The most effective training doesn’t teach key concepts once and then assume that they have “stuck.” Your safe restaurant or food service operation requires consistent monitoring and follow-up.

But here’s a troubling thought . . .

What if you teach your employees those skills, and they don’t use them?

That’s a troubling thought, because food service employees who fail to observe the right protocols for restaurant maintenance and food handling can literally put you out of business. One health code violation or outbreak of food poisoning is all it takes.

How can you make sure your employees consistently follow the routines you taught them? Your critical first step is to realize that those procedures fall into two categories.

Category One: Safety Routines that Can Be Tracked and Documented

You can, for example, post a restaurant cleaning schedule that documents when required cleaning routines were performed. This form should include: a list of areas to be cleaned (food prep counters, exhaust hoods, restrooms and more); a schedule of times when those procedures should take place, an explanation of how those areas should be cleaned (including a list of approved cleaning agents to use), a blank field where employees write the times they performed the procedure; a blank field where they enter their initials; and another blank field where the restaurant manager enters his or her initials to certify that the cleaning took place correctly and at the right time.

Similar checklists can and should be used to motivate and document other restaurant procedures, including freezer maintenance and the check-in and inspection of incoming food supplies (both fresh and frozen). Outside contractors who provide pest prevention, fire and security and other services must provide documentation about exactly what they did for you, how they did it, and when.

Category Two: Safety Routines that Are Harder to Track and Document

These are the routines that cause restaurant owners and managers to worry – and they should:

• You trained your employees to wash their hands correctly (with soap and water, for at least one minute, with attention paid to the areas between fingers), when to wash hands (after picking up items that have fallen on the floor, after shaking hands with patrons) . . . but they don’t strictly observe those rules.
• Employees have been instructed to stay home if they are suffering from the flu, colds, or intestinal upsets . . . but they come to work anyway.
•  The employees who log in food deliveries have been told not to accept delivery of frozen foods that have partially thawed . . . but they accept thawed foods anyway and store them in your freezer.

How can you train employees to observe protocols like those, whether someone is watching or not? Here are some procedures to follow:

• Use training  with lively videos that show employees performing the correct procedures. A video is worth a thousand words.
• Don’t only teach employees what to do. Explain why they should do the right things, and highlight the risks of ignoring instructions.
• Following training, email daily reminders to refresh knowledge of critical concepts like, “Are you washing your hands after you touch your face or hair?” and, “How are you feeling today . . . should you be at work?” A series of reminders can keep employees on track.
• Hold follow-up training sessions to refresh correct handwashing techniques, proper food preparation procedures, skills for preventing and addressing food allergies, and other critical skills.