Athens, Ga.-based Zaxby’s isn’t hooked on one training tactic over another. Rather, the fast-casual chicken restaurant chain combines conventional and nontraditional training methods to create what it calls Learning 2.0.
Over the last two years, Zaxby’s has developed a franchisee training program integrating classroom, on-the-job and Web-based training that allows trainees to learn at their own pace and creates a more collaborative, flexible learning environment. The company hopes the new training will meet the needs of the four generations in their franchise pool: veterans, baby boomers, Generation X and Millennials.
“The speed of knowledge is moving so fast that the old way of learning is just not going to work. And the second part is, the learner is so different now or there’s more of them-more styles,” says Richard Fletcher, senior director of learning and organizational development. “So as a department, you have to provide an even bigger variety of ways to teach than just classroom or computer-based training.”
