Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trust20 has evolved from helping restaurants safely reopen their establishments to providing an interactive, ANSI-accredited Food Handler Certificate training created with the food industry in mind. Stephanie Wethington, General Manager at Trust20, employs a holistic approach when it comes to training. They’ve prioritized training strategies that provide concise, engaging content for frontline teams.
Creating Inclusive Training
Trust20 understands that the frontline teams in the food industry are a diverse group. From college students, first-time employees, to seasoned foodservice professionals, training is essential for all industry workers. What can operators do to keep training relevant while honoring the diverse demographics and experiences of their employees?
Stephanie and her team have a unique approach to developing content. They rely on feedback. For example, Stephanie heard from an industry professional that frontline workers were not able to relate to subjects in prior training videos. They needed to see someone like themselves, with the same lifestyle, too. Trust20 heard this concern and made it the foundation of their food handler certificate training.
“A big hurdle for learners is devices. As the younger generation enters the workforce, mobile and tablet are the devices they’re using daily. A lot of people don't have personal computers anymore and they're not sitting at a desk. Users either don't have that access, or they don't want to be required to take their training on a computer. Learners would rather do everything on the go, on a mobile device.” - Stephanie Wethington
Training As An Interactive Experience
In developing training content, Trust20 uses environments familiar to the trainee - their kitchen. Instead of asking questions that are solely objective, Trust20 uses visuals to paint a clear picture of common situations. This helps the trainee retain more information and make it relatable. An additional aspect that makes the training experience unique at Trust20 is the gamification of their lessons.
To avoid what Stephanie calls “exam anxiety,” Trust20 has designed the final course assessment as a game board to show the learner their progress. This reassures users by showing them exactly how many questions they’ve answered correctly and how many they’ve missed. Trust20 follows the ethos of “test the knowledge, not the vocabulary.” Instead of asking learners to define “x or y,” questions are framed as “tell us what you would do if this was your kitchen, or select X, Y, and Z.”
The food handler training contains bite-sized modules to make learning more efficient for learners, and Trust20 has also created resources to serve as refresher material for foodservice workers. They are connecting with learners by asking “MythBuster” questions throughout their experience to reinforce things they’ve learned in a previous module. According to Stephanie, these interactive 15-second refresher modules provide additional value and keep learners engaged.
Making Learning Concise and Precise
Trust20 maintains the integrity of food handler training while keeping it concise. At some establishments, the training can take three hours. However, Trust20’s course takes about 90 minutes to complete. Through these interactive lessons, the learner establishes the basics and moves onto other essential information. Trust20 has knowledge check-points and each section teaches the learner exactly what they need to be successful in the foodservice space, keeping the experience intentional, engaging, direct, and informative.
