Franchising – ZippyApp Blog
Posts about Franchising written by zippybeck and zippyapp
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If Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos walked into a fast-food joint, they might just order up some spicy nuggets of wisdom for us all. But since I can’t channel them, let’s don our own hairnets of curiosity and dive into the sizzling world of fast food, sprinkled with a dash of humor and a side of fries.

Ah, the fast food industry! The beacon of a speedy meal, the realm where 3.8 million hard-working souls turn potatoes into golden fries. Now, I’m not saying fast food has the economic gravity of Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon, but with a crispy $200 billion revenue in 2021, it’s hardly small potatoes either. 🍟

Now, picture young Timmy, the 16-year-old flipping patties. He’s part of the bustling 30.7% of teenage employees, eagerly saving up for his first car (or a new video game console). On the other side, we have Martha, the single parent, trying to juggle work and family, making up the 20% of single-parent employees. Don’t forget wise old Dave, part of the 40% of workers above 25, sharing stories of “how fries were made back in his day.”

Joking aside, it’s concerning that while they serve up meals on the double, their earnings barely make up a meal at a fancy restaurant: an average of $10.92 per hour. If you’re thinking of ordering a dash of benefits with that job, think again. A mere 26% get that luxury.

If these numbers had a face, they might just resemble a harried waitress named Wendy, balancing trays and managing not to get burned. Oh, speaking of burns, 71% have reported on-the-job injuries. It makes you wonder if the lack of unions (with less than 2% being unionized) is why there aren’t more safety nets, or at least protective mittens.

And, in the midst of all the fryers and grills, there’s an undeniable feminine touch. Approximately 63% of these employees are women. Add in a dash of international flavor with 14% of the workforce being foreign-born. Talk about a global special!

Let’s make a pit stop at the famous golden arches. In 2021, McDonald’s alone was responsible for employing a whopping 205,000 people worldwide. If they ever decided to form a city, it would be “Burgeropolis.”

The landscape of this industry has changed dramatically. From 200,000 establishments in the late ’90s to a hearty 300,000 by 2020. Yet, there’s a looming cloud (and it’s not just the scent of grilling patties): Automation might snatch 4.3 million jobs by 2030. If ever there was a time for a visionary innovator in the fast-food sector, it’s now.

But, as daunting as it sounds, we Americans and our insatiable love for fast food aren’t fading. 37% of us happily munch on it daily, proving that its taste, or maybe just the convenience, is here to stay.

Whether you’re a burger-flipping teenager, a multitasking parent, or just someone enjoying their drive-thru coffee, the fast-food universe is vast and filled with stories (and calories). The next time you’re savoring that burger, remember there’s a world behind the counter, bustling, frying, and trying.

Sources:

A bunch of really smart sites that study everything from fries to finance. Check them out if you’re hungry for more details!

https://www.foodandwine.com

https://www.data.bls.gov

https://www.nytimes.com

https://www.cdc.gov

https://www.cnbc.com

https://www.ibisworld.com

https://www.americanprogress.org

https://www.statista.com

https://www.ddcf.org

https://www.pewresearch.org

https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Leadership, as an ever-evolving subject, has had its fair share of ink spilled in recent times. You would think with the vast ocean of resources – a buffet of books, a banquet of articles – we would have the recipe to cook up effective leadership down pat. But that is far from the case. Leadership continues to be an enigma, a secret sauce that changes its flavor depending on the culture it marinates in.

Danny Meyer, the restaurateur extraordinaire and author of ‘Setting the Table’, serves us the perfect metaphor in the restaurant industry. Think of leadership as the head chef and culture as the kitchen. The chef can introduce new recipes, but if the kitchen isn’t well-stocked or the sous chefs are stuck in their ways, the new dishes may fail to taste as good as expected. So, is it the chef who shapes the kitchen, or the kitchen that influences the chef? A resounding “yes” would be the answer to both!

A Dash of Culture on Leadership

Meyer, in his storied career, would often come across long-serving managers saying, “I’ve been here longer than any chef, and I’ll outlast this one too.” This flavor of resistance is a common ingredient in large, established kitchens.

Negatively seasoned cultures can spoil even the most positive leadership recipes. However, good leadership, much like slow-cooking, can gradually turn the sour taste of negative culture sweet. All it needs are a few successful dishes and some patrons singing their praises.

In contrast, poor leadership can quickly ruin a deliciously positive culture. Meyer often recounts the tale of a previously successful eatery that plummeted under a profit-hungry owner. The man overworked his staff and underinvested in quality, eventually leading to a mass walkout of staff and, ultimately, shuttered doors.

Leadership as the Secret Recipe of Culture

A restaurant, much like any other company, mirrors the values of its leader. As we’ve seen in recent times, patrons and employees respond strongly to restaurants that neglect social issues or fail to address discrimination.

Leaders, like head chefs, need to ensure their kitchens are places of respect, safety, and equality. Danny Meyer himself exemplifies this principle, making sure his restaurants aren’t just diverse in their menus but also in their thinking and representation. His commitment to hospitality and service excellence shapes the culture of his entire restaurant empire.

Obstacles to Changing the Menu

The true roadblocks to changing a restaurant’s culture are internal – inflated egos, fear of the new, complacency, or rigid old beliefs. When a new recipe is introduced, there’s often pushback, even if the change improves the taste. Staff members might stick to the old recipe or gossip about the new one, actively resisting the change.

In a restaurant, just like in a remote work landscape, there’s less room for such negativity to brew. But as any experienced chef knows, if there’s even a tiny crack in the pot, the broth might leak. So, the question boils down to this – how can a head chef positively change the kitchen culture?

The Perfect Recipe for Positive Culture

People are drawn to a captivating vision, just like they are to a beautifully plated dish. They wish to follow a chef who values what they do. A good leader will extract 100% effort from their team, just like a good chef extracts 100% flavor from their ingredients. Here are some essential ingredients of a good leader:

Vision and Strategy: Just like a chef doesn’t merely instruct, a leader inspires. By setting a clear vision and strategic roadmap, leaders create a culture of engagement where everyone knows the restaurant’s direction and their role in its journey.

Ethics over empty words: Meyer always insists, “It’s not about what you say; it’s what you do.” Like the tantalizing aroma that wafts from a dish, the ethics of a leader permeate through their actions, laying the foundation for an ethical culture.

“It’s not about what you say; it’s what you do.”

Danny Meyer

Empowerment: Great leaders, like seasoned chefs, understand that the perfect recipe for empowerment involves three ingredients: responsibility, accountability, and authority. Leaders who encourage their team to make impactful decisions and shoulder the outcome of their choices inspire a culture of distributed leadership. Conversely, a kitchen with a micromanaging head chef is a kitchen where creativity is stifled and efficiency is bottlenecked, with all decisions waiting for approval from one person.

Lightening the mood, Meyer often shares a fun anecdote of his own. He once appointed a sous-chef to be in charge of creating the special for the night. Nervously, the young chef whipped up a dish that turned out to be a hit. The gleam in his eyes when Meyer complimented him was worth more than any praise or tip from a customer. It was a small yet significant step in transforming the culture of his kitchen – from micromanaged to empowered.

The dynamic dance between leadership and culture in the restaurant industry, as anywhere else, is an ongoing one. However, once leaders learn to create a harmonious rhythm between the two, they’ll find that they’re not just setting tables, they’re setting the stage for a culture of excellence, respect, and success.

In our last Blog, we discussed recruiting as a marketing strategy to attract and engage applicants. Your job descriptions are a vital piece in your recruitment marketing strategy, since they give the first impression of your company and is what connects you with a candidate. In order for your jobs to stand out in a sea of thousands of others, you will need to think outside the box to attract and engage talent. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Think of your job titles as a story headline. What story titles attract the most readers? Exciting stories with captivating headlines. And unless you’re an attractive brand that everyone in town wants to work for (CREAM anyone?), you will need to be creative with your job titles. Use the same approach and include exciting terms and incentives that will attract candidates, such as sign-on bonuses or a guaranteed amount of hours. We hate to say it, but corporate titles come standard, and are repeatedly listed on job boards giving the applicant zero incentive to click and view the job. Which job title would you be more inclined to view?

Server – Joe’s in San Jose, CA

OR Part-time Server (guaranteed 20 hours per week!) – Joe’s in San Jose, CA

Be sure to think of other job titles the applicant may be searching for. For a Team Member position, adding in “Cashier,” “Counter Crew,” or “Barista” (if applicable) to the Categories section on ZippyApp or to the job description can increase your search engine optimization (SEO) on our system and to the job boards we distribute your jobs to.

There is however, a fine line when creating captivating and unique job titles. Don’t go overboard and add too much information into your titles (that is what the job description is for), and don’t list every job duty as a separate job posting — like “Produce Chopper” and “Dough Presser,” instead keep them all under “Kitchen Prep” — as it only confuses job seekers.

Exercise: Go through your job titles now. Do any of them stand out above the rest? Go to ZippyApp and type in your open positions — do they get lost in a sea of others? What can you do differently to make yours stand out?

2. Cut out any filler words. Take a look at your job descriptions. Do they take up an entire page? If you were a job seeker, what would your first impression be? If it looks like a prison sentence, then chances are you won’t receive many applicants. Scan your job descriptions and delete any unnecessary words or information that is not imperative to the applicant. Keep your job descriptions clean, simple, and to-the-point. An interesting study done by Appcast.io shows the click-to-apply rate for too short and too long of job descriptions. You can view the study here.

3. Include any job requirements up front. Job seekers want to know exactly what they are potentially signing up to do, and what will be required of them. Outline the basics of the job, including the skills and experience that is required for the applicant. If you can, include the age requirement for the position (this is a common question asked by our job applicants!), whether or not they need any certifications or licenses, and if the position is full or part-time. Be sure to include your establishment address — state, city, and zip code — to your location hiring page (our software inserts Google Maps to your Hiring Page). Doing these things will weed out any applicants who aren’t serious about the position, or ones who are not qualified.

4. Be specific about the job benefits and salaries. Candidates love to be incentivized, and if you offer any be sure to include them in your job descriptions. Do you offer free lunches? 1/2 off friends and family meals? Flexible schedules? If you don’t want to post your salaries, or if salary depends on the candidates experience, providing a salary range is better than not putting anything about what can be expected. List specific benefits rather than saying “We Provide Benefits.” Do you offer healthcare? Eye Exams? Dental Coverage? 401K?

If you’re suffering from a shortage of applicants, providing lively and exciting job titles and descriptions is the easiest way to attracting more applicants. Make sure to include key terms and words in the description (think titles that are similar to the one you are posting) to increase your search engine optimization (SEO) on our system and to the job boards we distribute your jobs to.

Blog photo courtesy of Shutterstock

[Originally posted in KenoshaNews.com]

Tis the season … to hire seasonal workers.

As many companies, especially retailers, prepare for the upcoming holiday crush, they may find the pool of workers smaller this year. And it may take companies longer to find the right person for the wage they want to pay.

While the Kenosha County and the southeastern Wisconsin labor markets have been described as robust, increased competition from some of the larger, more well-known companies, such as Amazon, may make it tougher for smaller companies, according to experts at local staffing firms.

Carving a niche

Companies like Mars Cheese Castle, 2800 120th Ave., located across the road from mega-employer Amazon, attract and retain seasonal help with bonuses, flexible work schedules and the employer/employee individual interaction that larger companies may not be able to provide.

For some job seekers, the work environment is a greater benefit than a few extra dollars in the paycheck.

“It’s difficult for a small company like ours to compete against a large corporation,” explained Michael Ventura, a co-general manager with Mars. “We sell products that make people happy. It’s so great to be working in a business that makes people happy.”

To gear up for the summer, its busiest season, Mars begins hiring seasonal workers in March. Last year, the Christmas holiday season was better than previous seasons. It already has a pool of employees ready to cover the holiday period.

Work conditions can be attractive. Mars has had one seasonal worker who has been with the company 15 years.

“She just knows when we might need someone and she comes in to help out,” Ventura said. An employee who left earlier this year to work for Amazon, returned two months later, “because he liked working here better.”

Staffing experts also attribute the recent hiring binge as having an effect on the seasonal labor pool. They said some people who might have been available for seasonal work, have taken full time positions with some of the newer employers in the region.

Search is on

The Seattle-based Amazon — with a distribution center in Kenosha — has recently launched a massive search for seasonal workers in preparation for the holiday season. Last year when it opened its sortation center, it hired 500 part-time seasonal workers, some of whom have become full-time associates at the adjacent fulfillment center. The e-retailer opened its fulfillment center in June staffing it with 1,000.

Now with 2,000 full-time employees, Amazon will host an official open house Wednesday. Though it has bulked up its staff, it still is seeking part-time, seasonal associates to assist with the upcoming holiday crush. It has even enlisted the services of staffing agencies to help in their search. Amazon is offering $11.50 an hour.

Seasonal hiring nationally is expected to be somewhat flat partly because retailers hired 449,500 people from March through August — up from 437,000 during the same period a year ago, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement research firm. A canvass of retailers revealed they expect to add roughly 755,000 seasonal hires to their payrolls in the final three months of the year.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger said in a statement, “In addition to steady hiring leading up to the holiday season, changes in the way consumers shop are making it possible for stores to meet increased holiday demand with fewer extra workers. When retailers do add holiday workers, fewer of those jobs are in traditional spots, such as sales clerk or cashier.”

High demand locally

Locally, employers still have a need. Some are finding it harder to fill open positions as quickly as in the past. Staffing agency officials say seasonal wages range from $8.50 to $20 an hour.

Gordmans, a discount department store located in the Southport Plaza shopping center, began hiring seasonal associates in August. Typically hiring 75 for the holiday season, plans call for the same number this year. So far, it has only filled 45 positions. “It’s been a struggle. We’ll be hiring up until Dec. 31,” explained assistant store manager Renee Novy.

Shopko, a department store at 5300 52nd. St., began hiring part-time, seasonal employees in early September. “We typically hire between 25 to 30 teammates,” said Michelle Hanson, a company spokeswoman.

Shopko has declined to discuss wage structure. But seasonal teammates, Hanson said, may be retained depending upon the hiring opportunities beyond the holiday season. Headquartered in suburban Green Bay, Shopko operates 75 stores in Wisconsin. It has stores in both Kenosha and Racine.

What best describes the Kenosha area seasonal jobs market? “You can say there are less people and more people needing people,” explained Amy Prellberg, a vice president with Quantum Personnel, 5017 Green Bay Road. “It’s not been like this in a long time.”

Six Flags focused on schedule, higher pay in filling its seasonal positions. As the region’s largest seasonal worker employer with 4,000 hires, Six Flags Great America has developed a strategy and raised wages to attract the people it needs to operate the amusement park.

Last fall when Amazon opened its Kenosha sortation center, offering to pay part-time seasonal employees $11.50 an hour, some employers in the region wondered how that would affect their ability to find the people they needed for their seasonal openings.

Though Six Flags’ season starts during Memorial Day weekend and ends Labor Day, it began hiring in March. Recruiters went to high schools and colleges, attended job fairs and used social media to find its people.

Six Flags officials had already planned an across-the-board wage increase, including raising the entry-level wage from $8.25 to $9 an hour.

Increased pay and a bundle of special benefits, including complimentary tickets, helped the entertainment company attract the people it needed to perform clerical, operational maintenance, landscaping and customer service duties. “It was an investment we thought was important to make,” said company spokeswoman Katy Enrique.

Nevertheless, it did experience a drop in the number of experienced job seekers who applied this year.

While the park saw the usual mix of retirees, teachers and others who liked a flexible schedule, wanted a second job or simply wanted to work in a fun place, a number of this year’s hires had never had a job, Enrique said. “If a person wants to work weekends, second or third shift, they can do that here. We can accommodate their needs,” she said. “This is a very unique place to work. A lot of people like it.” Pairing seasonal employees, employers.

Flexible Workforce Coalition

The coalition — originally known as the Wisconsin Seasonal Workforce Coalition — was developed by David Karst and works as a clearinghouse to help seasonal job seekers find positions and to help companies find the people they need.

Most importantly, it was developed to help seasonal workers — some of whom didn’t have much work experience — transition from one seasonal job to the next throughout the year without a gap in employment. “I wanted to make sure they were able to continue to develop their skills. These were good people who wanted a place to call home,” Karst said.

From 2008 through 2012, Karst estimated he placed 8,500 job seekers and helped several companies, including BuySeasons, UPS, Marcus Hotels & Resorts, Quad Graphics, Klement’s Sausage, Time Warner Cable, and Home Instead Senior Care. The service is free for employers and job seekers.

ZippyApp

Kamyar Faron knew how difficult it was for small businesses to find seasonal employees. As a staffing industry veteran, he knew they often would have to search longer with fewer resources than larger companies. “Some people don’t know how to promote their job opening properly. Some don’t have the financial resources,” Faron said. “Some small businesses cannot afford to take out ads on Monster.com.”

Faron has developed ZippyApp, a software system designed to help employers in the hospitality, food service and entertainment industries recruit the people they need for peak periods in their business operation cycles.

Employers can list their job descriptions, and job seekers can access the software to find jobs in their area.

Despite the name, ZippyApp is not a mobile device package. It is a system that prospective employers can load onto their computers. For more information, go to www.zippyapp.com.

In the hospitality industry, high turnover remains a constant struggle. The National Restaurant Association (NRA) puts the average at about 62.4%, however, from 2013 to 2014 the overall turnover rate jumped up to 66%. Although there are many parts to this percentage, the quit rate alone in 2014 was 47% — putting hospitality managers in a very vulnerable position.

Why is this?

• The hospitality industry is one of the few that has seasonal staffing spikes throughout the year – taking place in January, June, and October. These spikes add to the normal turnover numbers.

• Overall, 31% of the hospitality workforce work only part-year (a form of temporary part time employment), compared to 19% of the total U.S. workforce.

• The existence of multiple competitive establishments in almost all communities gives employees additional opportunities in a competitive environment.

Consequences. The financial impacts of high turnover rates cut deep into budgets. Here are some factors to consider:

• Cost of job listing services

• Cost and time it takes to train new employees

• Cost of new uniforms

• Time it takes to find new employees

• Time it takes to interview candidates

• Time it takes to coordinate with hiring managers

• Time it takes to schedule around losing an employee

These are all issues of the past. ZippyApp faces many of these challenges head-on by providing you with the following:

• Job listing services: We post your jobs to the most popular local job boards, offering the largest job distribution network.

• Train new employees: View the candidate’s skills and experience in one easy-to-follow common employment application. Hire those with the qualified experience to keep training to a minimum.

• Find new employees: Our unique algorithm brings you the most qualified applicants for your jobs.

• Interview candidates: Use the tags provided in our Applicant Management System to communicate with other managers at your establishment. Be sure the candidate interviews with a few different people to ensure they fit well with company culture.

• Schedules: View a candidate’s availability in their Common Employment Application to ensure seamless scheduling.

Ways to fix it. Experts agree; the single best way to reduce employee turnover is to hire the right people from the start. We understand hourly hiring is a local practice, and we provide you with only local, qualified applicants – ones that have less risk of a higher rate for turnover. Our team is dedicated to making sure your job descriptions include the proper SEO keywords to help get your jobs in front of the right candidates.

Strategies. Although there are factors out of your control that can affect your turnover rate – like the local economy and seasonal spikes – there are strategies you can put into place to keep your employees happy and loyal.

• Create the right culture: 49% of applicants say work culture is important in a job. Create an environment that is open and welcomes and appreciates feedback. Schedule one-on-one meetings or create anonymous surveys to find out how employees feel about their role, and what might need to change.

• Provide a clear career roadmap: 45% of applicants say growth opportunities within the organization is important when deciding if they want to take a job or not. Map out a clear path for advancement, making sure you understand the goals of each employee. Try your best to get them on that path, or be prepared for them to go somewhere else that will give them the opportunity.

• Be fair with schedules: 41% of applicants say the hours they are expected to work are an important factor in their job. Employee favoritism kills morale. Be fair by not playing favorites. Don’t be unfair by always giving certain employees better schedules and shifts than others. Be sure to pay attention to schedules to make sure you don’t burn employees out.

• Be competitive: Offer competitive wages and benefits. Providing incentives, like scheduling team outings outside the workplace and providing meals to your employees, are ways to keep employees happy.

• Show them you care: Be supportive through school and personal times. Providing flexible schedules will help build the loyalty needed to keep them happy.

• Take criticism: Employee insight can help fix your turnover. If they are unhappy, find out why. Even if it is too late and they moved to another job, this advice can be valuable in reducing your future turnover.

Have any turnover strategies to share, or want to learn more about reducing your turnover? Post a comment here!

*Statistics taken from the National Restaurant Association.