Helping Employees of All Ages to Embrace New Tech

Tech has an increasing integral presence in the restaurant industry, as more and more operators turn to innovative solutions to achieve their business goals. Also entering the kitchen? Retirees. Experts predict over five million workers aged 65 and up will be joining the restaurant workforce within the next few years as they seek flexible schedules, socialization, and less reliance on benefits such as childcare. Read on for tips and techniques to help this experienced generation embrace unfamiliar technology.

Getting Employees on Your Side

Regardless of age, change is never easy. Getting all of your employees on board with new tech starts with answering their first question: what’s in it for me? Sharing the day-to-day benefits they’ll see not only in the restaurant as a whole but in their specific positions can make all the difference in gaining their support, leading to a more successful implementation. You can also get employee buy-in by simply asking for their input. For example, before implementing tech like QSR Automations’ ConnectSmart® Host, talk to your hosts about the features and benefits since they’ll be the ones using the tech daily. This employee empowerment allows for a higher chance of success. Along those lines, managers can be motivated by tech that makes their jobs easier, like schedule management or staying compliant with employee breaks. Management is the bridge between teams and senior leadership; getting their new tech endorsement can have positive lasting effects for all employees.

Pacing Implementation

While employee buy-in is critical to new tech success, so is not overwhelming your employees. Tech-savvy or not, rolling out too much new tech at once can be daunting for staff. A better strategy is to stagger roll out and training. If possible, pilot the rollout of new tech at one restaurant location so you can troubleshoot problems in real time as they arise, mitigating the pain points you might feel at a full rollout. Start with just a small handful of employees and give them plenty of time to get comfortable before onboarding the full team. You may also want to let those employees lead trainings, which helps them evolve into in-house experts. Other keys to not overwhelming employees with new tech include being thoughtful about what tech you implement. Ideally any new tech should be user-friendly for all ages (especially as retirees start to move in) and replace one to two tasks or tools. Try not to get distracted by all the bells and whistles of unnecessary features and integrations. Think of it as a Kitchen-aid mixer – just because you CAN buy an attachment to make pasta, doesn’t mean you should. If it’s not the best tool for an important job, keep looking.

Reduced Stress, Increased Opportunities 

Ultimately new tech in your restaurant should lead to reduced employee stress, which serves as a lagging success indicator. It’s easy to overlook the cost of stress, but lowering that cost pays off in employee productivity, morale and retention. Tech like QSR Automations’ ConnectSmart® platform provides numerous benefits from the host stand to the kitchen, but in order to reap those benefits, you have to get your staff on board. By using the tactics above, as well as creating a feedback loop to address ongoing concerns, you can streamline new tech adoption from all employees. Subscribe to the blog for more interesting restaurant content!

---

About the Author

Caitlin Soard is a Content Marketing Strategist with over seven years of marketing experience under her belt. She joined the QSR Automations marketing team in June of 2022 and has been hard at work improving their social media and content ever since. She attended Franklin College where she received a Bachelor of Arts, focusing in Journalism and Public Relations as well as minoring in English. When she’s not lending her social media wizardry to QSR Automations, you can find her playing Dungeons & Dragons or TCGs at her local card shop, enjoying live local music, or spending time with her cat and two dogs, Ellie, Laney, and Orryn.