During a recent call with a client, we were reviewing the goals of a project when an interesting phenomenon occurred.

Normally, when our industrial engineering firm works with a restaurant chain, the operator’s top goals usually center on a variety of issues, such as improving efficiency, enhancing service, reducing the cost of labor or increasing sales throughput, product quality, order accuracy, as well as driving better unit economics. Instead, the client said one of their main goals for the project was to become the “employer of choice” in the market.

While that caught me a little off guard at first, after careful consideration, it became clear that achieving this goal will impact directly or indirectly, all the other areas listed above, as well as the concept’s ability to grow. It also links directly to our approach in most projects, which is to simplify what the employees have to execute while delivering the customer experience. During a time where quality labor is getting more expensive, this goal represents the end game that all brands likely want to achieve, but perhaps are not overtly stating it.

Attracting and retaining employees and customers is a goal we always aspire to achieve in any project, because doing so will drive sales and operational efficiency. Any restaurant executive knows the longer employees work for the concept and the more experience they have, the more the more efficient they become. A tenured employee has the ability to provide a better customer experience, which drives sales, profits and supports brand health and growth.

Here are some insights on how to attract and retain employees:

• Simplify what they have to do. Analyze not only each task but also each step that goes into the work they do. Armed with that information, develop the best operating parameters in each area that will drive simplification. This includes examining processes and procedures, layout, station design, the equipment and technology they use, as well as the product complexities, among other areas.
• Develop a concept that is cool and relevant. Nobody wants to work in an outdated factory. Create designs that consider the employee journey as much as the customer experience and journey. We place the employee in the center of any project we do, because, as I have previously stated, making things easier for the employee makes it easier for them to deliver better hospitality to the guests.
• Develop labor guidelines that provide labor based on the work being done. Many concepts assign labor through a financial model, based on the sales projected and achieved, focusing heavily on profitability metrics. This includes both hourly and management. The typical result of this practice is that restaurants with low sales get less labor than they need, making it difficult to deliver a good customer experience and grow sales, while restaurants with high sales get more labor than they need, resulting in higher costs.

The best way to assign labor, to help improve employee retention, and better customer and employee experience, is to assign the labor based on the time it takes to do all the activities to deliver the customer experience. We refer to this as “activity-based” labor guidelines. One huge advantage of having a model that accounts for labor following the latter approach is that any future change under consideration can be vetted in the model to forecast the potential labor and service impact that the change could have. 

• Apply the best equipment and technology available. This includes the appropriate artificial intelligence and automation options that make sense. One huge recommendation I would offer restaurant leaders is to be “leading edge,” not “bleeding edge,” when considering these applications. A second recommendation is to objectively know the purpose for the application and the impact the new technology or equipment can have on the business, especially the impact on the employees. When considering a potential solution, ask yourself, “How will this simplify the employees’ work and how does it impact my ability to attract and retain them?” During the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago in May, there were many options for restaurants to consider, as my colleague Ignacio Goris explains here.

I could write a book on the many other ways that concepts can attract and retain employees, as well as suppliers offering technology and equipment that can do the same.

My suggestion, however, is to start any project by asking directly just that question: How does this help me attract and retain employees and customers? Then let your answers to this all-important question guide the possible solutions to be applied.