Archie Carroll’s Post

When Mapemond Resources took over the management of a restaurant brand, most of the staff were problematic and gave the outgoing manager headache, particularly the cleaners and cooks. After a couple of months, the same workers became well-behaved and improved daily. What changed? Leadership style. I will use a story to explain what I mean. A few years ago, I had a conversation with a restaurant owner who was frustrated by the attitude of her workers. When I inquired to know the recruitment and grooming process for her employees, she revealed that they were trained by an international expert. I got further information and discovered what the problem was, the workers were trained with the standard template, not bad, but not enough. These workers lived in ghettos and slums. They fought to use the bathroom every morning. Then drama with co-tenants, keke driver, bus conductor that abused them that morning, and the underlying challenges of life they grapple with. You cannot rework their attitude without addressing the underlying influences of their background. What works in Milan, Madrid, or Copenhagen, will not work the same way in Nigeria. You must adapt to local realities. So for our restaurant client, we paid close attention to the background and environmental influences on the workers and gradually established a new way of relating to them. One thing that provided this insight to me was a song by Phil Collins titled "both sides of the story". In one line of the song, a ghetto kid with a gun grabbed a passerby by the shoulder and asked "would you respect me if I didn't have this gun?" I have lived in three ghettos and I could relate with that question, it is the same mindset behind most low cadre employees in businesses. They want to be respected, they want to be heard, they want to know that they matter, they don't want to be trampled upon, that desire for dignity in humans is also in them. When next you feel frustrated by your workers, also do a self-evaluation on yourself. Do you treat them with disdain or respect? Do you let them talk or you always hush them? Do you pay attention to where they are coming from or it doesn't concern you? Their presence WILL rub off on your brand, it is a guarantee! This matter is a major hindrance to the transition of many businesses into fabulous brands. You are putting in the effort but workers are messing things up, it is a real struggle and you have to find a way around it if you want to grow. Some of these workers are set in their ways and I advise for such, you work towards easing them out of your system. #DoBusinessBetter Your Co-Traveler, Mister Maple

Reading more and more about companies and their cultural thoughts and practices of promoting from within. Would love to have outside perspective of my recent situation. Bringing in a COO from outside which then caused the current VP of Ops to quit immediately after 15 or more years. Other people were brought in through previous relationships at other companies and thus more people who had no connection, belief, understanding, toil or comprehension of the culture they were coming into. They came in like squirrels quickly trying to change everything they didn't like or understand and the river changed its current with them. They had become the great hope, I recently learned the term, corporate smart. This, in my humble opinion, was the tiniest of crack in our unflappable brand. The biggest shock to me was that it didn't seem anyone noticed even though I expressed my concerns to our Chief People Officer. We had internal promotes that I thought "wow this could be great", but quickly joined the flowing water with glee. In Unreasonable Hospitality Will speaks to not changing too much at once and we were rife with changes that had no impact and just seem to feed departments around me with busy work. The office became a place were someone coming from Ops saw people coming out of meetings with coffees and their dogs on leashes talking and strolling down the halls when simple restaurant basics like food safety were not being executed in the field. When I raised concerns these were met with "you seem to bringing a lot of problems in the field back here to the office." I figured that was the correct forum to address these misalignments in fundamentals no? This doesn't seem "restaurant smart" in my humble opinion. Question: How long would you attend a meeting where you would sometimes not be acknowledged at all when you gave important information based on your expertise? Or when you explain how loss is calculated when cooking something that loses weight and someone with longer tenure says "shouldn't the UOM go up?" and then someone else with more tenure from operations says "Yea, I think that's right!" The disconnect fueled the fire of misinformation and chaos in these meetings. The restaurant smart part, myself, had been extinguished. Finance knew the path to walk and they did, from their "corporate smart" perspective, not to mention the occasional "is there any way to make these numbers look better? To which I would respond "those numbers reflect the actual cost, based on my calculations and also include loss. These numbers can not be fabricated to look "better" for margin." I suppose this is the natural path companies lead to find less resistance and more ease in the paths cut before them. No need to push outside or discover a new path since this one worked so well for X. Can you relegate a mission statement from three concise and clear statements to two words? Would love Mr. Guidara's and Mr. Blanchard's opinion on that.

My codification process creates a unique concise, memorable way to talk about culture and allows you to measure it. Often when I approach a client to do culture work, they initially don’t see the value. But we codify their essence so everyone in the organization understands the aspirational culture – and we measure it everyday. Read here to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gSJD2qd2 #restaurateur #restaurant #success #businessadvice

#EmployeeOwnership quote of the week: The #ESOP has ignited a powerful sense of #ownership, commitment, and #pride among our team members, directly tying their success to that of the company. This newfound ownership has led to heightened engagement, motivation, and dedication to delivering exceptional service and quality to our guests. -Justin Cucci, CEO of Edible Beats on his #restaurants becoming #employeeowned and how transformative it's been. Read the full story: https://lnkd.in/gxUr-Zv5

Given the numerous challenges this year was wrought with, many leaders in the restaurant space are looking for ways to optimize and streamline operations. Recruiting remains one of the key challenges, which is why it's so important that restaurants work on bundling welcoming company cultures that give their teams a reason to stick around. Employee centricity will be a key driver of success in the coming year. #Restaurant #Workforce #Operations

Alicia Kelso Nation's Restaurant News showcases the efforts at CAVA Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers Red Lobster with 3 great leaders. "There has been no shortage of news coming out of the restaurant industry the past couple of years about companies adding new benefits like mental health coverage, tuition reimbursement, caretaker subsidies, equity opportunities, and more. Indeed, new data from BentoBox finds that “paid time off” mentions in industry job listings have increased by 386% in the past year, while “paid vacation” has increased by 175%, and “mental health” has increased by 53%. The pandemic and ensuing labor shortages, as well as changing demands from younger employees, have served as a catalyst for restaurant companies to rethink their people strategies. This was the topic of conversation during a Restaurant Leadership Conference panel and follow up roundtable discussion titled, “Meeting the moment – leading with possibility,” including Kelly Costanza, chief people officer at Cava, Laura Rueckel, chief marketing officer at Freddy’s Frozen Custard, and Sara Bittorf, chief experience officer at Red Lobster. I had the privilege of facilitating the panel, while the roundtable discussion was facilitated by Sarah Lockyer, chief brand officer of The Elliot Group. Here are the biggest takeaways: • Yes, soft skills are critical now. Costanza said Cava is even in the process of operationalizing soft skills alongside the company’s job skills. • The employee experience must be owned by everyone, not just HR or the CPO, and Rueckel and Bittorf are also both very much involved in their respective companies’ employee experience efforts. Communication at all levels, including franchisees, is the most effective way to achieve buy-in on such efforts. • Bittorf said retention can’t be the only employee-focused metric, noting that engagement is more critical. Companies should make sure employees are engaged in whatever role they may have. • All three panelists cautioned against trying to do too much, despite the increasing demands for more. Any company getting started on a people strategy should prioritize based on employee feedback, demographics, and budget. • About that budget – there is a clear return on investment when it comes to people initiatives, the panelists said, and the work Cava, Freddy’s, and Red Lobster has done so far has resonated with their respective employees. This return is measured by employee surveys and other feedback mechanisms, as well as retention. • It’s important to note that the employee proposition isn’t just about benefits or pay...Click-thru to read the rest" https://lnkd.in/eSGnYfHk #QSR #Entrepreneur #Restaurants #Franchise #Franchising #FranchiseChat Chainformation Altir Industries, Inc. Franchise Pipeline Franchise Development Outsource Ned Lyerly Joe Caruso Michael (Mike) Webster PhD Anders Hall Jonathan Martin Michael Scherr BentoBox

It can be tough loosening control when empowering your staff. There may be bumps in the transition, but staying patient through the process pays dividends. With time, your empowered team will gain the confidence to spread their wings. This leads to superior guest experiences and a thriving restaurant in the long run. #restaurantgrowth #transitiontime #longtermwins

In New Zealand, the act of tipping is not driven by obligation but by satisfaction and personal choice. See our latest story giving insights on tipping for Kiwis. See more: https://hubs.li/Q02sZqsM0 #tipping #newzealand #restaurant #business #hospo #hospbiznz

Recently Pete Wells and Marina O'Loughlin, two renowned critics on either side of the Pond, both wrote about retiring from the gig, about how the hospitality industry has changed, and about their own feelings towards restaurants. They both focus on one idea above all others in what makes a restaurant great (and what has been lost in many places) ... the human touch. "I used to be the diner-out equivalent of Leonardo DiCaprio, dumping anywhere that wasn’t perkily youthful, a potential thrill-ride. But, as with long-term relationships, there are many less head-spinning benefits to familiarity … it’s incredibly comforting to go somewhere you know won’t disappoint. Where they seem genuinely pleased to see you." (O'Loughlin) We all know restaurants have had to adapt. They've had to become quicker, encourage more social media, be more convenient - making things like booking and paying much easier and quicker. Customers expect it, and it's what world class service looks like now. We've obviously worked hard on these things too, but what the former-critics bemoan is the loss of hospitality. Listen to Wells ... "I thought of restaurants as one of the few places left where our experiences were completely human, [but there have been] a series of changes that have gradually and steadily stripped the human touch and the human voice out of restaurants." No one answers the phone any more, hospitality is by-rote, everyone gets the same experience ... "The meal may be faster and cheaper, but it leaves us feeling a little empty. These places are built for one-night flings, not long-term relationships. They’re hookup restaurants." (Wells) This year, alongside trying to get faster and more convenient, everyone at Hawksmoor has worked so hard on human touch and hospitality. We've invested in a reservations team to make sure every call is answered, done huge amount of training on hospitality, introduced a project called 'Journey to Regular', and tried to avoid the stripping-away of the human touch. One of the tragedies of restaurants is that as they grow, or over time, it can be difficult to constantly rekindle the fire of human relationships as staff and guests come and go. One of the successes of Hawksmoor I'm most proud of is that we've worked so hard to buck that trend. Brilliant hospitality is at the heart of what I think is the greatest joy of restaurants - being a regular, and the best restaurants (like Hawksmoor I hope!) make you feel like one whenever you go. "Is it unreasonable to want regulars’ perks in a few always-brilliant places? To want someone to smile and say, “Your usual?” For once, I too wanna go where everybody knows my name." (O'Loughlin) To read the original articles, you can read Pete Wells farewell column in the New York Times, and Marina O'Loughlin's guest column in the Financial Times in the links in the comments. #Hawksmoor #Hospitality

UV50 Spotlight: Ovation 🥘 🥑 The No. 13 Fastest-Growing Company is serving up success with 463% revenue growth from 2020 to 2023. Ovation is a guest experience platform for multi-unit restaurants that starts with a 2-question survey to drive revenue, streamline guest recovery, and easily improve operations. Founded by 🍽️Zack Oates🍕 and Derek Morgan, the company has 30 employees and was founded in 2017. ⭐ BOLD BRANDING “We called the company Ovation because we wanted it to be about celebrating the amazing restaurant owners and front-line workers who put so much effort into creating memorable guest experiences. One of our core values is ‘Celebrate!’” says Zack. ⭐ TRY, TRY AGAIN “For CEOs, the backyard is always on fire. Everyone has some urgent issues to fix. So here’s our job as leaders: 1) Make sure the fire doesn’t get to the house. 2) Don’t let the fire keep your team from celebrating what’s happening in the front yard!” ⭐ PODIUM MOMENTS “We’re serving thousands of restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, including brands like Dave's Hot Chicken, MOOYAH Burgers Fries and Shakes, and Taziki's Mediterranean Cafe. We’ve raised over $9 million in funding, often during turbulent times in the economy." #ovation #fastestgrowingcompany #restaurant #hospitality