I keep a laminated skill map on a clipboard by the walk-in and sit down every 90 days with each cook to mark progress and set one next step; it’s helped me keep three line cooks 4+ years. If you want the blank template, I’ll share it — curious what simple tools you’re using to mentor without burning people out?
Love the laminated skill map and the 90-day sit-downs, but I swapped to a weekly 5-minute ‘wins/next rep’ at lineup and a QR-linked Google Sheet by the walk-in so cooks check off their own reps. Visibility went up and I’m not chasing clipboards. Curious whether you keep sign-offs chef-only or allow peer sign-offs, @OP.
I’d add a “teaches/learns” magnet board: each cook posts one skill they can teach and one they want, then I pair them for a 12-minute drill before lineup once a week. @miller77, your quick “wins/next rep” plays well here — treat the drills like mini reps — and we drop one sentence from the pair into the skill map so the 90‑day sits show peer progress. Seems like a small peer block would slot into your template without wrecking prep.
I use a ‘station passport’: cooks earn a stamp for demonstrating one micro-skill during service, and 10 stamps = first pick of station next month; it’s peer-verified and we skip stamps on slammed nights so it doesn’t become a stress tax. Anyone tie this to a small raise or comped meal when they finish a tier?