GF Issue 54

SPOTLIGHTONATOP PERFORMINGTEAM KFC, Western U.S. Justin Stewart and his brother Todd are second-generation KFC owners. Inspired by their father, the brothers built their own enterprise of 128 restaurants across multiple states in the western U.S., making them the sixth-largest operator in the system. They run the top three locations in the U.S., and they’ve been the number one large operator (50+ locations) in the system for seven of the past eight years. Justin currently serves as president of the Association of Kentucky Fried Chicken Franchisees and as board chair of the KFC Foundation. I asked him to what he attributes his success. “Recognizing our team,” he said. “They do it all!” Recognition really is vital to their operation. In fact, Justin correlates the timing of their top rankings with the implementation of their internal recognition program. New employees start at 110% to 140% of local minimum wage. During the height of what Justin called the “war for talent,” they out-recruited other quick-service restaurants via higher wages. “This was always meant to be a short-term strategy,” said Justin. “There’s no use recruiting them if we can’t keep them. We knew we had to be an employer of choice.” Every new employee begins by spending an entire day with the store manager. In addition to onboarding and job training, the manager introduces the new worker to all employees and works to cultivate a personal connection. “Other employers just want to throw new employees into the job. Taking time to build a relationship with them has made a huge difference for us,” he said. But this only works if managers themselves are well-trained, so new managers are mentored by the top- performing managers in the company. KFC awards “Best of the Best” recognition to the best 40 managers in their system. Last year, nine of the 40 were from Justin and Todd’s restaurants. Managers at every location are given a budget to recognize employees. They inquire during the hiring process about each person’s favorite candy and other preferences so they can acknowledge employees in ways they’ll appreciate. They also have parties, catered meetings, and company outings. In addition to general appreciation gifts, employees are offered performance-based incentives. They can earn these through increased sales, lower drive-thru times, and other benchmarks critical to store performance. Employees enjoy meeting the challenges as much as receiving the prizes. “I love my team,” said Justin. “They’ve changed my life in incalculable ways.” When we spoke, Justin was wearing a cap from Pebble Beach. He’s an avid golfer, and his reliable hourly team enables him to get out on the links. “They’ve made everything I have possible.” He recoiled at my referring to them as “employees.” “They don’t work for us,” he said. “They work with us. It’s a team, a family, and we all work together.” Justin and Todd have proved that even in the tough world of quick-service restaurants, you can still build a top-performing team, one employee at a time. “In the end,” he said, “I’d like them to say we made their lives better because of working with us.” cases, the franchisors themselves don’t know how to manage hourly workers, or they take this skill for granted. If franchisors are serious about supporting their owners’ success, they need to find a way to provide them with training and resources to manage their teams as well as their operations. What are some of the biggest takeaways the book offers? First, I hope readers will appreciate their role in how employees perform. The book takes them through a process to self-evaluate and reflect on their own biases and management styles. It also teaches them a practical tool we created called “30-Second Leadership,” which shows them how to diagnose team members for a given task, and then use our color model to determine the best approach to boost their performance. They’ll learn strategies for better staffing, training, retention, and motivation. Readers will also learn what culture actually is (and isn’t) and how to use it to become an employer of choice. And as they learn these strategies, I also hope readers will get excited about the positive impact they can make on a lot of people. Franchisees can make a lot of money with their employees as they make a lot of difference for their employees. Finally, when does the book come out and how can people purchase it? I was hoping you’d ask! It comes out on February 13th 2024 (just in time for the International Franchise Association convention). It’s available now for pre-sale on Amazon and other major retail sites. There will also be an e-reader version and audiobook available. “If franchisees are serious about boosting team performance, they need to lead” GLOBAL FRANCHISE.COM 33