The coffee machine, explained for the fifth time
A supervisor in your café shows a trainee how to clean the coffee machine at closing. The next day she shows him again. The trainee is keen and capable, but the steps are long and he has a learning disability that makes remembering sequences hard. The written procedure is two pages of small type in a folder behind the counter, written for experienced staff, and it describes the old machine.
The same story repeats across the business: setting up the till, packing an order, using the heat press, loading the van safely, closing the shop. Each supervisor explains things slightly differently. When a supervisor is off sick, trainees on that shift struggle, and customers notice.
Why instructions do not work for trainees
Most workplace instructions are written by and for experienced staff. Social enterprises employ people for whom that format does not work, which is exactly why they exist.
| Common instruction | Why it does not help |
|---|---|
| Two-page written procedure | Too long, too much text, hard to follow in sequence |
| Supervisor demonstration | Varies by supervisor, cannot be replayed |
| Laminated poster | Out of date when equipment changes |
| Training at induction | Forgotten before the task comes up again |
Easy-read and visual formats help many people, not only those with learning disabilities: people whose first language is not English, people returning to work after a long gap, anyone learning a sequence of steps under time pressure.
What accessible format suits each person is for your staff and the trainees themselves. We build the tools; they shape the content.
What repetition costs
Supervisor time is the obvious cost. Repeating the same instruction many times a week takes them away from supporting trainees in other ways.
Trainee independence is the more important one. If a trainee can only do a task with someone beside them, they cannot progress to doing it alone, which is the goal. Inconsistency matters as well, especially where steps affect food safety, equipment safety or the quality of what customers receive.
A library of task guides on the workstation
What we build is a simple, tablet-based library of step-by-step task guides, designed with your staff and trainees.
- Supervisors choose the tasks trainees most often need help with, and we create a guide for each with one step per screen: a photo of this equipment, a short sentence in plain language, and optionally a short video or audio clip.
- Guides are written in easy-read style, with large text, consistent symbols and no jargon, and tested with trainees before they go live.
- Each workstation has a tablet or a QR code that opens the guides for that area, such as café counter, kitchen, workshop or van.
- Trainees can go through a guide at their own pace, replay a step, and tick off steps as they go.
- Supervisors can edit a guide when equipment or processes change, by replacing a photo or a sentence on their phone. Old versions are kept.
- Guides link to the skills in each trainee's progress record, so a supervisor signing off a skill can see which guide it relates to.
Food safety, equipment and health and safety content must be checked by whoever is responsible for those in your organisation. We make the guides; your responsible people approve them.
A closing shift a few weeks later
At closing, the trainee opens the 'clean coffee machine' guide on the tablet by the counter. Twelve steps, each with a photo of the actual machine and a sentence. He plays the short video for step six, where the part comes off, then ticks the rest. The supervisor checks at the end and says well done.
A month later the supervisor signs off the skill, because he now does it without the guide. When the café gets a new grinder, she updates the three photos that changed that afternoon.
Could your trainees use this?
- Supervisors repeat the same instructions many times a week.
- Written procedures are long, text-heavy or out of date.
- Different supervisors teach tasks differently.
- Trainees struggle when their usual supervisor is away.
- Trainees find it hard to progress from supported to independent on a task.