ServSafe™ Exam Prep & Study Guide

AtTheInstitute.com

14. Employee Training

AtTheInstitute.com

Section Goals

• Outline the critical areas employees must be trained in.

• Explain how to identify training needs.• Explain the relative merits of various training

delivery methods.

Critical Food Safety Knowledge

•Personal hygiene•Safe food preparation•Cleaning and sanitizing•Safe chemical handling

Personal Hygiene

Employees should be trained on:

• Behaviors that can contaminate food.• Hand issues including, how and when to wash hands.• Personal cleanliness.• Proper work attire.• Reportable health issues.• Policies for eating, drinking and tobacco use.• Storage of dirty and contaminated clothing.

Safe Food Handling

Employees should be trained on:

• Preventing Time/temperature abuse.• Identifying types of contamination and how they occur.• How to prevent contamination and cross-

contamination.• How to handle food safely during the flow of food:

Receiving, Storing, Prep, Cooking, Holding, Cooling, Thawing, Reheating and Service.• Identifying and controlling the spread of common food

allergens.

Cleaning & Sanitizing

Employees should be trained on:

• When cleaning and sanitizing are required.• How to properly clean and sanitize food contact

surfaces.

Safe Chemical Handling

Employees should be trained on:

• The safe use of and protective equipment required for handling chemicals used by the operation.

First Step: Identify Your Staff’s Training Needs

Ways to identify training needs include:• Observing on-the-job performance.• Testing food safety knowledge.• Identifying and targeting areas of weakness

Additional Steps

• Retraining: Your staff needs to be periodically retrained to reinforce concepts and practices previously learned.

• Record Keeping: Document all food safety training carried out by you operation.

Training Delivery Methods

As a manager you must consider your staff and the subject matter in order to best teach the knowledge and skills required.

No single type of training works best. Ultimately, using many methods produces the best results.

On-the-Job Training

Advantages:• Good for teaching skills that can be seen and then

imitated.• Excellent for individuals and may be adapted for small

groups.Weaknesses:• Success depends upon the ability and skill of the trainer.• Poor choice for large groups.• Pulls an employee from their regular duties in order to

train.

Classroom Training

Using activity based, classroom training can also be very effective as a training delivery method. Since people learn by doing, the challenge is to keep learners actively engaged.

There are many activity-based methods that can be used in the classroom – including:

Information Search• Guided Discussion• Role-play• Jigsaw design• And Training Videos/DVDs

Information Search

This is a self-directed form of learning in which students are placed into small groups and then given questions that they must answer in a set amount of time. Groups are then brought together to communicate what they have learned.

Jigsaw Design

This is a similar to Information Search but with the added requirement that each small group will teach a specific skill or piece of knowledge.

Guided Discussion

In this approach an instructor asks questions that help staff draw upon their knowledge and experience. The goal is to make participants think and discuss their thoughts.

Demonstration

Also known as the “Tell/Show/Practice” model.

• Tell the learner how to perform a task.• Show the learner how to perform the task.• Have the learner show and explain the task

back to the instructor.

Role-Play

A form of play acting where a script is prepared illustrating wrong and right ways of performing a task. Volunteers perform the parts and a group discussion follows.

Though not always applicable, role-playing can be effective for teaching particular groups & tasks.

Other Delivery Methods

Other methods include Games, Technology-Based Training and Training Videos.

ServSafe Essentials

ISBN: 0135026520http://nraef.org

http://www.servsafe.com

AtTheInstitute.com

feedback@AtTheInstitute.com