Blog posts of '2020' 'July'

Keeping your staff trained about food safety is crucial to a well-run restaurant, but one aspect of food safety that is just as important are allergens.

Food allergies are very common. Approximately 15 million Americans have some sort of food allergy. Reactions to allergens can range from mild to severe, with over 150 people dying each year.

Depending on where you are, allergen training may not be required, but it is still oh-so-important. If your staff isn’t properly educated on allergens, it risks a customer having a life-threatening allergic reaction and needing medical attention.

Being knowledgeable about allergens helps to minimize the risk of exposure to customers as well as the risk of litigation against your restaurant or your staff. It is your responsibility to prevent these situations from happening.

So, protect your customers and your business by having your staff allergen trained. Learn more about our Allergen Awareness Training to get started.

The restaurant industry is one of the most diverse workforces in the United States, but there are still ways we can improve, especially when it comes to management positions.

Having a diverse group of employees with different genders, ethnicities, ages, and experience can have a wide range of benefits to your company. Learn more about these benefits, as well as how to increase diversity in your company.

Diversity Breakdown

Benefits of Diversity

More Productive Workforce

Studies have shown that having a more diverse workforce can lead to greater productivity and creativity. Different backgrounds mean there are more viewpoints and ideas, leading to better and more creative solutions.

Represent a Wider Customer Base

Having a team of employees from different backgrounds will make your restaurant more comfortable to a wider range of customers. Diversity can also have benefits if some of your employees are bilingual and can communicate more customers.

Increasing Diversity

It’s not just about hiring a more diverse workforce; it’s about changing or creating systems and policies for a more inclusive environment.

Assess your Organization

Think about who currently works at your company, as well as your customer base. Does the makeup of your company match the diversity in your community?

Don’t forget to look at management. Having diverse management helps create an inclusive environment for everyone at your restaurant.

Mentorship and Networking Programs

Mentorship and networking have been proven to increase female and minority representation in management positions. Professionals can help guide people through the industry and give them knowledge and connections.

There are a number of different mentoring and networking programs that are specific to the restaurant industry, so try and find some in your area. Or, you can have mentors within your company.

As things are starting to move online, Always Food Safe offers remote proctoring for our Food Manager Certification exam! Many tests are going virtual to help with social distancing, but there are many other benefits to online exams as opposed to in-person. Read more about the benefits to both the company and the test takers.

Benefits to Test Takers

More Flexibility

Instead of having to take time away from work to travel to your nearest test center, you can complete your training and exam from home.

This will save you time and money!

No Travel

Driving to a test center where you will have to travel for miles, sit in traffic, spend money on gas, and try and find parking is not conducive to a good test experience. Go with the easier option and take your exam at home.

Less Stress

Even before COVID exam centers were stressful places, but now with social distancing, having to wear a mask and other regulations now makes sitting in the exam room almost as stressful as taking the exam itself. Why create all that stress for yourself, when you could instead stay somewhere you are comfortable?

Benefits to Companies

Less to Organize

You have a million and one things to do running a restaurant. Taking an hour out of your day to proctor an exam could be time spent elsewhere.  Make things easier for yourself and just use remote proctoring.

Keep Staff Busy

With many restaurants running at 50% capacity there can either be downtime for staff, or they are still on furlough. Use this time to get staff trained and ready for when the country opens up fully and things get busy again.

It's Easy

With ALL of the Certification being completed online, you don’t have to worry about anything. Staff will take the training and exam, and then their certificate will reside in your online account area.

To find out more information please call 844.312.2011 or email help@alwaysfoodsafe.com for more information on this offering.