Where is the certificate?
The area manager asks the GM whether everyone in the kitchen has done their allergen training. The GM thinks so. The folder has certificates for about half the team. Some did the course at a previous site and their certificates are in that site's folder. Two did it on an e-learning portal that sends certificates to a personal email address. One new starter was shown the ropes on the pass by the head chef, and nobody wrote it down.
Across a group with high staff turnover and people moving between sites, this happens everywhere. Nobody can say, for any given site on any given day, who is trained on what.
Why training records fall apart across sites
- Records are kept per site, so they do not travel when staff transfer.
- Training comes from several places: e-learning, external courses, in-house sessions and on-shift sign-offs.
- In-house training, such as brand standards or equipment use, is often never recorded.
- Refresher dates are tracked in someone's head, if at all.
- Turnover means a folder that was complete last quarter is out of date now.
What patchy records cost the group
When records are patchy, the group cannot show what training its people have had, which matters when there is an inspection, an incident or a complaint. New starters work shifts they are not yet signed off for because nobody can check quickly. Good training done on shift is invisible, and refreshers are missed. Staff who move to a new site repeat training they have already done, or skip training they have not.
How we build group training records
What training each role needs, and how often, is for your group and your advisers to decide. We build the system that records it and shows the gaps.
- Each role, such as commis, bartender or duty manager, is given its required training list, with refresher intervals where you set them.
- Every person has one record that follows them between sites, linked to the rota or HR system so starters and leavers flow in.
- Completions from e-learning portals are imported where the portal allows, and external certificates are uploaded as photos.
- In-house and on-shift training is signed off on a phone by the trainer and the trainee, with the date recorded.
- Upcoming expiries and missing items are flagged to the GM, and new starters show as not yet signed off for the tasks that need training.
- Head office sees training status by site, role and course, and can open any person's record.
| Training type | How it is recorded | Who is reminded |
|---|---|---|
| E-learning courses | Imported from the portal | Staff member and GM |
| External certificates | Photo upload with dates | GM before expiry |
| Brand and service standards | Trainer sign-off on phone | GM for new starters |
| Equipment and bar training | Trainer sign-off on phone | Head chef or bar manager |
What it is like at the pass
When a new commis starts, the head chef sees which training they need and signs them off on each section as they learn it. When a bartender moves to a sister site, their record is already there. Before an inspection, the GM runs a report rather than sorting through a folder. Head office can see which sites are behind on refreshers and which courses are consistently missed, and fix the cause.
Does this sound like your group?
- Training certificates are kept in paper folders at each site.
- Staff records do not follow people when they move sites.
- In-house training is not written down anywhere.
- Refresher dates are missed.
- Head office cannot see training gaps by site.