The effectiveness of managerial training in a fast food restaurant chain

The purpose of this comparison study was to determine the effects of three alternative managerial training methods on business outcomes in a fast food hamburger restaurant chain. The managers were trained on “customer over-satisfaction”, using three different training methods, to determine if there were differences in business outcomes due to the training method received. The different methods of training were: traditional classroom training, computer-based interactive media training, and on-the-job training.; The sample for the study was 24 restaurants from one franchise group in the Midwest. Four randomly assigned groups of six restaurants were chosen for each of the three training methods and one control group, which received no additional training. A quasi-experimental control group design was used.; The independent variable for the study was the training method used. The dependent variables for the study were the three following business outcomes: mystery shopper scores, customer satisfaction survey scores, and customer complaints as a percentage of total customers. These outcomes were chosen as they each measure different facets of customer satisfaction.; Pre- and post-training measures were taken of each of the business outcomes. Pre-measures of the business outcomes were taken in May and June 2002. The training interventions were done in July and August 2002. Post-measures of the business outcomes were taken in September and October 2002. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run on the differences between the pre- and post-training measures. The analysis determined that there were no statistically significant differences at the .05 alpha level between the pre- and post-training measures based on the type of training method used.; Despite the fact that there were not statistically significant differences in the business outcomes, there were some positive changes in the business outcomes that occurred after training. Mystery shopper scores improved for the interactive media training group, and customer satisfaction scores improved for the on-the-job training group. Further research on effects of training on business outcomes is recommended and ideas for this are suggested.