Article

Drive sales through employee-performance programs

Fast casual operators boost retention and brand loyalty by giving back to their employees.

June 1, 2009 by Valerie Killifer — senior editor, NetWorld Alliance

As president of WKS Group, franchisor of 60 El Pollo Loco restaurants, Roland Spongberg is always looking for ways to reward employee performance.

As a 22-year restaurant-industry veteran, Spongberg understands that satisfied employees means happier customers, which is why he goes out of his way to recognize a job well done.

For the past five years WKS has held a safety contest in which the winning employee receives a car. This year's winner was a cashier from a Bakersfield, Calif., restaurant who had been with the company four years.

Spongberg said the contest was launched to help increase safety-awareness in the restaurants. If a restaurant goes one month without incident reported, then the employees' names go into a hat. A winner is pulled at the end of the year.

Spongberg said the contest has "greatly reduced" the number of safety incidents that occur at WKS Group's restaurants and the contest has shed light on the importance of restaurant safety.

"Safety is always an issue but we were trying to reduce accidents," he said. "The car seems to bring attention to the fact that safety is important. People work together to try and stay safe."

The company also runs two bonus programs for restaurant general managers that offer rewards based on sales performance and profit performance. The bonus system has the ability to add about $700 to a GMs salary per month.

Spongberg said while some brands have eliminated managerial bonus programs because of the economy, his has opted to continue.

"From the beginning we tried to reward employee performance," Spongberg said. "There are a certain number of crew that are loyal and good and will work to excel. How you treat them, how you manage and coach them are key elements in the restaurant business."

While employees appreciate monetary rewards, studies indicate peer recognition also is a key performance driver.

Mark Netsch, consultant and founder of PerformanceScope, said employees want to be treated as equals. His company helps restaurant brands deploy employee- and customer-engagement surveys that track both the crew-level and customer experience.

"Respect and recognition is a key component of creating a culture of customer service," he said.

The competitive spirit

Capitalizing on its brand image of the thrill of the game, Buffalo Wild Wings hosts eight to 10 employee-incentive programs a year, designed to bring out team members' competitive edge.

Tim Murphy, Buffalo Wild Wings' director of operations support, said while the company engages in incentive programs to bring a bit of fun and competition to the work environment, it also uses them as a way to engage the employees and guests.

"We don't look at upselling as just selling to our guest, but enhancing the experience overall," he said.

Although the company has always tracked and rewarded employee performance, it has altered the types of prizes offered for a job well done and is not looking at less prizes, albeit larger ones, to drive performance.

The company is gearing up to give away a trip to the Bahamas through a contest created to increase the number of customers who play Buffalo Wild Wings' in-store trivia-game system.Other prizes are earned that focus on the sales of new menu or limited-time only, or around holiday items such as gift cards and hot sauce.

Murphy said Buffalo Wild Wings also has taken a cue from Tim Kirkland's book, "The Renegade Server: Uncommon Strategies for Making More Money in 21st Century Food Service."

"We don't want (sales or upsells) to come across as a staged approach," Murphy said. "And we don't just make it around one product."

Kirkland's book discusses the importance of giving employees flexibility in regard to what they choose to sell, and how, if given the opportunity, will happily sell food items they enjoy eating themselves.

Buffalo Wild Wings also currently uses its managers to communicate new sales competitions although the company is looking at alternative methods — such as Twitter and text messaging — to announce new contests.

"This generation of our team members, we know that's what they're accustomed to," he said. "Even for scheduling, it's definitely a new age and a new way of doing things. And it makes us a cool place to work, too. They feel like they are included in everything if they can Twitter back and forth."

The company also is interested in setting up blogs where employees systemwide can share sales tips and best practices. And although the big prizes are appreciated, "cash is still king," Murphy said.