seating guests and cleaning tables so that servers can put more of their focus on their guests. In these restaurants, the servers job is narrowed to taking orders, explaining the menu, serving the food, and ensuring the guest is enjoying their visit and their food. Serving can be more casual or more formal depending on the restaurant. Servers need to know a number of things in order to do their jobs properly. Knowledge of the menu and specific ingredients is very important. Servers need to be able to answer any questions guests may have regarding the menu. As well, they should be knowledgeable of the ingredients found in the meals for allergy purposes. Servers also need to know the table numbers for the restaurant, and how the system used to punch in food works. Most restaurants will also have some sort of steps of service that servers must be aware of and follow. Multi-tasking is one of the most important skills of a server. A server must be able to remember and accomplish multiple things at once, especially on a busy night. Most servers will have more than one table at one time, and this will require them to keep track of what each table asked for. The right attitude is vital part of any serving job. The servers attitude is what can mean the difference between having a good night with lots of tips or not. Servers have to be very friendly, out-going, and upbeat no matter what. Each table is looking for individual, excellent service. People are generally not very forgiving to a server who is busy and provides poor service as a result. Servers must always remain positive when talking to tables, and not allow the fact that they are busy or stressed to be seen. People will tip better if they think the server was busy, but they still managed to provide excellent service. The duties and skills that are required and performed are universal throughout the restaurant business. However, each restaurant has their own specific duties that are expected from servers. The number one concern and job of servers is customer service. The servers main responsibility is providing friendly, accurate and fast service to all of their customers. Restaurants want their services to exceed customer expectations so that they will become returning customers. The servers that work at Boston Pizza have specific duties and responsibilities that they are expected to
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complete within their shifts. Boston Pizza has hostesses that greet and seat customers. The servers must arrive 15 minutes before the start of their shift and punch in using the computer system. The servers should be in proper uniform upon arrival, black shirt, black pants, server pouch, pens, writing pad, name tag and hair pulled off the face. The servers must acknowledge the table immediately, welcoming them to Boston Pizza and introducing themselves. The must inform the guests of any specials or promotions that are currently going on and take a drink order. The server must then go to the posi station and punch in the table number, the number of guests at the table and then their drink order. The server is responsible for pouring non-alcoholic drinks in the passthrough and must get alcoholic and kids drinks from the bar. The server must use a tray if there are more than two customers at the table. While the server is getting the drinks it allows customers to go over the menu. When the server returns to the table and hands out the drinks they should ask if the customers would like to order some appetizers. If the table does not want any appetizers the server should ask if they are ready to order or if they need some more time to decide. Once the table is ready to order the server must write down each individual order, on the pad that is provided to them, the specifics of the food order. The server must know all of the side dishes and sauces that are available for each menu item. For example, the server should know that all of the entrees on the menu come with a starter salad, caesar or garden, as well as a side. Once all of the food orders are taken the server should repeat the order to the customers to ensure that it is correct. The server must then return to a posi station and use the computer system to type in the food orders correctly. If there are starter salads or appetizers they should be sent to the kitchen first to ensure that they come out first. Once the order has been punched in accurately and the server has double-checked it, then the server should send the order to the kitchen. While the server is waiting for the food they should go back to the table regularly and ensure that drinks are always full and get refills if they are not. The server must also ensure that all of the condiments, side plates and pedestals are at the table for when there food arrives. If the server brings all of these at once it will save time later on in the service. The server should also be helping other employees by running food to tables and empty plates off tables. Furthermore, servers are responsible for clearing the dish pit and bringing clean plates back to the passPage 10 of 19

through and stacking them so that the kitchen can use them for new orders. Polishing cutlery is also a duty that all servers are responsible for. Clean silverware must be available for the hostesses as well as servers to reset tables once customers leave. During this time, servers are required to multi-task and help all of the departments of the restaurant in order for it to function successfully. Once the expo has garnished the food and it is ready to go to the table the server must take it to the correct table and place the food in front of the customers. The server must have parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper with them and offer it to the guests. The server then should wait two minutes and then go back to the table for a quality check of the food. If there are any complaints or the table is missing something the server must attend to their needs. The server must ensure that all of the drinks are full. Once the customers are finished eating the server must clear the plates or bring a doggie bag if they would like to bring their leftovers home. The server should try and clear as much as possible so that it is easier and faster to clear once the guests leave. The server should offer coffee, tea or dessert to the guests. If the guests would like one of the options they have to punch it into the computer system. If they decline the server should ask if they would like anything else and then offer to bring the check. The server must then go to the posi station open up the correct table and review the bill to ensure accuracy and then print the bill, put it in a billfold with some Boston Pizza mints and drop it off at the table. The server should let the customer know that Boston Pizza does accept Air Miles. The server should give the customer a few minutes to provide a means for paying for the bill. If the customer pays cash the server should bring back the correct amount of change. If the customer would like to pay by credit card the server must reopen the bill take payment with the credit card and return the card and the slip to the customer and wish them a good night. Once the customers have left the restaurant the server has to make sure that the bill is closed out and that they have kept a copy of the receipt. They must help the hostess clear the table and reset it for the next guests. The servers are usually cut by the manager on duty once the restaurant is not as busy. Once the server is cut (which means they do not have to take anymore tables for the night) they have to complete the side duties that are assigned to them. They must also print off their cash out report, organize their bills and make sure the cash that they owe is accurate. The server must then ask the employee who is closing to sign off on their cash out sheet before they are able to leave. The closer may ask the employee to do a couple
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extra duties before they are able to leave. Once their sheet is signed they must give it to the manager and punch out of the system.

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Employee Survey What is the most frequent complaint that you receive from customers? Well I would have to say that it is either the lighting in the restaurant or the timing and temperature of the food. Do you have any major issues or complaints about serving at Boston Pizza? I love all the people that work here. I have made a lot of friends, which makes it fun coming to work. I think that the management is awesome and they are easy to talk to. They arrange a whole bunch of parties and special events for the staff. However, when it is busy on Friday and Saturday nights sometimes people are not willing to help out other employees, like running food for them if they arent able to when it comes up. It is frustrating when you are extremely busy with tables and you come back to the pass-through and you see that your food has been sitting there for a couple minutes and no one has taken it out for you. I get that people are busy too but it would be nice if everyone contributed. A lot of people do run food but there are a certain few who avoid doing it. I dont really know if it is the kitchens fault or my fault as a server for the bad timing of the food. Do you help run other employees food? I try to run food whenever I possibly can. There are times when I am way too busy to run food but the second that I have some free time I offer to help run. Do you think that the training provided prepares you for serving your own section? I think that the training helps you understand the menu and the policies that are used in Boston Pizza. I like the fact that the training is not timed and they determine when you go to the next level based on your performance and understanding of the different jobs in the restaurant. It gives you a better understanding to how a restaurant functions and all of the components. I also liked that the training was very hands-on. However, the training was general in regards to certain things. I think that they need to be more specific when it comes to the computer system and how long it takes to prepare the different menu items. Do you think that continuous training would be beneficial to servers at Boston Pizza? I think that if they did introduce more training sessions they should focus on the complaints that are coming in from the customers. We all know how to do our jobs but I would say that there are certain aspects of the job that we could improve on. I think it would be a good thing if the servers were aware of the customer complaints that come into the restaurant and that way we could try and fix them ourselves and if that didnt work I think training would be a good way to help fix them.

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Manager Interview Have you noticed any reoccurring problems at your restaurant? There a wide range of complaints/problems that are brought to my attention being a manager at Boston Pizza. At the moment we are experiencing a staff shortage because of the amount of students that are working here and their limited work schedules. This location has been extremely busy throughout January and we find that on Friday and Saturday nights we are often understaffed, causing stress and tension on some workers. The customer complaint that I seem to be hearing and dealing with is the timing and temperature of the food. Apparently the food is arriving at the tables at different times and half of the food is cold. A lot of employees are getting frustrated with the kitchen and causing stress for everyone. Do you have any idea as to why these problems are occurring? We need to hire more people who can work full-time hours so that way we will not expect as much from the people who are going to school as well as working. A lot of the servers arent helping out other servers by running the food to the tables when it is ready. Also servers arent using proper time-management skills to make things easier on themselves when it is busy. Also, by looking at the amount of food waste we are experiencing I think that servers arent punching in the food so that it will all come out at the same time. What is the training process for new employees starting at Boston Pizza? When servers start they go through a lengthy training session. They have to complete at least 2 to 3 hostess shifts so that they are familiar with the layout of the restaurant and the table numbers. Once the managers think that they are comfortable with the layout they are then moved to expo. They expo so that they know what sides and garnishes are supposed to go with what meal and also so that they recognize the dishes and what the ingredients are. There is no set time for expo. It is all based on whether or not management thinks that they know enough about the menu. Then they move onto shadowing shifts. We pair them up with our experienced servers and they teach them the computer system, how to greet a table and how to answer questions that customers may ask. The server that they are shadowing usually switches places with the person being trained and observes how well they have picked up on the techniques and ways to serve tables. Management talks to the server who is training the new person and asks how they are doing. Based on the comments made by the experienced server and observations by the managers on duty determines how long the person will be shadowing for. Once they demonstrate a general understanding of how the system at Boston Pizza works they are set off on their own and are given their own section.

Based on the problems occurring, do you think that the training is adequate? I think that the training is adequate for the general principles of serving and learning all of the different jobs that make up a restaurant. I think that the layout and product knowledge is very important in order to being a good server. I do think that we may need to emphasize the timing of food so that servers will punch things in correctly. I also think that it is important for the servers we are using to train new employees to understand the timing of food especially if they are going to teach them the system and what not. If we did this it would make things easier on the kitchen as well and people would not get as stressed out on busy nights.

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Boston Pizza Newmarket 18199 Yonge Street Newmarket, ON L3Y 4V8 (905) 953-0229

Customer Questionnaire

1. How was your overall experience at Boston Pizza? (1- poor and 5-excellent) 12345 2. Describe the service that you experienced today: The server was very friendly and nice. We had to remind her to bring refills and certain things that we asked for a couple of times. She seemed stressed and overwhelmed at points during the service. 3. What did you order off the menu today? We ordered breaded wings for an appetizer. We also ordered Chipotle Chicken salad, Jambalaya Fettuccini with cheese toast and an Individual Rustic Italian pizza for our meals. 4. How was the quality of the food? The food came out at all different times. The appetizer came out with our meals and by the time everything was out it was cold. The food would have tasted better if it was hot. 5. Would you return to this specific Boston Pizza location again? Yes, we really enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant and the server was very nice.

Thank you for your time! We look forward to seeing you again!

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Person Analysis

Our Needs Analysis has concluded that approximately 10 servers at the Boston Pizza in Newmarket could use some refresher training in regards to time management and teamwork. Although Boston Pizza works hard to ensure their staff knows how important teamwork is in a restaurant environment, there are a few servers who have missed the message and are finding it difficult to organize their own tables in order to be able to help out the other servers. We came upon this conclusion using a variety of sources. Tiffani is an employee at the Boston Pizza in Newmarket, and her observations have helped us decide which servers could use training. We also interviewed a manager, Kaitlyn Trenton, and a few of the servers. Finally, we asked the servers to give their tables anonymous customer surveys that were then dropped in a box on their way out. A common theme emerged from these sources, which is that food is frequently being brought to the table cold and out of order. We found that some servers are missing the knowledge of how long different food takes to be prepared, and are therefore not sending their orders to the kitchen at the correct time. This is resulting in food being ready at inappropriate times. The appetizers, for example, are coming out at the same time as the mains. As well, because meals were being punched in at different times, they were not being prepared all together. There were a few examples of one person at a table getting their meal before the rest of the table's meals were ready. We were also able to identify which servers would benefit from a little training. Two of the servers we have identified are sometimes used to train new employees, so it is especially important they get the proper training so they can in turn be more effective trainers themselves. These servers require some knowledge and skills training. Knowledge training would be helpful for these servers in order to teach them the time it takes for the meals to be prepared. As well, they need to be reminded at what stage to send each order to the kitchen so that all the food is prepared at the appropriate time. Focus needs to be teaching the importance of running food. Boston Pizza does not use heat lamps because they expect food to be run to the table when it is ready, not to sit on the counter. Therefore, the skills training needs to address this issue and ensure that the servers appreciate that regardless of what they are doing food needs to be run, and try to teach them better time management skills so they wont get as
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stressed on busy nights. When a server probably plans their time, they are able to be much more helpful to the restaurant as a whole. As well, they will be able to provide better service to their tables, and it could result in better tips for them. We were also able to identify which servers would benefit from a little training. Two of the servers we have identified sometimes train new employees, so it is especially important they get the proper training so they can in turn be more effective trainers themselves. These servers require some knowledge and skills training. Knowledge training would be helpful for these servers in order to teach them the time it takes for the meals to be prepared. As well, they need to be reminded at what stage to send each order to the kitchen so that all the food is prepared at the appropriate time. Focus needs to be teaching the importance of running food. Boston Pizza does not use heat lamps because they expect food to be run to the table when it is ready, not to sit on the counter. Therefore, the skills training needs to address this issue and ensure that the servers appreciate that regardless of what they are doing food needs to be run, and try to teach them better time management skills so they wont get as stressed on busy nights. When a server probably plans their time, they are able to be much more helpful to the restaurant as a whole. As well, they will be able to provide better service to their tables, and it could result in better tips for them.

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Conclusion

Boston Pizzas growth plan for the 2009 fiscal year is an indicator of how large a role the training process will play out for each franchise. Currently, there are 38 million customers served all over Canada. The companys goal of opening 30 to 35 new restaurants across Canada means there is expected to be 16,000 job openings between all franchise locations (Boston Pizza, 2009). Although its expansion is clear evidence that the company is successful and profitable, the training needs analysis we conducted at a smaller scale for the Newmarket, Ontario location leads us to realize that there is indeed a performance deficiency among the servers. This is of course a reactive measure, since customer feedback reveals that employees at this location are dissatisfied with receiving cold food. At Boston Pizza, youre among friends. This means that employees need to be trained on information related to cooking times. They also need to work together as a team to ensure the food they serve arrives hot and on time in an effort to improve performance and maximize customer satisfaction. Employees need to be trained with knowledge and skills to effectively and positively transfer to the position. A Training Needs Analysis is important and could have a crucial role when a performance gap significantly affects the health of the organization. It ultimately helps organizations understand the root cause of the gap and eventually to formulate the most suitable training to eliminate the gap. In this Training Needs Analysis, we have taken the appropriate steps of a reactive approach: we have identified the problem, and the succeeding step of developing and implementing a training session will ensure this issue will be prevented in future situations. We will be able to identify whether our training session has been positively and effectively transferred in the server positions if the future customer feedback is positive with regards to service and food. Customer Satisfaction is one of the biggest indicators of success for a business in the service sector, and this situation is certainly worthy of a financial investment from the franchise. With this training session, Boston Pizzas Newmarket location will improve employee performance and company efficiency and profitability.

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Bibliography http://www.advfn.com/quote_Boston-Pizza-Ro_TSE_BPF.UN.html http://www.cstd.ca/networks/CDN_Fall08_1%209gt.pdf http://www.bostonpizza.com/?q=bostonpizza_conceptinformation

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