WHOLESALE - TRAINING CHALLENGES

This article was originally written for publication on CoffeeGeek.

In most café settings, a café owner or an appointed and very skilled head barista trainer carries out most staff training. Not surprisingly, when there are drawers to count, customers to greet, teapots to dust, and phones to answer, proper training is a crucial step in ensuring that the highest possible standards are adhered to when other responsibilities take a trainer elsewhere. To me, proper training is any and all skill-transfer from one person (trainer) to another (trainee) that changes the trainee’s skill level in a positive way towards improving the ultimate coffee experience for your customer. For the Specialty Coffee industry, this usually means that the ultimate training goal is to teach and inspire all staff to offer great espresso drinks, drip coffee, and coffee by the pound with outstanding customer service 100% of the time, which ultimately and continuously generates more and better business for the store.

To help further understand the ultimate training goal, we can benefit from exploration of the various situations that take us away from achieving our goal. It is useful to think of these situations not as indications that something is wrong with the trainee, or the trainer, or even the training (although in some instances it might be true) but instead as normal challenges that one should expect to encounter and ultimately overcome in the training process.  

Challenge #1

"We can deliver the quality I want, but not consistently."

And while we’re at it…

Challenge #2

"I can never tell if my training sticks."

These common and recurring challenges may seem to have an obvious answer. The training has “stuck” with the trainee if he or she demonstrates mastery of the tasks, and if not, then the trainee needs more training, right? This may be true, but often truly measuring success is overlooked. It is easy to see if, for example, training on how to grind to order has been effective- the trainee grinds to order (or not!). But anyone who has worked on an espresso machine knows there is more to being a great barista consistently than just learning to grind, dose, and tamp a certain way. How can a trainer judge the effectiveness about training to really taste espresso, or training on how to describe coffee, or training on speed and efficiency, to name a few? Furthermore, how can a trainer be sure that all factors are working together to inspire real passion and understanding?

Achieving a high level of quality can be difficult enough to do, maintaining a high level of quality can be nearly impossible and requires a great deal of planning, hard work, and perseverance. The quality-driven members of the specialty coffee community largely agree that without consistency, sporadically reaching even the highest quality will only go so far to ultimately contribute in a positive way to the bottom line. Addressing this challenge with training is a natural step to take and is certainly one that I have faced in the past. Training consistency to individuals and among a staff collectively must start from the ground up. To address this particular challenge at Intelligentsia, we decided that what we needed was for barista training to culminate in some sort of test and certification process. We knew we needed a program that addressed all of the important aspects of what it takes to be a barista. Our first step was to determine what those aspects are, and we quickly realized that the best way to set our drink-making rules was to base them entirely on what produces the best-tasting espresso and espresso drinks in a timely fashion. Once we determined which skills produced the best tasting drinks, we listed each contributing factor that goes into creating each drink and defined them. Each feature was assigned a point value and by extension, each drink was then worth however many points as its distinct features are worth together. For example, the Intelligentsia Caffe Mocha ended up with over 30 distinct specifications. Most features are worth one point because we wanted to reinforce the idea that there is one correct way of doing each step, and that any variation is incorrect. Some features, such as creating a latte art rosetta, are worth more than one point because a qualitative judgment is necessary. A pretty good rosetta, while not perfect, is better and should earn more points than no rosetta or a sloppy rosetta. The Caffe Mocha, then, ended up worth a total of 45 points.

As a trainer, this helped me to be able to measure the success of each training. This addresses both the challenge of consistent high quality and the challenge of determining the effectiveness of training. When a trainee knows without question what success looks like, he or she should be able to demonstrate mastery of the material. At Intelligentsia, we call our program Bar Certification. Every staff member must pass the certification before being allowed to work on the espresso bar while the store is open.

Our certification program also specifically targets both the theoretical and practical application of barista skills. There is a written portion, a rosetta latte portion (a variety of milks, a variety of cups), a portion dealing with grind adjustment, and a portion we call the “menu board” (which is the section that utilizes the point-value system outlined above). The barista must make, in succession, every espresso-bar drink that we offer on our menu. The challenge is that there are three different versions of the menu board which mix up the combinations of for here and to go cups; regular, skim, and soy milk; Black Cat™ and Decaf Black Cat™ espresso; and the possibility of added vanilla syrup (it’s the only one we offer). We divided up our menu board into four categories- espresso-only, milk-based, iced drinks, and other. We made sure that each category had each kind of milk, every size, one decaf and one vanilla to make sure that all versions are consistent.  Essentially the barista starts with all possible points (Total points possible: 617) and as compromises (doing each feature correctly but running out of time) or minor mistakes (forgetting to dry the portafilter, using the wrong mug for cappuccino) are made, points are lost. For example, serving in the right cup is worth 1 point. This means the right size, the right saucer, and the right spoon all are prepared according to our defined standard.  Grinding the exact amount of coffee (within 4 grams) is a point. Steaming milk to the perfect temperature is a point. Tamping with 30 pounds of pressure is a point. At the end, a score at least of 90% overall is needed to pass the bar certification (553 points). Over 50% of the points are achieved by preparing espresso correctly, so it’s not possible to even glimpse passing unless espresso skills are near perfect. Since implementing this program over a year ago, we have certified over 30  staff members.

The certification process, while very involved, time-consuming, and complex, is still just a small part of the actual training process.  Hours of one-on-one training must take place tasting espresso, learning how to adjust the grind and prepare drinks, learning latte art, learning about the roasting process, cupping coffee, and on and on and on, to prepare the trainee for certification and ultimately, to become a great barista.  At the beginning of drink training, the trainee is presented with the Bar Certification in its entirety so he or she knows exactly what is expected.  Bar Certification, then, not only provides an environment for complete and effective training, but also has created an overall, everyday increase in skill level, drink quality, as well as consistency.  Ultimately, this was our goal, and our training and certification program has helped us achieve it.

Challenge #3

“When I learn something new, it’s difficult to get my staff to adapt.”

The nature of the specialty coffee business is quite dynamic. There are continuous efforts throughout the industry to educate ourselves and provide our customers with the ultimate coffee experience. We attend seminars, trade shows, and classes. We travel to origin. We read books, trade magazines, and newspaper articles about coffee. We visit websites. We watch videos. We meet new people. All of these are part of life in specialty coffee. All of these insances may cause us to learn something new and sometimes we can implement new procedures in our stores. It is easy enough to adjust a training program to include new findings- for example, drying the portafilter, using a digital timer to time espresso shots, etc.- for future trainings. The tough part is often how to introduce new material to veteran staff. On one hand, you don’t want your staff to feel that you’re always changing the rules. This can be frustrating and confusing. On the other hand, you want to serve the best coffee possible, and if a new skill improves the way your coffee tastes, then it’s counterproductive to ignore. When faced with this challenge, we have found the most successful way to introduce a change is to connect it with the most basic of basics: how the coffee tastes. I remember long, long ago when we didn’t dry the portafilter before preparing espresso. When the idea was first introduced to us, it seemed like a waste of time. All of us Intelligentsia baristas liked the way our espresso tasted just fine, thank you very much. But, when we tried espresso shots prepared with “our” way (not drying) side by side with the “new” way (drying), it was clear that we needed to change our preparation techniques. As we know now, drying the portafilter before dosing coffee produces a better tasting espresso.

This approach is also effective when dealing with a staff member that has a few “rogue” habits. For whatever reason, staff members may occasionally stray from the exact specifications outlined in your training program. Whether it’s because they’re trying to improve efficiency, because they still have leftover habits from a previous café job, or because they simply make mistakes, the important thing is for a trainer to address the situation and correct it as soon as possible. As a trainer, I have found in many instances that demonstrating how the rogue habit negatively affects taste in the actual cup is far more effective than simply telling the person to stop. I remember a situation about two and a half years ago, when we had an otherwise great barista that wasn’t rinsing shot glasses after every shot of espresso. All it took for me to neutralize this habit was to have the barista taste a shot of espresso pulled into clean shot glasses, then taste a shot pulled into the same glasses less than a minute later. As expected, there was a profound difference in taste, and the need to rinse the shot glasses instantly became crystal clear to the barista.  

Challenge #4

"There is not enough time to train."

This challenge could also be called “We are too busy to take time for training” or “I only hire people when I need them to start working on the sales floor ASAP,” among others. This is perhaps the most misunderstood training issue and all too common.  It also, unfortunately, can be a recurring pattern rather than one isolated incident. Think about the last 5 people you have hired to join your staff. What was the orientation and training process for each of these new employees? How long were they “in training”? Who was the primary trainer? Did some receive more training than others? Why? How satisfied were you with the amount of training provided? How many are still working in the café and (most importantly) regularly contributing in a positive manner to your ultimate training goal?

Many café owners are reluctant to carve out specific time for orientation or training, usually concerned that a shorthanded staff might not be able to keep up with customer demand, and will cause customers to leave and never come back. Another reason often cited is the distaste for the labor costs usually incurred when an “extra” person is on the payroll for each day of training. Some see specific training as a waste of time, as the expectation is for employees to just learn on the job, especially when customer demand is the reason for hiring new staff (such as those hired for holiday help or to staff the cafés expanded hours, etc.).  

The costs of training (labor, time, and otherwise) should certainly be carefully monitored to keep training time purposeful. If staff are expected to meet the needs of customers in a way that is consistent with your ultimate training goal, then it is crucial that they receive the transfer of skills and knowledge that allows them to do this properly. The way we have done this is to designate specifics about orientation training in accordance with the old standby 5 W’s and H.  (Anyone that worked on their high school newspaper will remember Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.)  Once you have done this, you have an idea of how long training will take, so you can hire accordingly. If you need someone to start on December 15, and you have determined that your orientation training will last 3 days, then hire to start on the 12th instead. The three “extra” days of labor costs will more than be offset by the outstanding customer service this new person is able to deliver. Most importantly, by outlining specific training procedures and time boundaries, you greatly reduce or even eliminate the possibility of a time-crunch infringing on your commitment to properly train your staff. This approach is also effective for training besides orientation. Barista training, coffee bean education and sales training, and even latte art training will be much more efficient and effective if approached this way.

In the specialty coffee community it is common and almost expected to face training challenges such as these.  It can be tempting to fall into a trap of frustration when routinely encountered with some of the same challenges.  It is promising, though, that with some serious planning and a clear emphasis on serving the best-tasting coffee possible, your training program will elevate the skills of your staff and the quality the drinks served, which is both beneficial to your store and to the specialty coffee community as a whole.