Island Fin Poké Co. is leading the way with its implementation of a new high-tech training platform for franchisees and staff. “We’re converting all of our training to e-learning and virtual reality,” announced President and CEO Mark Setterington. “This is a game changer.” By Cindy Charette
New Training Platform Is Out of This World
Island Fin Poké Co. is leading the way with its implementation of a new high-tech training platform for franchisees and staff.
“We’re converting all of our training to e-learning and virtual reality,” announced President and CEO Mark Setterington. “This is a game changer.” The technology was introduced to franchisees at Island Fin Poké Co.’s annual convention in August.
With the innovative technology rolled out, franchisees and team members now use the platform to learn how to prepare the food, follow proprietary recipes and make house-made sauces. Team members use virtual reality goggles to train with Taylor Setterington, the brand’s corporate training manager. She appears in different modules where she demonstrates the processes in detail.
Unlike other training methods, Island Fin Poké Co.’s training content can be reviewed at any time for existing teams and used for new team members coming on board as well. Each location has a tablet in the prep room so the team can log in to the e-learning and virtual-reality system any time. Mark stated, “It will make it easier for franchisees, and hopefully from a big picture standpoint, it will make things much more consistent long-term across the brand.”
Many of the team members that Island Fin Poké Co. franchisees hire are already learning this way. The expectation is
that they’re going to latch on to this e-learning and virtual reality training, giving them a better learning experience as a whole. This innovative technology will ensure efficiency and save the whole organization time by adapting to learning and training this way.
Mark is shown in the training and is excited about the surprise “Easter eggs” that are included throughout the modules. Small prizes from the corporate team will be sent to the trainees as modules are completed. The Island Way, which is the brand’s foundational document, is tied into the training as well. Additionally, Taylor has access to every restaurant and will be able to provide support when necessary.
“We want to really make it very engaging and incentivize the team to spend time on the platform,” Mark said.
Cindy Charette