Project Overview
Lola’s Pizza Company is a small pizza chain known for its delivery and carryout services. It was founded in 1980 and has multiple locations throughout the Midwest. The company's menu includes a variety of pizza options, as well as sandwiches, salads, wings, and other menu items. Customers can place orders online or through the company's app and choose to have their food delivered or pick it up at a local store. The large and ever-changing menu makes it difficult for new employees to learn the recipes for all items. Incorrect orders and improper use of ingredient amounts were costing the company to go over budget on kitchen inventory.
Details
Client: Lola’s Pizza Company*
Target Audience: Kitchen employees
Role: Instructional Designer, eLearning Developer, Graphic Designer, UI Designer
Tools: Adobe XD, Storyline 360, Adobe Illustrator, Camtasia
Deliverable: eLearning courses and Kitchen Display System (KDS) recipe repository
Challenge
Goal: How might we reduce the number of errors made to orders and support kitchen employees during and after training?
For new employees, the large menu can be overwhelming. Large printed binders of recipes and ingredient measurements were kept in the manager’s office, making them hard to access when needed. Most employees were being trained on the fly by whichever employee had worked in the kitchen the longest, which caused issues with consistency across locations. Lola’s needed both consistent training of new employees as well as quick access to recipes when needed in the kitchen.
Solution
The solution I developed along with the Food Service Department was a two-phase approach.
Phase 1: I created a series of eLearning modules that would introduce new employees to the basic procedures of standard menu items at Lola’s. This would ensure that all newly onboarded employees receive consistent training across locations. Because the employees' tasks were procedural, I used video and images to show the steps rather than text. The past state of training had employees reading a large printed binder of recipes without seeing the various steps in action.
Phase 2: Once the eLearning modules were complete, I used a similar UI to create recipe cards and short snapshot videos that can be accessed on KDS iPad stations installed in the kitchen. This gives kitchen staff quick access to look up recipe cards, job aids, and videos to support them after training.
Process
My first steps in the project were interviewing the Food Service department heads, Field Training Supervisors, Kitchen Managers, and newly hired employees to gather information on the current state, pain points, and desired state. I also spent a week observing employees in a location kitchen to see areas where the current system needed improvement.
During the design process, I worked with the Food Service Department Director in the corporate headquarters test kitchen to film recipe steps and document the proper steps and procedures needed for the menu items.
I designed the user interface to match the company branding to keep the overall look and feel consistent. I wanted to ensure that the information was organized clearly, easy to access, and presented in smaller chunks.
Once Phase 2 is complete on the job training will be conducted with the kitchen staff on how to use the repository and ensure they understand how to access and use the information. The KDS will require regular updates to ensure the information remains accurate and relevant. This may involve adding new recipes or guides or updating existing ones as needed.
*Note: Organization name and select content have been changed to protect proprietary information. The video shown is a sample of the finished project.