Fresh Approaches to Food Safety Training for Grocers

A study conducted by the University of Kentucky in 2004, but still relevant today, establishes a correlation between training and employee turnover in the grocery industry. “Grocery stores with lower levels of training (less than 20 hours per year) experienced higher voluntary turnover than those with higher levels of training,” the study states. It also notes a “weak but negative relationship” between voluntary turnover rates and store performance, efficiency, and safety.

The study reports average turnover rates at more than 43 percent and part-time employee turnover significantly higher at 58 percent. These turnover rates present yet another challenge for maintaining consistency of knowledge throughout the staff. Stores with high turnover rates may find training requirements “slipping through the cracks” because of some ongoing personnel changes.

Another issue to consider is the methodology used to conduct training, which many stores have not changed in more than a decade. Training may include miscellaneous paperwork in the form of sign-in sheets, spreadsheets, and the occasional PowerPoint presentation. In addition, the documentation of training, if it exists at all, may be inadequate and incomplete. As the time-consuming paperwork piles up, training organization tends to erode, particularly when it comes to proof of comprehension. Verification of knowledge is difficult to substantiate especially if a simple passing grade on an examination is considered acceptable. Training is supposed to positively influence employee behavior, but that is unlikely when there is no way of ensuring that all food safety issues associated with handling are completely understood and applied every day on the job, particularly when the training is inconsistent.

Many retail grocers, who are quite aware of these deficiencies, have turned to a modern training technology to improve their employees’ knowledge and comprehension.

Training Technologies and Retail Grocers

Technology training platforms have been developed specifically for retail groceries, regardless of size. These platforms are designed to be interactive and engaging. Employees do not merely listen to a one-sided lecture; they use the platform to interact and respond to questions throughout the training session. Courses cover the gamut of food safety issues associated with everyday operations, including understanding cross contamination and how to avoid it, preventing the spread of foodborne illnesses, hygiene and hand-washing, sanitation, importance of time and temperatures, and equipment cleaning. Since retail food involves many departments with varying training needs, the platform is designed to be flexible to accommodate both single-employee and group training. Employees trained in groups can respond by using a remote control and the system gives the instructor immediate feedback on how many employees answered correctly and incorrectly. When the latter occurs, the platform and/or the instructor can make sure the concept is understood. For those stores with employees for whom English is a second language, the platforms offer multi-lingual presentations as well.

The technology reduces (if not eliminates) nearly all of the paperwork associated with previous training methods. All defensible records from every training session are electronically stored and easily accessible for instructors and management, a valuable tool not only for proving comprehension of food handling safety but also for future employee performance reviews. Technology platforms save time previously lost due to searches, reviews, and cross referencing of extensive paperwork.

Why is this so important? Consider the amount of paperwork necessary to document training and comprehension for each individual employee without training technology. For example, a store with 50 employees, each having undergone five training sessions, would have to correlate a minimum of 250 separate pieces of paper—a time consuming, labor-intensive process that falls far short of efficiency. Today’s technology eliminates all of the paperwork and time to process it through instantaneous storage and all records are easily accessible. Most important, the data confirms actual comprehension of all key learning objectives.