State of Restaurant Workforce

Restaurant Training & Orientation Trends

We explore all the latest restaurant training trends, from orientation to ongoing training programs – and how they contribute to restaurant performance.

Summary

Restaurants don’t just hire talent—they build it. The latest data shows three high-return moves: invest in Day-1/Day-30 onboarding, clear minimums for ongoing FOH/BOH training, and rebalance manager training toward customer service, leadership, and HR. These are small, repeatable actions that compound into steadier teams and stronger guest outcomes and improved traffic and sales.

Orientation: The First 90 Days

The first month of employment is crucial for retention, with many employees leaving within a few weeks or even days. Getting over that hump makes a massive difference in a restaurant’s ability to be successful.

80%

of employees that make it past their first month stay for the duration of their second month.

Focus on 90 Day Mark

Of restaurant workers who make it through their second month:

63%

stay through their third month

57%

stay through their fourth month

53%

stay through their fifth month

What the Data Says

Month-1 is the break point: once new hires make it past the first month, 80% return for Month-2.
After Month-2, the likelihood of staying is 63% to Month-3, 57% to Month-4, and 53% to Month-5.
Retention curves flatten after Day-60, so front-loaded coaching (Days 1–60) has outsized ROI.
Early wins—mastering one station, earning a shift lead, first pay bump—extend tenure.
Recommendation: Understand the importance of training and orientation and ideally run a 30/60/90 day plan for every new hire to ensure they feel supported, set up for success and know what good looks like.

Training Impact on Turnover

Your employee retention plan should start on day one. The data clearly highlights how the more time spent training a staff member, the more likely they are to stay with your brand longer.

Companies Offering More Than Three Hours of New Hire Orientation Have*:

13%

Lower Non-Management Turnover

*Based on sample of Full Service companies. Turnover data shown as difference relative to company’s industry segment

What the Data Says

Brands that provide >3 hours of structured new-hire orientation see ~13% lower non-management turnover (full-service sample).
Day-1 clarity (policies, expectations, station basics) reduces early confusion—the key driver of first-week quitters.
Short, modular orientation beats marathon packets; structure your program based on empowerment. Staff want to know how to do a good job but burn out and feeling unsupported will only end one way.
Data shows that ongoing training also decreases turnover:
- BOH: >12 hours associates with ~8% better non-management turnover vs less training time than this threshold.
- FOH: >13 hours associates with ~11% better non-management turnover vs less training time than this threshold.
Recommendation: Standardize a >3-hour Day-1 orientation with a named trainer, further phased training throughout the first month and then continued structured follow ups and training initiatives. Include checklists against goals to reinforce desired behaviors.

Training Impact on Traffic

Providing well-rounded manager training yields better business results. Sales and traffic is directly correlated to more training hours.

Companies Allocating More Manager Training Time To Customer Experience, Leadership Development and HR Programs Achieve:

5%

Better Traffic Growth

*Difference relative to brand’s industry segment

What the Data Says

Stronger manager capability improves team stability, which protects execution during busy periods.
On average, brands devote 56% of manager training to basics: 21% basic job skills, 19% culinary skills, and 16% other.
Rebalancing manager training time toward customer service, leadership development, and HR correlates with ~5% better traffic growth.
Recommendation: Keep fundamentals, but balance them with training that builds guest-recovery skills, coaching/leadership, and HR fluency so managers advance faster, feel more confident, and deliver stronger outcomes.

What Winning Brands Are Doing

Codify Day-1 and Day-30. Every location delivers >3 hours of orientation on Day-1 and a Day-30 check-in with a named trainer; completion is tracked like a KPI.
Set FOH/BOH training minimums. They budget to exceed 13 hrs FOH / 12 hrs BOH annually, spread over monthly micro-modules with on-shift practice.
Rebalance manager training. A fixed share of hours goes to guest recovery, leadership development, and HR, with quarterly certification and/or coaching huddles.
Front-load the first 90 days. They use a written 30/60/90 plan that includes buddy shifts, cross-training milestones, and – even better – a small skill-based pay bump when milestones are hit.
Instrument the ROI. Dashboards track orientation completion, training hours per person, 90-day retention, and comp traffic—and dollars are reallocated quarterly to the highest-return modules.

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Where This Data Came From

Everything cited here was originally shared in our annual deep dive webinar into the state of the restaurant workforce, which was taken from our Total Rewards Survey and our Restaurant Performance Network – meaning all insight comes straight from the HR teams and payroll platforms of the biggest restaurant brands in the country.

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