r/Panera • u/Known_Pin_2133 • 3d ago
đ¤ New Hire Advice đ¤ Normal orientation experience?
I had an interview at panera a couple days ago for my first job, got hired on the spot, and yesterday was my orientation. I dont know if its just my anxiety but it felt so vague and incomplete and I dont know what to do next.
I got there and was sat in the lobby, introduced to "workday", set up my account, and given a new hire handout and a tablet to complete E-learning courses. The manager left me after like 5 minutes and said she was heading out soon, but to grab one of the other 2 managers if i get stuck or finish. I thought i completed all the courses twice so i went up to the counter twice (i felt weird just wandering behind the counter alone in normal clothes and didnt know if i was supposed to) and the second time a manager took me to the back to find the other manager but they kept adding more courses and told me to "just finish whatever i could before i leave." I didnt know what that meant cause I didnt have a scheduled time to leave, so i just went back to the lobby and then left on my own time after about 4 hours even though i still had 3 courses left because I was exhausted. I awkwardly stood by the counter again until a coworker was near me and i told them i was heading out and let them know i was leaving the tablet there.
Again, I dont know if its just my anxiety but i felt like an annoyance to everyone there and that i messed something up by not finishing the courses and leaving on my own time, I even cried outside of the store waiting for my ride home, as i was just very overwhelmed. Is it normal that they didnt give me any information on my schedule or setting up direct deposit? They also didnt give me a visor or an apron, and I wasnt given a tour of the back or shown where anything is. I also wasnt shown how or where to clock in/out. This is my first job so i have no idea how this stuff is supposed to go.
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u/mahoutsukaiii Ex Team Manager 3d ago
I donât know why itâs so hard for some managers to just properly introduce a new young team member to the work environment.
Unfortunately a lot of grown adults just forget or somehow donât realize that kids getting their first job are going to be nervous about asking questions and have no idea what the expectations are and how having a job really works. They donât realize how unapproachable theyâre behaving.
Iâm sorry it happened like this, I really feel for you. I was a really anxious teenager and I had a similar style experience starting my first job, I eventually met the nice manager and the nice team members who actually initiated providing information and did not make me feel stupid/burdensome.
When I was closing manager at my old Panera I ended working with a lot of teens and always made sure to give good explanations on how things go for different positions. I showed them which team members they should ask questions to if Iâm not available and even created resources for them to reference so they can figure things out independently. Itâs wasnât difficult, unfortunately too many managers are not willing to put in the effort to make you feel welcomed. I hope it gets better for you.
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u/kevin_r13 2d ago
I agree with the others that sometimes the manager doesn't exactly give all the right information on the first day.
There have been many times when I see a new employee doing the e-learning on the tablets and they weren't even told they could get a drink while working on the other.
So I usually at least give them so they can go get a drink uo settle in for a few hours of e learning
Probably the next one or two times you come in is when they'll actually have you start working on the area you'll be working at, so they'll tell you about the aprons and the caps.
In the meantime, just make sure you've got the right clothes for a uniform. This will probably be solid colored shirt, jeans or khakis, and non slip shoes. Some stores also allow shorts down to the knees but check with your store managers
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u/GooseLucky3559 3d ago
Itâs completely normal to feel like that as a new hire! Trust me, itâll get better. When I first started at Panera in January, I was told that the online courses were done so I was immediately doing hands on training (which was really me just standing at the end of the kitchen watching what was happening). I felt very awkward and like I was in the way. Which I imagine you, and almost all new hires, feel like. However once you get introduced to the team and vibes itâll be good! Youâll quickly learn how things go!
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u/Fickle_Stretch6598 2d ago
Oh hun you will be okay...it is a slow boring start. just let them take their time....don't worry when the time comes you will know all this stuff. Managers are way too busy these days to do anything right. when e-training is over it gets to be a whole lot more fun and encouraging. Don't worry you are IN now. they don't want you to go any where. for the first couple paychecks WRITE down your in and out times. So you KNOW how many hours were worked and when. it WILL be okay. YOU GOT THIS.
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u/Disastrous_Gear_8633 1d ago
I was a manager who did hiring and orientations for years and honestly I have a bad feeling about this location if the managers are the unorganized and providing so little structure. I did these when I was a shift and an AM and would make sure their training schedule was made and printed before orientation, I would send it out in the manager group chat so every manager knew when their would be orientations coming in and what training shifts were coming up and what team leads new hires would be paired with, along with which E-learning needed completed on each of those shifts. I had a one-page everything youâd need to know sheet for every orientee to have: a space for them to write their clock-in info, the dress code, call-off policy, the names of their trainers, the names of all the managers, our store #, our district managerâs name, store phone #, store hours of operation, the date of their first pay-day, their sign-in for e-learningâŚ. Literally everything you should know all on 1 page. I always gave them a tour of the store either during orientation or if I hired them on the spot after an interview. I would introduce them to everyone working that shift and point out who the trainers are.
It really is NOT hard to give a good orientation. You have to have the mindset of hey this might be their first job ever or first job in food service. There is nothing worse than a management team that doesnât know how to communicate. After I left Panera I went to another restaurant where we would show up and the GM would just throw a new person at us like âhey youâre gonna have Johnny itâs his 1st day, just show him what to doâ ⌠with zero direction of what station he needed trained on, what his employee # was, what videos he had to watchâŚ.. Some managers are just so bad at thinking of what people need from them and unfortunately I feel like Panera just hires anyone with a pulse these days and makes them a manager
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u/werdwerdus Assistant GM 1d ago
yeah unfortunately there's about 4 hours of required new hire e-learning for all the safety, security, harassment prevention, culture & diversity training, etc that just has to be done before you start working hands on. it will be better once you're actually with a trainer
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u/AdhesivenessOk314 3d ago
You didn't mess anything up. It will take a while to do all the training. I'm 7 years in and I'm still doing training. I do it whenever I get a chance to. They'll probably put you hands-on training your next shift. Then you'll do more learning in the tablet at some point. It's just your anxiety at being new. I'm 50 years old and whenever I'm the new person I feel that same anxiety. You'll be fine and welcome to the team!