Training & Business Systems

We all recognize that training is important. it is also challenging. Frequently, the people in our organizations who qualify as subject matter experts do not have the time, capacity or even the skills to develop training materials or coach designated trainers. At Zingerman’s, we’ve developed what we call the 4 Training Plan Questions – they […]

Maggie Bayless, Founder of ZingTrain and the creator of the simple but brilliant Training Plan questions that are the foundation of all our training here at Zingerman’s, talks about getting ready for the upcoming holiday sales in your business. Specifically targeted to businesses that see a considerable jump in sales during the holiday season, this […]

You know us. You’ve seen us in action at our seminars. You know we’re nationally recognized for our food, customer service and unique business practices. We suspect all of that has led you to wonder : How on earth do they train their staff? Join us for this behind-the-scenes look at how we, at Zingerman’s, […]

The Zingerman’s Community of Businesses recently made the decision to induct 3 staff members into the Partners Group. Join us for a behind the scenes look at this decision from the very epicenter of it – Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of Zingerman’s and Mara Ferguson, member of the Governance Committee that came up with the actual […]

If you use words to sell your wares, this is the webinar for you! Whether you put them on your website or print catalog, or on a product sign in a deli case, the words you use to describe your products and services are often your first (and sometimes only) opportunity to sell to your […]

I want to start a Community of Businesses! How does Zingerman’s do it? Ari says he gets this question, or some version of it, once or twice a week. The Zingerman’s Community has 9 businesses? Why 9 businesses? What’s the partnership set up? What percentages are owned by whom? What about profit distribution? Who makes […]

At Zingerman’s we believe that the employee life cycle has three stages : Stage 1 : Finding and Hiring the Right People Stage 2 : Helping Staff Succeed Stage 3 : Assisting Departing Staff Way back when, we did a webinar that covered a key part of Stage 1. We called it Intentional Interviewing. It […]

Let’s admit it. It is rare to find someone who loves performance reviews – no matter whether they are on the giving or receiving end. And consistently giving effective andtimely performance reviews has probably been in the top 5 of universal management frustrations for as long as there have been managers! We thought this article […]

As you may know, we’ve been focusing on the employee life cycle in our last few webinars. Stage 2 of the Employee Life Cycle is all about Helping Staff Succeed. And Training is a key part of that. Our March webinar was all about training : The Key Components of Really Effective Training, and we’ve […]

If you manage people, you’ve most likely faced the dilemma of what to do with that employee who is not meeting performance expectations. And if you’re human, you most likely don’t particularly enjoy being in that situation. Reactions to performance problems can range from squirming to sorrow to frustration to anger. And no matter where […]

People often think that here at Zingerman’s, we’re as successful as we are and our employees are as engaged as they are because we hire the right people. We think there’s more to it than that but we also agree that the hiring bit is pretty darn important. In almost 35 years of being in […]

WITH SPECIAL GUEST : Tracie Wolfe, Recruiting Specialist, Zingerman’s Department for People At Zingerman’s, we have a radically simple framework for thinking about our employee experience. We call it the 3 Stages of the Employment Lifecycle : Stage One: Hiring the right people Stage Two: Helping staff succeed Stage Three: Assisting departing staff In this […]