91ÁÔĆć Dining Services kicked off their fall semester with a series of trainings and recognitions for its nearly 200 employees.
The trainings were held at TDECU’s Cougar Club, with groups of tables labeled with the UH restaurants and dining commons. Attending UH Dining staff sat at the tables corresponding to the restaurant or dining commons they work at.
“Whether you’re a new associate or one that’s returning, it’s really important at the start of every semester for us to reset, to get on the same page, and to thank them,” said UH Dining Services District Marketing Director, Alexcis Mendoza.
UH Dining Services supervisors, shift leaders, and staff employees took part in the
department’s Welcome Back training, which includes sessions on safety, such as food
handling, personal safety, dietary safety, and regulations, to name a few.
While the Welcome Back training is held before each semester, the department places
extra emphasis on the fall semester.
“There’s so much that goes into running a food service operation, from safety to quality assurance, to HR matters, the guest experience, and customer service,” said Mendoza. “So, we absolutely want to give our staff the tools they need to be successful and to create a great guest experience for our students, faculty, and staff. And this is one of the ways that we try to prepare the team for the semester.”
For new employees, the Welcome Back training is the first time they will interact with their future co-workers and go through new associate orientation. The trainings also provide seasoned employees who are starting a new position the first opportunity to meet their new team.
LaShonda Parr, UH Dining Services Director of Retail, has been with the department
for a decade and remembers attending those early Welcome Back trainings, adding that
they have only gotten better with each passing semester.
“They give out more detailed information during the Welcome Back trainings from when
I first started attending them,” said Parr.
When she first started, the trainings involved reading slideshows, whereas lately, the trainings have become more interactive, making it easier for staff to recall their training during the semester.
For Bryant Angton, a Supervisor at Panda Express, the Welcome Back training is a great way for staff to get a refresher on food safety, especially if you think you are well-versed in the topic.
Angton, who has been part of UH Dining Services since 2022, said the Welcome Back
trainings offer a great refresher to ensure one doesn’t get overconfident just because
they’ve taken the training before.
Aside from the trainings, the department also used the opportunity to recognize UH
Dining Service employees who met years of service milestones.
“It’s important in our eyes to recognize their years of service. One, we wouldn’t be here without them. They are our boots on the ground. They deliver the services that we provide,” said Mendoza. “So, recognizing how long they’ve been doing that hard job is so important in order to keep them going and to help them understand that we value them, and they’re important to us and the campus community.”
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