Divide and conquer
Generation Zers are famous for multitasking and having short attention spans, averaging about eight seconds, according to Sparks & Honey. In order to capitalize on staff time and attention, Margaret Vasquez—director of nutrition and foodservice at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown, Mass.—separates orientations by positions. She has four orientations to each suit her cafe employees, kitchen workers, cooks and dietitians. “The customer service portion of our training used to be three hours long, which I felt was a little unnecessary,” Vasquez says. “I think you get more bang out of your buck if you do a 15- to 20-minute training module.”
Vasquez keeps her orientation to an hour. She says the program does not need to tell an employee everything they need to do their job, but all the information they need to learn their job. “My goal is to make sure they know where to ask questions and find out policies,” she says.