Turnover has long been the bane of quick-service restaurants, and many brands have enjoyed a slight reprieve during the recession. But operators are well aware they will have to work hard in the coming months to hang onto those employees.
According to a recent Harris Interactive poll, one in five employees say they will look for a new job once the economy improves. Employees ages 18 to 34 say they are even more likely — 26 percent — to look for new employment or expect a promotion.
Many fast casuals have implemented a number of strategies aimed at improving retention, from creating a brand culture to improving their training. Several brands, including Raising Cane's, Del Taco and McAlister's Deli, attended last week's People Report Summer Camp Conference outside of Dallas to look for even more ideas and the tools with which to implement them.
Many of the People Report Summer Camp presenters emphasized the value of engaging employees. Chester Elton, author and senior vice president of Carrot Culture, said that employee engagement directly correlates to a company's growth, and companies with higher retention rates tend to experience higher sales and growth rates.
Ian Vaughn, chief operating officer of Raising Cane's, also told attendees he uses the "Guitar Hero" principle of leadership. Vaughn said while some executive and line-level employees may at first fool people with their career knowledge, their true selves will eventually become clear.
He also said he treats building a team as he would building a band, and that the right selection of roles and talent is crucial to a brand's success.
Employee engagement programs
White Castle has historically had one of the lowest turnover rates in the industry, and during the recession, that number has moved even lower. John Kelley, White Castle vice president of HR, said the chain is now seeing a turnover rate below 50 percent.
The company hopes to improve those numbers even beyond the recovery and is testing several tools, including assessing why its recently hired team members stay with the company.
"We are able to use this opportunity to see how we can get turnover down even lower, so we continue to invest in programs," Kelley said.
A conference session by Custom Restaurant Solutions on employee survey tools demonstrated how companies that implement an action plan from such survey results can lower turnover by 15 percent to 30 percent. Engagement surveys, for example, can help a company determine which best practices are positively impacting engagement and productivity and which issues have a negative impact.
For example, White Castle is developing its Leaders of Tomorrow program, which was inspired by an employee during White Castle's appearance on reality TV show Undercover Boss. That program will introduce its 'informal leaders' to career opportunities at the company and the foodservice industry in general.
Kelley said that many of the presentations at the conference reinforced that White Castle is on track with its current strategies, including making sure employees are engaged.
"But there's no silver bullet," Kelley said. "It's just a concentration and constancy of purpose on engagement."
Del Taco develops talent to support growth
Del Taco has been using the economic downturn to prepare for accelerated expansion once the recovery begins and credit is more readily available to new franchisees, said John Lynde, Del Taco SVP and chief people officer. Just as the company is working to develop a strong pipeline of franchise agreements, the company also is working to find the right talent to operate those stores.
"We have a lot to do in terms of growing talent with the talent and skills necessary in order to execute at a high level," he said. "Our biggest challenge will be having enough great GMs and multiunit operators to execute the brand as intended every time."
To get to that level, the company is testing an employee screening solution by Sysdine to help the company be more selective in its hiring. Lynde also was intrigued by various solutions presented at the conference, including a presentation on e-learning by DiscoverLink.
DiscoverLink e-learning offers a variety of interactive online training and certification modules as well as custom learning solutions. Buffet chain Golden Corral, for example, lowered its turnover rate from 185 percent in 2001 to 85.5 percent today due in part to improving its online training and certification programs with DiscoverLink.
Like Kelley, Dyne said the insights presented at the conference reinforced that the company is on the right track.
"Del Taco is working at getting a real sense of purpose," he said. "We're purposely out there, building purposefully and getting them on board. We have a great business model and business proposition. It's just a matter of pulling it all together and working to take it to a higher level."
