Hello all,

Our company is just beginning to process of revamping our training programs. We are the parent company for 15 restaurants across Montana and Idaho. We are looking to create training levels or tiers for each of our restaurant positions. For example--you must complete certain training to be a level one server...more to be a level 2 server; etc. I was wondering if any of your companies have a tier-like training program...and if they are successful. Highlights? Pitfalls. Thanks in advance.

As luck would have it, I developed the (literally titled) Tier Training Program for a major finance company (over 250 branches across the US) and was awarded for the work.

Successes: Clear, outlined objectives for each appropriate level in the careerpath for our core operational employees. Very organized. Tough for users to mess up sequence or "fudge" advancing to different levels in training progression.

Pitfalls: In our case the design really only applied to strict careerpathing to our core operational staff. No extended offerings many positions in the organization.
A bit too "paint by numbers" and lockstep- even in such a highly regulated industry, it seemed a bit too strict.
Also, the "objective measure" (i.e. Certification tests) in our environment was only on knowledge (what they knew how to do when they knew they were being measured in a test environment) and did not mix it in with observation or actual business results "from the floor" (but admittedly, career progression took this into account).

Depending on the risk tolerance to any subjective measurement technique (i.e. Observation, Mentoring) trickling into your certification process, you may be able to more effectively utilize this in your organization.

I consulted with a manufacturing company that created a tier training program for hourly workers. They created very specific training modules with very specific performance objectives that took all guesswork out of the evaluations. Those performance based objectives were key to success. The program was quite successful. Management especially liked it because it enabled them to routinely get rid of at least 30% of new hires during the initial 90 day trial period - the newbies either passed the required performance evaluations, or they didn't. According to managers, this allowed them to get rid of workers who would eventually become "problem" employees. Experienced workers were doubtful of the whole thing at first, but new workers loved it because they knew exactly where they stood and what was expected. Eventually, older workers accepted it, and most were able to use it to advance to positions of higher pay and responsibility. Others just stayed where they were and did not advance. The key to getting their cooperation and buy-in was to have them involved with the creation of the training itself so that they could have a voice in how things ended up. Managers credited the success of the program to the fact that the training program was built "from the ground-up" with this tier program in mind. It would have been impossible to have tried this with an existing training program.

Thanks so much for your comments. Very helpful.

I will keep you posted on the success of our program...although it may take a while to launch.