Van Management offers training to our employees on all levels. From the first day you join our team, training and growth is the focus. Many of our courses for Management and beyond are eligible to earn employees college credits.  Here you will find a brief overview of our training path to success, as written by our Director of Training.

New Employees:

• All new employees are given an orientation to introduce them to the store, their fellow employees and the training system we use to get them up to speed.
• Crew Training is a balance of computer/written resources and on-the-floor, hands on application of the computer materials.
• All crew training is self-paced but not self taught. Many resources are available to the “learning” crew person to include a computer based English as a Second Language course.

Continuing Employees:
Employees who have mastered the basics become eligible for continued education that can lead them as far as they want:

• Crew who display an excellent knowledge of station work have the opportunity to be certified as a Crew Trainer.
• Along with additional pay, those who work as Crew Trainers have the daily challenge of teaching and verifying new crew on the basic training requirements.
• They work closely with the Store Manager and Training Manager in planning and executing the Training Program.

The next level of training available is the Crew Chief program.

• The core of this program is the preparation of the crew person for the world of management.
• The Crew Chief program is store based with the management team serving as the trainers. The candidate is introduced to area management and the tools they need to supply total customer satisfaction to our patrons.
• The candidates are placed in management positions within the shift and serve as operations support for the shift manager.

Management Employees:
Van Management offers management positions on two levels, hourly and salaried. All employees interested in management attend an 8-week company based class. This "Swing Class" meets 2-3 times per week and are given assignments to work on in the store with their management teams between classes.

During the class students learn basic shift management skills:

1. Basic People Skills
2. Shift Management Tools
3. NRA Certified Food Safety Training
4. Shift Management Verification

Once the student has completed the Swing Management Course, they are registered to attend the three-day Regional Basic Shift Management (BSM) Course, where they are exposed to young managers from all over the area.

• During the class they share their successes and get input in to addressing their opportunities. The completion of this class certifies them as a shift manager.
• After the class, the student returns to their store and with the store manager writes and executes a 30-day action plan to ensure that what they have learned in class gets put into action on the store level.

Approximately six weeks after the completion of the Basic Shift Management Course the students prepares for and attends the Regional Advanced Shift Management (ASM) Course. The focus of this course is profitability within the shift. Like the BSM course, the student returns to the store to practice what they learned during class.

Once this course is completed the student spends 6-14 months working each of the store systems. They learn the system, manage the system and then train the next manager to take over the system.

Based on experience and performance, the post-ASM time frame is the time that managers decide whether to remain hourly or enter the salaried management ranks. The next Regional Class in the sequence is EMP (Systems Management) and is open to hourly and salaried managers.
*At this point students can earn college credits for the Regional EMP class.

• Regional EMP class is 5-days in length and covers the systems that keep our stores operating 24/7.
• Topics include computer scheduling, ordering/inventory, equipment maintenance, crew training and development and the safety management system.
• EMP moves the student from shift operations into the business world by teaching them how to manage the business.

Employees who make it to this level then begin to prepare for ROLP (Restaurant Leadership Operations Program) which is a 5-day course offered at the corporate headquarters (Hamburger University) in Oak Brook, IL.
*This course translates into college credits for the student.

• At HU, the student is exposed to managers from all over the world.
• Instructors at HU have mastered the art of management and transfer this knowledge to the students in an easy and non-rushed manner.
• HU graduates are ready to become store managers upon their return.

Beyond ROLP, there are additional courses offered at both the Regional and National level. These all can translate into College Credits for the student as well.

• Computer Labor Scheduling (Regional)
• Food Cost Management (Regional)
• Basic Supervisors Course (Regional)
• Presentation Skills (Regional)
• BLP Business Leadership Program (National)
• Operations Supervisor (National)
• Training Supervisor (National)