Shift the mindset, refine the process, reveal the sauce.
ShiftSauce
Truett's CFA Stockbridge
Trainer Development
CPT — Level 1
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Pre-Promotion Path
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Week 1
The Trainer Mindset
Who you are, what this role means, self-assessment
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🎯
Week 2
Start With Why
Golden Circle, Demonstration, Imitation, Repetition
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Hands-On Labs
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Lab 1
Why in Real Life
Connect every task to Guest impact (FOH + BOH)
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Lab 2
Demonstration Reps
Live practice across FOH and BOH stations
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✅
Pre-Promotion
New Hire Experience
Sign-offs, Training Passport setup, CORE 4 & HEARD
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Post-Promotion Growth
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Post-Promotion
Feedback That Lands
Brain-friendly feedback, So What/Now What model
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Truett's Chick-fil-A Stockbridge
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The role of a Certified Peer Trainer goes far beyond simply teaching tasks. It is about guiding, mentoring, and inspiring. You are often the first real human connection a New Hire makes at Truett's. That first impression shapes everything that comes after.
Think about your own first week. You probably remember how it felt more than what you were taught. Did someone make you feel like you belonged? Did someone take the time to explain the why behind what they were showing you? Or did you feel like you were figuring it out on your own?
Your primary goal is to give every New Hire something better. Provide structure, support, and encouragement during those first weeks so they can grow into confident, capable contributors to the team.
What CPT Means in Practice
You own your trainee's experience from the moment they walk in
You do not leave them to figure things out — you stay close, coach in the moment, and follow up
You model the standard every single shift, whether you are assigned to a New Hire or not
You give feedback — real, specific, kind, and consistent feedback
You communicate to your trainee's learning style, not just your own comfort zone
What a CPT is NOT
You are a leader — but not in the formal leadership structure. You are not expected to handle money, approve discounts, manage team conflicts, or issue refunds. Those responsibilities belong to Team Leaders, Supervisors, and Directors.
Your influence is different but equally important. The habits, standards, and confidence you build in a New Hire in their first week will follow them for as long as they are on this team.
The Reality of This Role
Being a CPT is not always easy. You will train people who learn slowly. You will train during rushes and short-staffed shifts. There will be moments when you have to choose between getting the job done fast and doing the job of training well. Choose training. Every time.
The Bottom Line
You have been entrusted with something foundational to this business. You are not only appreciated — you are indispensable.
Who trained you when you first started? What did they do well — and what do you wish had been different?
Rate yourself honestly on each item. 1 = Never | 3 = Sometimes | 5 = Always. Tap a number to select your score.
Knowledge
I can demonstrate CFA procedures accurately without asking someone
I know all products, modifiers, and POS buttons
I can troubleshoot common POS and tablet issues on my own
I consistently model appearance and uniform standards
I know the Food Safety 5 and can explain each one clearly
Training Skills
I explain tasks clearly the first time without needing to repeat myself
I naturally use CORE 4 when engaging with New Hires and guests
I build genuine connections with New Hires quickly
I can explain small details AND the big picture behind a task
I adjust my teaching approach when someone is not getting it
Speed and Accuracy
I stay focused — I do not get distracted mid-training
I consistently meet speed of service expectations
I am accurate across all positions — OT, Bagging, Drinks, BOH stations
I know the difference between rushing and being efficient
Leadership
I do the right thing even when no one is watching
I proactively look for ways to improve on the floor and off
I influence others toward greater performance without using authority
I take ownership of mistakes without deflecting
I model maturity under pressure, especially during rushes
Attitude
I model a servant spirit — I look for ways to help before being asked
I show up with energy and positivity even on hard days
I treat every person — new hire, veteran, guest — with dignity and respect
I demonstrate patience with people who learn differently or more slowly
I am coachable — I receive feedback well and apply it
Your Score
0 / 100
Look at your lowest scores. Pick the ONE area that would make the biggest impact if you improved it before your first training shift. What will you do differently starting now?
These are the most common ways new CPTs unintentionally undermine their own training and their trainees' success.
Mistake 1 — Training by Doing
You jump in and do the task while the New Hire watches. You get the job done, but they learned nothing. Training is not doing it for them — it is teaching them how to do it themselves, even when it is slower or messier.
Mistake 2 — Skipping the Why
You show them the steps but never explain why the steps exist. Without the why, they just go through the motions. The moment they are on their own and something feels inconvenient, they will skip the step.
Mistake 3 — Training Only When Scheduled as a Trainer
Your CPT role does not clock out. If you see a New Hire doing something incorrectly and walk past without correcting it, you just trained them that it is acceptable.
Mistake 4 — Avoiding Difficult Feedback
It feels kind to let small things slide. But kindness that withholds honest feedback is not actually kind — it is avoidance. A New Hire who never hears what they need to improve will find out the hard way.
Mistake 5 — Checking the Box Instead of Building Mastery
Sign-offs are not meant to be completed quickly. Signing off on someone who is not ready does not make them ready — it just makes the problem someone else's to deal with later.
Which of these mistakes are you most at risk of making? What will you do to guard against it?
These questions move in one direction: from your past experience as a New Hire toward the trainer you are actively choosing to become. Do not rush through them. The quality of your answers here reflects the quality of your self-awareness — and self-awareness is the foundation of everything in this role.
Question 1 — Your Trainer, Honestly
Think about the person or people who trained you. Were they a good teacher? Were they patient, approachable, present, and knowledgeable? Describe specifically what they did well — and what they did not do well. Do not be vague. Name the behaviors.
Now the harder part: Which of their weaknesses do you already see in yourself? Be honest. Awareness is not failure — it is the first step toward doing better.
Question 2 — The Gaps They Left
When your training ended and you were on your own for the first time, what did you not know? What did you have to figure out by yourself — or worse, in front of a guest? List the actual gaps, not a general feeling of being unprepared.
Now ask yourself: Why did those gaps exist? Was it your trainer moving too fast? Was it your own confidence? Was it a procedure that was never explained clearly? Understanding the root cause matters — because you are about to be responsible for making sure someone else does not have the same gaps.
Question 3 — Pressure vs. Preparation
There is a difference between knowing how to do something and being able to do it under pressure. Think about your first time truly on your own — not with a trainer watching, not during a slow moment, but during a real rush with real stakes. Were you prepared? What fell apart and what held?
What does this tell you about the standard you need to hold your trainees to before you sign them off? Not "can they do it when it is easy" — but "can they do it when it is hard?"
Question 4 — Your Blind Spot
Every new trainer has at least one blind spot — something about how they come across that they do not notice but others do. It might be the way they take over instead of letting the trainee try. It might be that they get impatient when someone is slow. It might be that they explain things clearly in their own head but confusingly out loud.
Ask someone who knows you well — a Leader, a fellow trainer, someone who has worked closely with you — what they think your blind spot as a trainer might be. Write down what they said. Not what you wish they said. What they actually said.
Question 5 — Your Trainer Commitment
You have reflected on your own training experience, your gaps, your pressure performance, and your blind spot. Now use all of that to write something real.
This is not "I want to be a good trainer." This is a specific, honest commitment that names who you are choosing to be — and what you are choosing to do differently than the trainer you had. Write it in first person. Write it like you mean it. You will come back to this.
Simon Sinek's Golden Circle is the foundation of how great trainers communicate. People do not buy what you do — they buy why you do it. And they will not remember what you teach them unless you teach them the why behind it first.
Sinek's Golden Circle has three layers: Why — How — What. Most people communicate from the outside in. Great trainers communicate from the inside out — starting with Why.
If you ask the average team member why they ask clarifying questions, the answer is "because my manager told me to." That is compliance, not ownership. Compliance fades the moment no one is watching.
But if a team member understands that a clarifying question prevents a wrong order, which prevents a frustrated guest, which protects the flagship experience — now they own it.
The Mission as the Master Why
Our Why
"Truett's Chick-fil-A Stockbridge exists to honor Truett's Legacy by providing the world's best hospitality and care to our guests, the city of Stockbridge, and one another."
Examples in Action
Pickle placement: Two pickles, close but not overlapping — so the guest gets a bite of pickle in every bite. Intentional flavor consistency.
Ice dream portioning: Precise portions every time — when a guest comes back and their cone looks smaller, they notice. Consistency builds trust.
Calling out chicken: Every drop, every time — one missed callout can back up the entire kitchen and make a guest wait 10 minutes for an order placed 5 minutes ago.
Labeling pans with time and temp: Every pan, no exceptions — food safety is not optional. One pan held too long is a liability and a brand failure.
Pick a task from your area that team members often skip or rush through. Write out the full Why, How, and What for that task the way you would explain it to a New Hire.
Once your trainee understands the why, you move into the how. This is not just a model — it is the only real way humans build lasting skill.
Step 1: Demonstration
You do the task. You narrate every step. You explain the why behind each one. A good demonstration includes showing the correct sequence, naming what you are doing as you do it, explaining why that step exists, pointing out common mistakes before they make them, and checking for understanding before moving on.
Step 2: Imitation
Now they do it. You watch. The shake will splatter. The cone will tip. The order will come out wrong. That is the point. Your job is to be close enough to catch errors before they become habits, but far enough away that the trainee is actually doing the work.
The goal of imitation is to instill healthy habits now so you are not trying to break bad ones later. Bad habits are exponentially harder to correct than gaps in knowledge.
Step 3: Repetition
Mastery does not happen in one shift. Keep going until they can perform correctly, consistently, and confidently — not just on an easy order, but on a complicated one during a rush.
When a Trainee Is Not Getting It
Before you repeat yourself louder or give up, ask: am I teaching to their learning style or mine?
Visual: They need to see it. Show them again. Pull up Pathway. Draw it out.
Auditory: They need to talk through it. Ask them to explain the steps back to you and fill in the gaps.
Kinesthetic: They need to do it. Give them a practice run with no pressure — no guests, no stakes.
If none of those are working, try creating a memory hook — an acronym, a comparison, a visual cue. Think outside the box. That is what makes an incredible trainer.
This week's homework is built around the core skill of Week 2 — teaching with intention, not just doing with competence. Every question pushes you from knowing to teaching.
Question 1 — Your Learning Style and Its Trap
Identify your primary learning style — visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. Now answer this honestly: when you have explained something to someone and it did not land, what did you do? Did you try a different approach — or did you just repeat yourself the same way, maybe slower or louder?
Most people default to teaching the way they learn. That works for trainees who share your style — and completely fails for those who do not. Describe one specific situation where you will need to intentionally step outside your natural style to reach a trainee who learns differently than you do.
Question 2 — Task Breakdown: Teach It on Paper
Choose the task you are most confident in at the restaurant. Break it down completely as if you are writing instructions for someone who has never set foot in a kitchen or on a floor. Every item needed. Every step in order. The most common mistakes and why they happen. And the full Why — not the surface why, but the guest impact, the brand impact, the operational impact of doing it right every time.
When you are done, read it back. Would a brand new team member be able to execute this task correctly using only what you wrote? If not, keep going.
Question 3 — Be the Trainee. Study the Trainer.
Find a task you are not confident in — FOH, BOH, or Full Serve. Ask a Leader or experienced Trainer to teach it to you during a slow moment. But this time, you have a dual assignment: learn the task AND observe how you are being taught.
Pay attention to everything. Did they start with the why or jump straight to the steps? Did they demonstrate and then let you try, or did they do it for you the whole time? Did they check for your understanding or assume you had it? Did they adjust when something was not clicking — or keep going anyway? You are about to do this job. Study every trainer you encounter like they are showing you exactly what to do or exactly what not to do.
Question 4 — Your One Commitment Before Your First Training Shift
You have two weeks of content behind you. You know your learning style. You have broken down a task on paper. You have studied someone else teach. You have identified your blind spot.
Before you train your first New Hire, name the ONE thing you are most committed to doing well — not because it is easy, but because you know it will make the biggest difference for the person sitting across from you. Be specific. Vague commitments do not change behavior.
Lab 1 is a live, hands-on session with your Trainer Coach. Schedule your 30-minute slot below before moving on to the lab content.
30 minutes · Booking link expires September 23, 2026
Reading about Start With Why is one thing. Doing it under pressure — quickly, clearly, confidently — is something else entirely. This lab moves the concept from your head into your mouth.
Time: 30 minutes total
Format: Each trainer draws a task slip. You have 30 seconds to demonstrate the task, state the why, and connect it to guest experience, CEM, brand trust, or food safety.
Scoring Criteria
Clarity — Could a brand new team member follow that explanation?
Confidence — Did you own it, or did you sound like you were guessing?
Accuracy — Was the why actually correct?
Emotional tone — Did you sound like a leader who cares, or someone just reciting?
Connection — Did you tie it back to the guest, the brand, food safety, or the mission?
Trainer Coach Note
The most common failure in this lab is accuracy without connection. A trainer can state the correct steps and still not explain why those steps exist. Push trainees to go beyond procedure and into purpose.
This is your reference list for Lab 1. Your Trainer Coach will assign tasks from this list during the lab. For each task assigned, your job is to demonstrate it, explain the why in 20–30 seconds, and connect it to guest experience, CEM, consistency, or brand trust.
FOH Tasks
Milkshake build order — chocolate first, then base to the red line, then ice dream. Why does the order matter for the final product?
Labeling a drink correctly — marker placement, modifier notation. Why does an unlabeled drink create a guest experience failure?
Asking clarifying questions — when, how, and why do clarifying questions protect the guest and the kitchen?
Portioning ice dream correctly — not over or under. Why does inconsistency affect guest expectations on their next visit?
Using table markers for dine-in — every single order. Why does a missing table marker create downstream chaos?
Checking a tray before handoff — every item verified before it leaves your hands. Why does one missing sauce ruin an otherwise perfect order?
Saying My Pleasure with a genuine smile — tone, eye contact, body language. Why does a scripted response without connection miss the point entirely?
Using HEARD when something goes wrong — the full model, in order. Why does the order of HEARD matter and what happens when you skip a step?
Same format for BOH tasks. For each task your Trainer Coach assigns, demonstrate it, explain the why, and connect it to food safety, brand protection, guest trust, or speed through accuracy.
BOH Tasks
Handwashing correctly and at the right moments — 20 seconds, specific technique. Why does the timing matter as much as the technique?
Proper glove use and glove changes — when to put them on, when to change them. Why is a glove worn too long worse than no glove?
Breading sequence — the correct order — Why does the sequence affect the product, not just the process?
Holding time checks — checking times, pulling product past hold. Why is a product held too long a brand failure and a food safety issue simultaneously?
Filtering oil correctly — steps and timing. Why does unfiltered oil affect the flavor of every product that touches it?
Labeling pans with time and temp — every pan, every time. Why is an unlabeled pan a liability, not just an inconvenience?
Setting up your station before the rush — what ready actually looks like. Why does a poorly set station cost you the first 15 minutes of a rush?
Calling for help before you fall behind — when to call it and how. Why is asking for help early a sign of a great team member, not a weak one?
Your Trainer Coach will assign tasks to you during this lab. Each time you are given a task, log it below. Record what was assigned, how you executed it, the coaching you received, and what you are taking away from that rep.
This is your record of the lab. Be specific. Vague notes do not help you grow.
Task 1
End of Lab Reflection
Looking at all the tasks you were assigned today — which one exposed the biggest gap between what you knew and what you could actually teach? What is your plan to close that gap before your first real training shift?
Lab 2 is a live, hands-on session with your Trainer Coach. Schedule your slot below before moving on to the lab content.
45 minutes · Booking link expires September 23, 2026
Knowing how to do something and knowing how to teach it are two completely different skills. This lab is designed to close that gap. You will rotate through stations and demonstrate tasks the way you would teach them to a New Hire.
Time: 45 minutes
Key rule: You are not being scored on whether you can do the task. You are being scored on whether you can teach it.
Scoring Criteria
Sequencing — Steps in the correct order with no skips
Narration — You explain what you are doing as you do it, including the why
Common mistakes — You proactively name what goes wrong and why it matters
Confidence — Your trainee would feel like they are learning from someone who owns this
Accuracy — The procedure itself is correct per Pathway standard
What Great Looks Like
A great demo does not just show the steps — it makes the New Hire feel capable. By the end of a great demonstration, a New Hire should be thinking "I can do that" — not "I hope I can remember all of that."
Station A — Demonstrate a Drink Build
Walk through the full build sequence — cup selection, ice level, fill line, lid selection
Explain why each step is done in that order
Name the three most common mistakes: wrong lid, wrong ice level, forgetting to label
Have your practice trainee imitate the build and give them real-time feedback
Station B — Demonstrate Taking a Face-to-Face Order
Model all four elements of CORE 4 — not just the words, but the body language and tone
Walk through how to ask clarifying questions naturally without sounding scripted
Show what it looks like to slow down for a new hire versus rushing through for line speed
Demonstrate how to correct a trainee mistake in the moment without embarrassing them in front of a guest
Station C — Demonstrate a Bagging Sequence
Verbalize each accuracy check out loud — sandwich, sides, sauces, utensils, napkins
Walk through the correct placement sequence and explain why it matters for quality
Explain the speed vs. accuracy balance
Call out the top errors: missing sauce, wrong sandwich, unlabeled bag
Which FOH station was hardest to teach clearly? What is the gap between how you personally do that task and how you explained it to someone else?
Station A — Demonstrate a Breading Procedure
Walk through every step of the breading sequence in order — no skips, no assumptions
Explain the food safety reason behind each step
Call out the most common errors when rushing: skipping the shake-off, overloading the basket, not checking the product before dropping
Explain what inconsistent breading means for the guest's experience
Station B — Demonstrate Machine or Station Setup
Show what a fully ready station looks like before service begins
Walk through readiness checks: what to look for, what to fill, what to confirm before the first order hits
Explain what NOT to rush: safety checks, temperature confirmations, equipment calibration
Explain what a poor setup costs the team during the first 15 minutes of a rush
Station C — Demonstrate Ticket Flow or Assembly
Walk through ticket reading — how to scan a ticket efficiently and identify modifiers immediately
Verbalize your accuracy checks as you assemble each item
Explain the speed vs. food safety balance
Walk through what to do when falling behind — call it early, ask for help, do not skip checks
After completing both FOH and BOH stations: Where are you strongest as a teacher? Where do you need the most development before training a real New Hire?
You can demonstrate perfectly. You can explain every why. But if you cannot give feedback that actually changes behavior, the training does not stick. Feedback is the bridge between watching someone do something and watching them do it well.
Feedback can be verbal or nonverbal. It can be positive or corrective. It can even be unintentional. The facial expression you make when a trainee drops an ice cream cone is feedback. The silence you give when they nail a complicated order is also feedback. You are always communicating something — the question is whether it is what you intend.
What Feedback Actually Does
It gives team members a clear picture of where they stand
It builds confidence when it is specific and positive
It creates a culture where growth is expected, not feared
It protects the guest experience by correcting problems before they become habits
It protects the team member — they deserve to know what success looks like before they are evaluated on it
The Cost of Avoiding Feedback
When you avoid giving corrective feedback, you are not protecting the team member — you are allowing a bad habit to harden. And the longer a bad habit exists, the harder it is to break.
If a team member is making the same mistake every shift for two months and you have never told them, what does it say when you finally bring it up? It tells them either that you were not paying attention, or that you did not care enough to help them sooner.
Think of a time you received feedback that genuinely changed how you worked. What made it land? What did the person do or say that made you actually hear it?
Example A — The Praise Sandwich
"You're doing really well on your first day! But you must ensure you're placing the pickles correctly and adding the service ticket — you keep missing them. And you forgot to call out your chicken. But other than that, you're doing really well!"
Example B — Brain-Friendly Feedback
"I really like your energy with the other team members — you've got CORE 4 nailed and your speed is solid. For this next order, I want to see you keep that same energy and focus specifically on labeling each sandwich with the service ticket. One thing at a time — let's lock that in."
Why A Fails
Our brains are wired to scan for threats. The moment they hear criticism — even buried in a compliment — they go into defense mode. The positive feedback disappears. All they hear is the correction, and it lands like an attack. Also notice: Example A lists three separate corrections at once. A team member cannot fix three things simultaneously.
Why B Works
Specific positive first: Not "you are doing well" but WHY — the energy, the CORE 4, the speed. Concrete and genuine.
No "but": The word "but" erases everything before it. Replace it with "and" or "for this next order" or "let's focus on..."
One correction, clearly stated: Not three things — one. Make it specific and actionable.
Forward-facing language: "I want to see you..." is about the future, not the failure.
Write your own brain-friendly feedback example. Pick a real mistake you have seen on the floor recently and write out how you would deliver that feedback using this model.
For more formal feedback — a sit-down conversation, a sign-off debrief, or a recurring issue — use the three-part model.
The Three Parts
What — Describe exactly what you observed. Objective. No emotion. Just facts.
So What — Explain why it matters. What is the impact on the guest, the team, or operations?
Now What — State clearly what needs to change. Specific, actionable, and measurable.
Example — Order Accuracy
Live Example
What: "I have noticed that you are handing out orders without doing a final accuracy check before they leave your hands."
So What: "When we skip that check, wrong orders make it to guests. A guest who gets the wrong sandwich or a missing sauce has to come back inside, wait again, and leave with a different impression of us than the one we worked hard to create. It also costs us food — we remake the order and absorb that loss. One check takes three seconds. A wrong order costs us far more than that."
Now What: "Before every single order leaves your hands, I want you to verbalize the check out loud — sandwich, sides, sauces. Say it, do not just think it. Let's run through the next three orders together right now so I can hear you doing it."
Think of a real behavior you have seen on the floor that needed correction. Write out the full What, So What, and Now What. Make it specific enough that a team member would know exactly what to change and why.
This TEDx talk by Joy Mayer is about how people receive feedback — and what your instinctive reaction says about your readiness to grow. As a CPT you will be giving feedback constantly, but you will also be receiving it from your Trainer Coach. How you handle that feedback will shape how fast you develop.
When you receive corrective feedback, what is your default reaction — do you run, get defensive, or lean into it? What would it look like to say "thank you" to feedback — even feedback that stings?
Before you train your first New Hire, you need to be fully set up in the Training Passport system. Schedule a 30-minute meeting with Olivia to get access and a full walkthrough of how it works.
A Trainer Sign-Off is one of the most important things you will do as a CPT. It is not a formality. It is your professional declaration that a New Hire is — or is not — ready to move forward.
When you sign off on someone who is not ready, you are not doing them a favor. You are setting them up to struggle in operations and potentially cost the team. One more training shift is always easier to recover from than an under-prepared team member in a solo position.
Scoring Standards
80–100% on all sign-offs
Proceed to the next stage of training. This is the goal.
50–79% on one or more sign-offs
Schedule additional training for that specific position before moving on. Do not pass and hope they figure it out.
Below 50% on any sign-off
PIP meeting with the Training Director, the New Hire, and the CPTs who worked with them. Figure out whether it is a training issue, a process issue, or a person issue.
More than one failed sign-off
Performance Evaluation by the Training Director. This is serious and handled at the director level.
Stepping in during a sign-off does not automatically fail the trainee. A 15-milkshake screen during a rush is an extenuating circumstance. Use your judgment and document what you observed and why you stepped in. All sign-offs end with a meeting with the Training Director — come prepared with specific notes.
These three frameworks are the foundation of how Truett's treats every guest, every day. As a CPT, you are responsible for modeling them so consistently that your trainees absorb them without being told.
CORE 4 — The Non-Negotiable Standard
Create eye contact — Not a glance. Real, intentional eye contact that communicates "you have my attention."
Share a smile — Genuine, not performative. A guest can feel the difference.
Speak with a friendly tone — Warm, clear, and energetic — even on the 200th order of the shift.
Always say My Pleasure — But only if it means something. A flat My Pleasure with zero eye contact is worse than nothing.
The Second Mile — Creating Moments
CORE 4 is the floor. The Second Mile is what takes an interaction from transactional to memorable.
Offer a warm welcome and a fond farewell
Personalize with the guest's name — use it naturally, not awkwardly
Check in with the guest proactively — before they have to ask
Find the little things that spread joy — a straw offered before asked, a refill before the cup is empty
HEARD — When Things Go Wrong
HEARD is not reserved for big disasters or managers only. It is for any moment when a guest is disappointed — whether the mistake was yours, your trainee's, or no one's fault.
H — Hear: Focus entirely on the guest. Listen to understand, not to respond. Clarify before jumping to a solution.
E — Empathize: Validate what they are feeling. Show through your body language that their frustration is reasonable.
A — Apologize: A real apology — not "I'm sorry you feel that way." Take ownership.
R — Resolve: Own the problem and solve it. Do not pass it off. Thank the guest for the chance to make it right.
D — Delight: End on a genuine, personal note. Leave them better than you found them.
As a CPT, there will be moments when your trainee creates a guest problem and you have to use HEARD in real time — in front of them. Model it well. Those are the most teachable moments you will ever have.
Which part of HEARD do you find hardest to execute under pressure? What is one specific thing you can practice this week to get better at it?
Once a New Hire completes sign-offs, they graduate into operations. But your work as their trainer does not disappear. The 30-Day Evaluation is a formal check-in that measures how well they were prepared — and part of that evaluation is feedback on you.
What the 30-Day Meeting Covers
A self-evaluation by the New Hire — how confident do they feel? Where do they still feel lost?
A director evaluation of their performance in operations since training ended
Areas they feel strong in and areas they want to improve
Feedback on their training experience — how connected they felt with their trainers and whether they felt set up to succeed
What This Means for You
How a New Hire describes their training experience is a direct reflection of your work. Not whether they liked you — whether they felt supported, informed, and prepared.
The goal of training is not a perfect score on a sign-off sheet. The goal is a team member who walks into their first solo shift feeling capable, clear on the standards, and connected to the team.
Imagine your first New Hire is sitting in their 30-day meeting. What do you want them to say about you as their trainer? Write it out — then ask yourself what you would need to do during training to earn that description.
