Training Articles

Hospitality pros are masters of the “everything’s fine” smile—even when life is anything but. That’s emotional labor: the internal strain of showing the right face at work no matter what’s really going on under the surface. As leaders and trainers, we can equip our teams with the tools they need to care for guests in authentic and meaningful ways while managing their own emotions and stress. Emotional labor will always be part of hospitality, but how we prepare our people to handle it makes all the difference. If we only train them to “perform,” they burn out. If we give them tools to genuinely align how they feel with what they show, we build resilience, connection, and longevity.

ROI is an important measure of L&D program success, but it doesn't tell the whole story. Leaders should also take into account the effort and burden that goes into making learning programs work. Enter the concept of “Return on Hassle” (ROH)—a fresh metric that quantifies how much stress, resistance, and friction a training initiative requires. Why does hassle matter? Because high-ROI programs still fail if they exhaust your team. By scoring hassle across six categories, you can calculate ROH and see if your effort is really worth it. Use this dual-metric approach to prioritize sustainable, scalable programs—and finally retire the ones that drain more than they deliver.

When we launched our “Be Bold” in-person leadership conference at Jack in the Box, it felt like we’d nailed it. The energy, the inspiration, and the feedback was everything we hoped for. But once our district managers got back to their day-to-day priorities, that excitement faded. Binders full of ideas just couldn’t compete with the realities of running a restaurant and logistical issues made it challenging to include everyone. We knew we needed a new path forward, so we made the boldest move yet—we pivoted. We built Cravers, a blended learning program that’s fast, flexible, and built for real life. Designed for on-the-job, just-in-time learning, Cravers is flexible, modern, and rooted in the realities of restaurant life. The big lesson? Sometimes the best plan is the one you create after Plan A.

It has been two years since I published my first article on "closing the back door," and though some things have improved, hospitality is still bleeding talent. Wages haven't caught up, schedules are still a mess, and burnout is rampant. The new danger isn't quitting, it's "quiet cracking," where employees are still showing up but mentally checking out. If we want people to stay, we need more than surface-level fixes. That means making psychological safety non-negotiable, building real career paths, and holding leaders accountable for culture. If we only run in place and react, we'll keep losing the people we depend on. It's time to get off of the treadmill, make employee experience and retention a leadership strategy, and create an environment that doesn't make people want to run for the back door.

What if your next training session had your team hooked like their favorite can't-miss Netflix series? After studying what makes streaming shows addictive, I came up with 3 secrets to making your training binge-worthy and 4 elements that all good stories need (including the story you are telling through training). Designing your training as if you were producing a hit Netflix series will keep your learners engaged and coming back for more.

I was burned out—trying to triple our store count and build an L&D function from scratch. I needed help. That’s when a longtime colleague nudged me (again) toward CHART. I finally said yes—and wow, am I glad I did. Have you ever had an experience that was so life changing it just struck you to your core? What I found at the Redondo Beach conference wasn’t just inspiration, it was transformation. No egos, no gatekeeping—just people ready to share, support, and show you how to glue broken pottery into team-building magic. If you’re in the weeds, consider this your breadcrumb. Follow it. CHART might just be what you’ve been looking for.

Attending a CHART conference is valuable, full stop. But if you want to get even more out of your time and effort, volunteer! Getting involved amplifies the ROI in ways that will surprise you. Whether it’s a one-off service event, leading a breakout, or running the whole show as a Conference Director, each tier of volunteering (ahem - volunTIERing, if I may) brings deeper connections, personal growth, and leadership development. I’ve walked this journey—from stuffing swag bags to shaping strategy on the Board. Along the way, I gained skills, friendships, confidence, and clarity about what I love most in this field. Bottom line: The more you put into CHART, the more it gives back. And that return? Truly priceless.

When I first walked into a CHART conference 23 years ago, I was the quiet one in the back row—content to stay unseen. But something unexpected happened: this community cracked me open in the best way. Like the bowl I broke and rebuilt in a recent Kintsugi-inspired workshop, my journey with CHART has been about embracing the breaks, rebuilding with support, and highlighting the golden seams of growth. From hesitant first-timer to CHART President and beyond, I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being visible, honest, and willing to stretch.

Hospitality trainers know that great guest experiences are largely a result of great training. But if we want training to be taken seriously—and funded—we have to be able to prove the effectiveness of training programs with real numbers that illustrate tangible business results. That means setting clear KPIs, tracking real-world outcomes, and designing personalized, inclusive, AI-supported learning. Training isn’t fluff—it’s a business driver. But only if we measure what matters.

You don't need a Hollywood studio or a bottomless budget to create engaging, effective training videos. Here are my tips and best practices to use what you already have to look and sound professional and capture their attention. If you do have a few bucks to spend on equipment, make the most of it by investing in a couple of key pieces at a variety of price points. It turns out that perfection isn't necessary for effectiveness, clarity and creativity are. The bottom line? Start where you are.

Back in the '90s, I learned the hard way that when honesty feels risky, teams stay silent and problems go unsolved. Fast-forward to CHART’s Redondo Beach conference, where sessions by Candace Doby and Curt Archambault reminded me that psychological safety isn’t fluff, it’s the foundation of fearless service. If we want employees to speak up, improve systems, and take smart risks, we have to make it safe to do so. That means leading with curiosity, rewarding input, and protecting those who step up—even when it’s uncomfortable. Fearless cultures don’t happen by accident; they’re built by design.

Let’s face it—compliance training rarely excites anyone. But what if we rethink this touchpoint and transform it into a culture-building tool? Let's stop treating compliance as a box to check and start using it to reinforce values, drive behavior change, and improve guest experience. Here are my tips to shift this training time from simply mandatory to truly meaningful.