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Bridging the gaps

September 15, 2010 by Valerie Killifer — Editor, FastCasual.com

When I was in the fifth grade, I had a classmate who was completely obsessed with Prince and the Revolution. When Purple Rain was released in 1984, he watched the movie for what seemed like every weekend and would show up at school belting out songs from the album. As much as I loved Prince (although Wham was my true favorite), I was never allowed to watch Purple Rain because my mother thought it was too risqué (much to my young dismay).

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I was up late one night with a bout of insomnia. At around midnight I turned on the TV and stumbled upon Purple Rain. As I watched the movie, two thoughts came to mind: 1. The movie was horrible; and 2. That Purple Rain is perhaps the best movie soundtrack ever created.

As a child I loved the Purple Rain soundtrack, but I never understood the power of the album and the raw emotions behind the songs until after I saw movie.

After I watched the movie and listened to the soundtrack (for about four days afterward), I thought there had to be some way to tie in my experience with the restaurant industry. For me, watching the movie gave me a better understanding of the passion behind the soundtrack.

And then it dawned on me.

Front line employees are your first line of defense and they spend all of their time in your stores, potentially only getting one side of your brand story. Meanwhile, many of your brand executives (although they do spend time in restaurants) work in the corporate office and may only see that side of the puzzle. Each one is only getting parts of the whole, just as I had received only part of Purple Rain story as a child.

Do you think your employees are getting the full picture of your brand passion solely based on what they see in stores? Conversely, do you think your brand executives are getting the full picture based on what they experience at the corporate office?

What would happen if there was a switch? For example, what if your brand executives worked a shift on the front lines and your line employees were treated to a tour of the corporate office? Perhaps it would give both sides the ability to see the complete package of your brand, rather than just parts of it.

You also could have some real fun with this idea by turning it into a competition – your monthly top selling employees can spend an afternoon at corporate, while your executives could build morale by becoming part of the line team.

Afterall, a better understanding of both sides of your brand equation could help bridge the gap between disconnect and engagement, just as my insomnia did it for me.

Now, let’s go crazy …

About Valerie Killifer

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