Pizza Delight rebuilt its restaurant training on SmarterU LMS for faster onboarding and better service

Pizza Delight grew its catalog from 8 courses to 200, added learning plans for each role and a Pizza Points game, and gave restaurant managers control of their training.

Talk to us

200
courses in the catalog, up from 8
1,200
employees, approximately, across 70 restaurants

About Pizza Delight

Pizza Delight is a family-oriented restaurant chain headquartered in Eastern Canada, with 70 locations operated by individual franchisees. Since 1968 it has been part of birthdays, family gatherings and anniversaries across the region.

Eight courses had to serve every role

With 70 locations and around 1,200 employees, consistent service mattered to Pizza Delight, but its whole training program was eight courses for every staff level. Ramp-up times were long, information was inconsistent, and managers needed a way to assign training and follow its progress.

Employees showed little interest in training and gave it low priority. Pizza Delight needed a wider range of courses and a strategy that would make employees want to train, while managers kept control and the information stayed consistent. It was also rebranding, and its SmarterU LMS had to reflect the new brand.

How the program changed

From 8 courses to 200
Pizza Delight's team used SmarterU's course-building tools to grow from 8 to 200 courses, in a variety of formats for every role in the company.
One source of truth
All training content is in one place, so every restaurant gets the same information.
Pizza Points
Working with the SmarterU team, Pizza Delight created a Pizza Points game in which employees earn points and redeem them for swag.
Learning plans by role
Learning plans make sure each person takes the right courses, in the right order, for their role.
Managers in charge
Restaurant managers have the tools to deliver training in their own restaurants and see reports on their employees.
A new brand in the portal
Pizza Delight's SmarterU portal took on the new brand and visual identity, in step with the corporate direction.

Project goals
- Give every level of the organization, from front-line workers to management, consistent and engaging training that is easy to reach
- Give restaurant managers control of the training in their restaurants
- Make employees want to take training
- Reflect Pizza Delight's new brand in its SmarterU LMS
Challenges
- A program of only eight courses for all staff levels, with long ramp-up times and inconsistent information
- Little interest in training among employees
- A rebrand under way at the same time

The result

New hires are onboarded faster, with the right training available at the right time for their role. More efficient training led to higher-quality service and lower food and labor costs.

Pizza Points were a hit. Bonus points for finishing training right away had employees competing for the top of the leaderboards and for swag.

Fewer mistakes, because employees learned to prepare food the right way sooner, which reduced labor and food costs
More productive managers, with less time spent training and correcting errors
Employees up to speed sooner, with training designed for a variety of learning preferences
Less training time for new hires, because learning plans focus on their job duties

What Pizza Delight says

I've seen first-hand the positive effect SmarterU has had on our restaurants. It’s allowed me to be in front of 1,200 employees at 70 restaurants simultaneously. We've been able to significantly increase our levels of service and commitment and create a more engaging and scalable training program.

Wanda Cann, Training Specialist Guest Service & Area Manager, Pizza Delight