Week 3

Exercise 8

1. Think of some non-monetary benefits the owner of a stand-alone restaurant could offer kitchen staff. Consider what might be appropriate for different levels of seniority (i.e. junior staff such as kitchen hand, to senior staff such as head chef). Make notes in your journal.
2. Click on this link to read the article about wages of hospitality workers in NZ. Identify the main issues raised and offer some realistic solutions to overcome these.
3. What is a penal rate? Which penal rates are legislated in NZ (and which are not?) How do we compare to Australia? Would penal rates make hospitality more appealing as a career?

Checkpoint

Assessment 3.2, Task 1

Exercise 9

1. Why is the induction process so important?
   • Read this web page on induction and in your journal explain, in your own words, why the induction process is so important.
2. List the importance and benefits to both new employees and the employer.

Exercise 10

• Four induction methods are described below:
  1. FACE TO FACE- communication is important to initiate personal relationships and for interactive information sharing – it is easy for an inductee to ask questions and allows the inductor to read body language and facial cues to gauge whether the inductee is responding to the information. Face-to-face reduces misunderstandings and miscommunication.
  2. GROUP INDUCTION is a practical and efficient way to communicate information to several people at the same time. When more than one person is starting in a workplace on the same day, group induction saves time and effort in communicating generic information. It helps to initiate teambuilding and can be done in a fun and engaging way with games, exercises etc.
  3. E-LEARNING. A lot of detailed information about company policies, H&S, systems and culture as well as job specific knowledge can be stored online. A big advantage of this system is that it can be done any time, from anywhere.
  4. A BUDDY SYSTEM involves assigning a buddy or mentor to help get a new employee settled in to a work place and up to speed. The buddy works alongside the new employee, showing them around the workplace, answering questions and offering specific and detailed information about the particular job the new employee has been hired to do. This is a great way to initiate teamwork and to get a new employee feeling comfortable and confident with their new role. A buddy should be familiar with all of the details of the role.
• Use this template and state for each:
  • The type of information best communicated by this method.
  • The disadvantages of using this method.
• Once you have completed the exercise, discuss with a classmate and compare lists. Report back to your tutor.

First Day On The Job:

Sheila felt ready to get to work after her one day job orientation for new employees. When she got to work, however, she was shocked. She was not prepared for the fast pace, sophistication and skill level found in her new department. By noon that day, Sheila felt like she was not cut out for the job. She felt under-skilled and under-prepared to meet her department's challenges.

On her way to the company cafeteria one of her co-workers, Tammy, caught up with her and they had lunch together. Sheila was glad that Tammy was so friendly to her and she was able to relax a little bit. During lunch Tammy talked about their manager, Mr. Smith. Sheila learned that Mr. Smith was in trouble with his superiors.

Next, Tammy told her about James, the computer programmer. She told Sheila that James spread rumours and was not to be trusted. She talked about Mrs. Tyler, the accountant. She said that Mrs. Tyler was an alcoholic and frequently took sips from a whisky bottle in her desk.

Tammy asked Sheila to join her for coffee after work. She said, "Trust me, Sheila. Once you come to understand how screwed up everyone is around here, and get the feel of the place, you'll do fine."

Questions:

1. Why would Tammy be so friendly towards Sheila?
2. What might happen if Sheila gets close to Tammy?
3. Have you ever been in a similar situation?
4. How should Sheila deal with this situation moving forward?

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Exercise 11

Think about the type of information a new employee needs to learn. How could you present the following to him/her so it is easy to understand, and interesting to learn?

1. Physical information, such as location of important places in the building, where to find different people etc. Face to face – e.g. Guided tour of the building by head chef or supervisor
2. Company rules and policies, and company culture e.g. health and safety, how to complete time sheets, how to apply for leave, break times etc. information
3. Specific information on how to do the actual job the employee was hired to do.

Exercise 12

Scenario:

You are the head chef of a large restaurant. Sonny is starting work in your kitchen today as a commis chef. You are in charge of introducing Sonny to the new work place and need to get him up to speed and productive as quickly as possible.

• Design an overview for Sonny’s first day induction. Use items from the previous exercises to decide what Sonny needs to know on Day One, then list them below in the order you think they should be done. Briefly explain:
  • WHY each item is important for Sonny to know.
  • HOW the information will be communicated.
  • WHO should conduct that part of the induction process.

Exercise 13

1. Recall the types of induction information from the previous session:
   • Physical information, such as location of important places in the building, where to find different people etc.
   • Company rules and policies, and company culture e.g. health and safety, how to complete time sheets, how to apply for leave, break times etc.
   • Specific information on how to do the actual job the employee was hired to do.
2. For each category above, design an evaluation method to gauge how effective the induction process was. (Choose a different format for each type of information.)
3. Your tutor should discuss your evaluation methods with you.

Checkpoint

Assessment 3.2, Task 1