Editorial: Care Package

Great places to work use innovative methods to show good old-fashioned values.

By Mary Boltz Chapman, Editor-in-Chief -- Chain Leader, 5/1/2007

This is the fourth time that Chain Leader and People Report have joined forces to present this special Best Places To Work supplement. Each year, People Report founder and CEO Joni Doolin and her growing team of analysts comb the results of their Survey of Unit Level Employment Practices to find great examples of chain restaurants that are moving the needle in human resources. Innovative companies that have made the connection between people and profits. Those using their organizations’ marketing, technology, operations and financial firepower to excel in recruiting, training, retaining and compensating the employees they need to compete and grow.

As innovative as the programs and tactics featured in Best Places To Work are, the themes that I see as I’m reporting, writing and editing this content come down to good, old-fashioned values like caring about the people who work for you.

What’s in a Name?

Many companies we’ve talked to call their employees co-workers, associates or team members more often than employees, workers or staff. It’s a subtle difference—a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. When used without the actions to back it up, these terms seem corny at best, hypocritical at worst, to bussers, servers, hosts and cooks. But combined with walking the talk, such terminology may be a subliminal way for executives to remind all their people—and each other—of the importance and equality of those who are closest to the food and the service.

Human-resources executives search for ways to take on as much responsibility as they can to ensure that managers can focus on the restaurants, employees and guests. Their jobs include developing compelling recruiting materials, creating innovative training systems, centralizing benefits communications and management, and making it easy for workers to recommend friends for employment.

What’s in it for You?

The leaders in this issue seem to sincerely want their people to succeed individually, offering tools and customized training not only for managers but for hourlies. They continually communicate how to move up in the company, achieve higher paying positions and build their careers. But beyond that, they try to teach them how and why to take advantage of their vacation time and medical insurance.

They seem to truly care about their employees, enabling a fun and rewarding culture, striving to be successful so the people who support them will reap the results. The executives feel a sense of stewardship to their employees, the families their work force supports, and the communities in which they operate.

As you read these stories, peruse the rich content at www.chainleader.com and discuss ideas at the Best Places To Work session at Chain Leader LIVE on Oct. 25, ask yourself what these leaders have that you don’t. I believe it all comes down to recognizing that employee satisfaction and caring about staff as people are competitive advantages in recruiting and retaining employees.